A proposal for refereeing rules that lowers the maximum age limit of 40 for starting a career in district football is aimed at combating a shortage of referees in Portugal, Fontelas Gomes told Lusa news agency on Wednesday.
The President of the Arbitration Board of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) argued that “the removal of the age limit would be the right step to attract more people to this activity”, opposing the reduction in the number of referees.
“This measure is the result of the constant dialogue that we have with the district associations and a deep knowledge of this reality. Anyone who wants to experience the function of a judge should be able to do so, regardless of age,” said Fontelas Gomes. .
Under the proposed arbitration rules, which have received public approval, there will no longer be a maximum age for starting to attend refereeing courses, which is currently set at 40 years old, and began directing county football games.
It is also envisaged to create a mechanism that will allow former players to automatically access the zero-level arbitrage course so that they can later be qualified to manage the games of district competitions.