Bill Eaton continues his enlightening referees column Tales from the Dark Side. This week he chats to James Sharples about how he got involved in becoming an official

AFTER finally giving up on playing again at 30 after two major knee operations and coaching not really appealing to me, as I still felt I had plenty of running in me.

Although I was advised against impact contact sports, I decided to give refereeing a go.

I put myself on the basic referees course at Lancashire FA, within two days I passed the test and away I went, or so I thought.

After playing football from the time I could walk, the transition to referee WAS hardly a smooth one.

I will always remember my first game and look back very fondly and with a smile.

I ran around and took up some great positions but my brain was still in player mode.

Players looked at me for the directions of throws and I would blankly stare back, put my arm up and hope for the best. I just couldn’t seem to remember I was the person who now had to make decisions, to be the referee.

I thought refereeing was easy; the laws aren’t too hard to remember, fouls and offsides are no problem. I could not have been more wrong.

As a player there can be slow parts of games where you can stand and let your team mates do their job.

As a referee, you are one person, for 90 minutes you are there to watch and apply the laws of the game.

I now very much appreciate that refereeing is skill like any other. However, if you work hard, practise and keep going you get better and the enjoyment or confidence grows.

My peers and colleagues have played an important role in my development.

When I look back to my first game, the decisions I made (or didn’t), I have to appreciate how far I have come, the people management skills I have developed, my increased knowledge of the law of the game.

The biggest secret of refereeing I never knew about was the support network behind every referee.

In games I am on my own but behind me there is my local referees society, Lancashire FA and league representatives who have always there when I have ever needed help or guidance because as a referee, I just want to become the best I can be.

The societies and leagues all want the same thing to make football a great experience for everyone.