[]
The Impossible Job
  • Published: 27 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9781405990042
  • Imprint: Penguin Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $28.00
Categories:

The Impossible Job

The Truly Unbelievable World of Football Referees

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
27 Sept 2026
Hardback
27 Sept 2026
EBook
27 Aug 2026
Audiobook
27 Aug 2026
Pre-order from…
Audible Google Play Kobo Libro.fm Spotify

Based on unprecedented access, the harsh and hilarious life of a football referee – from Sunday leagues to the World Cup

Booed.
Sworn at.
Spat on.
Threatened.
Accused.
Targeted.

Welcome to the world of football refereeing.

We’ve all seen referees in football games, but very few of us really know what they go through both on the pitch and once the final whistle goes.

In this eye-opening and jaw-dropping new book, journalist William Ralston interviews referees at all levels of the game – from amateur Sunday leagues right up to the bright lights of the Premier League’s top flight, Champions League clashes and even World Cups – to get the full, unvarnished truth of this essential but impossible job.

For the first time ever, Ralston shines light on the intense selection process, the brutal training regimes they have to go through and the pressures that come as you move up the ladder. Through a vast range of memorable games and a huge selection of era-defining moments, he looks at the increasing influence of VAR, the escalating demands of the game, the ways referees make their choices, the art of getting a game right and the consequences of getting it wrong. And he finally begins to understand why anyone would choose a job that – with its sacrifices, pressures, perils and even death threats – seems truly insane.

Revealing a side of the game you have never seen before, The Impossible Job is the first book to fully explore the truly unbelievable world of refereeing. You’ll never watch a game the same way again.
  • Published: 27 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9781405990042
  • Imprint: Penguin Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $28.00
Categories:

About the author

William Ralston

William Ralston is a freelance writer living in London. His work has appeared in the Financial Times, GQ, the Guardian, Vanity Fair, and Wired, among other publications. He won the Best Sportswriting award at the 2023 British Journalism Awards.
WR

Praise for The Impossible Job

Refereeing is not about being liked, but about being trusted and trust is hard to earn, easy to lose. This book understands that.

Slavko Vincic, 2024 Champions League final referee

Loving football from the perspective of someone who enforces the rules gives you a different way of seeing the game. This book captures the complexity of an often criticised role and the emotional weight referees carry. It shows the human being behind the referee – their emotions, his fears, and joys.

Marco Guida, Champions League and Serie A referee

William Ralston reveals the reality of refereeing. Ritually abused and remorselessly undermined by the VAR system, referees still know what they’re doing.

Michael Calvin, author of THE NOWHERE MEN

An important and deeply human portrait of referees — crucial in a football culture increasingly shaped by suspicion and conspiracy theories.

Carlos Clos Gómez, Director of VAR in La Liga

At last a book on the referees that does justice to their incredible and irreplaceable contribution to football. In contrast to the dimwitted caricatures that dominate fan cultures, William Ralston’s impossible job - by turns sharp empathetic and funny - captures elite referee’s humanity, integrity and talents. It is hard after reading this book not to see referees, not to see referees who facet impossible and contradictory demands of the game, as the heroes of the spectacle.

David Goldblatt, author of THE BALL IS ROUND

Meticulously researched and superbly written, this book takes you behind the scenes like never before. A must for all football fans.

Darren Cann, 2010 World Cup Final Assistant Referee

The Impossible Job delves deep into the emotional rollercoaster that is refereeing, revealing the demands and challenges faced by referees at all levels like never before.

Anthony Taylor, Premier League and Champions League referee

A brilliantly researched and impeccably written study of the most misunderstood position in football. Ralston uses his access, contacts and first-hand experience to cut through decades of rage, prejudice and wilful ignorance, and in so doing achieves the impossible feat: depicting referees as recognisably human.

Jonathan Liew

A gripping, immersive, and deeply humane portrait of a group of people whose work has long been unseen and misunderstood.

Rory Smith, author of EXPECTED GOALS

An amazing book offering very valuable, insightful perspectives on refereeing at the highest international level. William Ralston has conducted remarkable interviews and got remarkable responses. His work is really profound and offers a deep, detailed, and thoughtful examination of the role of referees. It can make a significant contribution to helping referees gain an even greater understanding of their demanding and challenging work. I am pleased that our referees were able to contribute their part to this through their discussions with the author.

Knut Kircher, Managing Director of Sports and Communications in the DFB Schiri GmbH

A superb insight into football's most misunderstood subject. We all read the game differently—but do we really know the rules?

Jamie Carragher