Referees in French professional football: from amateurs towards semi-professionals (1955-1995)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to better understand how French refereeing and its elite-level referees accomplished the transition from amateur to semi-professional during the second half of the twentieth century. We will endeavour to evaluate this through the analysis of its structural evolution while also reflecting upon the careers of several elite referees active during this transitionary period. This research will also discern the manner in which FIFA progressively exerted its authority over the federations and in particular over the Fédération Française de Football with regard to the administration of their referees. From 1955 to 1970, French refereeing was characterized by its amateurism, both through its structures as well as through its principal agents. During the 1970s, beginning with the implementation of the ‘Statut de l’arbitrage’, the Federation adopted a more hands-on policy towards refereeing. Between 1980 and 1995, however, French refereeing would increasingly take on an semi-professional posture.