Refs having to pay for training and uniforms | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

A prominent Hawke's Bay referee says Central Football isn't paying for their training or gear.

Preferring anonymity to avoid falling offside with the New Zealand Football Association's code of conduct by speaking to the media, the whistleblower tells SportToday claims from acting Central Football CEO Rod Pelosi that subscription money the governing body collects from schools and clubs is going towards referees' development and buying official gear is misleading.

"At the beginning of each season, we have to pay a $45 levy towards referees' development and training," the ref says, adding the rest of the money comes from 25 per cent of the payment they receive from each match they control.

"Referees receive somewhere in the vicinity of $27.50 a game of which about 75 per cent they pocket while the balance goes towards training and development."

The official said Central Football did not buy any uniforms for them but, on the odd occasion, the refs had secured sponsorship to help subsidise the cost.

Bay schools this year severed ties with Central Football and, by default, NZ Football, amid concerns the soccer bodies were using them as "cash cows".

Dissatisfied with a no-comment stance on accountability of where their subscriptions go, the Bay schools forged an alliance to administer their own competitions involving 75 teams.

Napier Boys' High School PE teacher Peter McGlashan, speaking on behalf of the ad hoc body, disclosed they appointed relieving Tamatea High School PE teacher Greg Kettle to run their league at almost one-third the cost Central Football sought.

At the crux of the impasse was a $30 plus GST fee for Central Football and a top-up of $15 a player for NZ Football, amounting to almost $450 a team. Kettle is now doing it for $100 a team via his website: gksports.co.nz

The schools also have to fork out $25 a game for referees to control first XI boys' matches on Saturday mornings.

Saying enough is enough, McGlashan's group is demanding accountability but haven't received any to date.

He does rue the absence of qualified refs for first XI matches after claiming Central Football "threatened" to discipline anyone caught officiating in or out of uniform.

Pelosi denies bully-boy tactics but the anonymous senior ref reaffirms they face a $500 fine and total ban from controlling matches in the beautiful game in an ultimate disciplinary measure clearly outlined in the code of conduct, which all clubs also sign.

"Why can't we referee our own kids' games?"

The official says refs always declare any conflicts of interest before all games allocated to them but, every so often, it is difficult to adhere to if there's a dearth of whistleblowers.

While they are volunteers, referees have to abide by the code but he agrees if the officials took an "industrial action" stance then NZ Football will be in strife.

"We enjoy refereeing, not politics or finances. If we were going to do it for money then we'd be working on Saturday and Sunday mornings," he says of the 20 officials who are affiliated to the Hawke's Bay branch of the Central Football Referees' Association.

"If a taxi picks me up and takes me to a game and then brings me back after the final whistle then I'd still do the job because I do it for the love of football."

The senior referee asked if NZ Football monitors officials paid to control futsal, indoor soccer and summer seven-a-side matches.

"They are getting paid but are those organisations paying affiliation fees?"

The official finds it abhorrent that Central Football charges so much money but has so little to show for it.

Its chairwoman, Johanna Wood, of Palmerston North, agrees the governing body's management across the region needs to be smarter and will aspire to redress that.

The anonymous ref claims youngsters also pay sizeable fees to clubs.

"Some charge up to $85 so where does all that money go?

'I don't agree. There's too much money going out of people's pockets that I don't see coming back in any form or shape."

Wood, via her deputy chairman, Mike Devonshire, of Hawke's Bay, has initiated discussions with NBHS headmaster Ross Brown to resolve the issue at the end of the season in a bid to ensure the Bay schools do not remain estranged from the "soccer family" next year.

Schools from other Central Football region, including Taranaki, Gisborne, Wanganui and Manawatu, have also dug their heels in over the perceived overcharging of fees.