Aston Pauling-Murphy - player and ref!

We caught up with Waitemata FC's Aston Pauling-Murphy to talk about how he went from a footballer with our 14th grade team, to footballer AND referee!

When did you get into refereeing and why??

At the start of the year, the Club hosted a 9th grade festival (which my youngest brother was playing in) they needed referees, so I put my hand up to help out.  I really enjoyed refereeing the games.  From then, soon after I completed my community referee course which was a couple of hours one evening.  I started refereeing my little brother's games (9th grade Sharks & 11th grade Dragons), then last month I attended the level one referee course which was a full day.

You recently passed your level 1 and have been appointed as an official referee by Northern Regional Football (NRF) to the NRFL youth games. What's next in your refereeing journey?

Continuing to referee as many games as I can to gain experience and working my way to get my level two.  This requires refereeing a minimum of 10 NRF appointed games and passing the assessment.  

What advice would you give to any young people interested in taking up refereeing?

It's a lot of work, but it is fun and it pays off.  It is really good to know the rules more in-depth as a player.  If you choose to ref, when in the action make the call, be confident, back yourself and communicate well with the players and coaches!  

What is one Law Of The Game that you know that others might not?  

The goalkeeper cannot hold the ball for more than 6 seconds, once 6 seconds is up the referee will indicate that the goalie needs to release the ball.  If they do not release the ball within a couple of seconds, the ref can award an indirect free kick in the box to the opposition and the goalie is shown a yellow card.