Coach’s Perspective: The soccer referee crisis is upon us and needs to be addressed

There is a referee shortage at all different levels of soccer. (Getty Images)

The game of soccer is experiencing a referee shortage.

This issue is facing our youth, club and adult leagues here in New England, and elsewhere across the country. This crisis is not isolated to the game of soccer, as sports such as hockey are experiencing the same issues.

Here in New England, we are approaching our spring 2022 soccer season and the paucity of referees is certainly going to impact the game in ways that will be less than ideal. As League Director of the New England Premiership (NEP), this issue is one that I am personally looking to improve to support our upcoming spring season and all future seasons to come. In order to address the referee shortage, it is important to think about what contributed to causing it? It’s also important to strategize and push for ways in which we can improve the situation as we move forward.