There are numerous things with this league that need immediate attention and the officials are definitely one of those problems that needs addressing. The level of officiating is sub standard at the very best at present. It is something this league has suffered with for many many years, however, I have never seen it as inconsistent or poorly managed as it is now.
Years ago the league used to be a lot more physical and each team would have at least 1 player in the enforcer role which no longer seems to be the case. My point bieng is we now have 4 officials on the ice, 2 referees and 2 lines persons. This may have been something we could have needed way back when the league had a reputation for physical play as it was always good to have the extra pair of eyes on the ice.
However, with the league bieng a lot......... Softer(?) these days I think we could manage with 1 referee and 2 lines persons. I do appreciate the pace of the game is quicker, however, there are a lot less off the puck incidents to look out for and manage.
Therefore...... Could we not look at saving the costs for each game by reverting back to 1 referee and 2 linos, this would save a considerable amount of money for each game night throughout the UK.
This money could then be spent on bringing in QUALITY European referees whilst keeping our British Lines persons who are coming through the development stages and aspire to be referees. By doing this the British Linos would be watching and learning from the more experienced referees on a regular basis and in time, and I wouldnt image to much time, they could develop into a much better and more consistent official.
This could also be taken a stage further and they could then be given opportunities to referee a game (Possibly in a lower league) when they are upto a required standard and a video of their performance throughout referring each of those games could be sent to an independent panel of referees based in Europe who assess their performance. When a minimum of say 10 games have been deemed by that panel as bieng competent then they could be signed off and promoted to referee status obviously ONLY after passing a knowledge based examination on the rules and regulations of the game.
They then continue to do a probationary period of refereeing games which are either dip sampled or assessed in some form and after the SUCCESSFUL completion of the Probationary Period they are signed of on a permanent basis but assessed on their knowledge of the rules and regulations say every 2 years.
By doing this it would bring our current and aspiring referees and linos more up the standard of the European officials and would ensure that they have the sufficient knowledge, skillset and experience behind them to take charge of games going forward.
Some of you will agree, some won't and some maybe will be impartial but please all be respectful that this is only an idea.