IREF Courses
IREF currently offers three courses — two designed for referees and one for coaches and club administrators.
IREF Basics Course
The standard course for all first-time referees. Covers mindset, laws, mechanics, game-day preparation, and game management.
IREF Advanced Course
For referees who’ve completed the Basics course and want to sharpen their match management skills.
Ask the Ref
For coaches and club administrators who want a better understanding of soccer rules and referee decisions.
IREF Basics Course
The IREF Basics Course is required for all first-time referees. It covers five modules designed to prepare you for everything that happens on and off the field: mindset, laws, mechanics, game-day preparation, and game management.
This course breaks down the mindset of players, parents, coaches, and referees — why they think and act the way they do. It covers the laws of the game, including rules unique to recreational and training leagues. And it teaches the mechanics: signals, whistle etiquette, field positioning, fitness, game-day preparation, foul recognition, and how to handle aggressive players, parents, and coaches.
Course Modules
- The Secret Sauce
- Laws of the Game
- Mental Ninja: Applying the Sauce
- You Make the Call
- Assessment
Upon completing the IREF Basics Course, first-time referees receive a welcome package including their IREF patch, red and yellow cards, and a certificate for the calendar year. Uniforms, whistles, and reffing flags are also available.
IREF Advanced Course: Match Management
Available to referees who pass an intermediate laws test with 90% or higher. This course covers advanced match management in depth: fear, optics, mechanics for referees and assistant referees, the Secret Sauce of match management, communication and positioning, and fitness and game-day preparation.
This is an annual course. It shares components with the Basics course but covers the finer points of refereeing in much greater detail.
Ask the Ref: Annual Course
This course is open to coaches and club administrators. It covers the most misunderstood calls and procedures in soccer: signals, the taking of free kicks, handling, advantage, what constitutes dissent, how to communicate with a referee, and how to support the referee crew.