RULES OR LAWS, REFEREES OR UMPIRES.

Yesterday's blog on referees (the man in the middle) brought a sack load of correspondence to me asking about the differences between referees and umpires, laws and rules.

Early notes on the origins of the game of association football make reference to the two officials, who were called "umpires". One drawn from each team and they were confined to the touchlines and held a copy of the agreed rules. It should be remembered that some teams had their own "local" rules and any differences had to be considered before the game started.

The official "rules" mentions umpires in 1874, although we all know that the "Rules of Association Football" were first published in 1863 and in those 13 rules, no mention was made of any arbitrator.

Captains (only) would "call" for a foul or draw the referee's attention to a rule infringement, rather than the referee initiating a matter. These days of course anybody who fancies can make a claim but then that is how the game has lost its dignity.

Later in the 1870s, the third official was introduced to the game in case the two umpires disagreed. So the umpires referred to the third person who became known as the referee. He made it into the FA Rule Book in 1881. It was not until 1891 that the referee was given full control over the game and he became a compulsory fixture.

In 1898, the referee became the soul power with neutral linesmen replacing the club umpires.

The original Rules of Association Football are documented in the photograph and they show the "rules" as originally decided by a meeting of the F.A. on Monday 26th October 1863 by Ebenezer Cobb Morley at the Freemasons' Tavern, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.

Those present were:
The Wanderers Club-representatives from Oxford and Cambridge Universities, The No Names (NN) of Kilburn, Barnes FC, The War Office, Crusaders, Furnival House Blackheath, Kingston School, Surbiton, Blackheath School and Charterhouse School.

Further meetings were necessary to classify and codify what became known as the Rule Book. After much deliberation, mainly about whether a player could pick up the ball and run with it, the final meeting was held on December 8th. Association Football was born. Thirteen Rules were published and since then much has changed. Mostly, the game is no longer akin to rugby as handling the ball was outlawed (outruled??).

So the use of the word "rules" appears to be accepted although some "experts" may insist on using "laws". Rules appear in most references. We now have referees and assistant referees, no longer do umpires exist!
In the end it is just down to "semantics". Romantic innit?