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Anyone who referees soccer, knows how challenging it can be, even before including keeping an eye on the clock. Thankfully in sports such as basketball, ice hockey and football, this is already done for you. However, with sports such as soccer and rugby, you must always be aware of the time whilst you’re trying to manage the game.
Refereeing soccer games is one of the few professions where a watch is 100% necessary. You simply cannot referee a soccer game without an accurate and reliable watch. If you lose track of time or forget what you’re doing for even a couple of minutes, this could have disasterous consequences for the game and your performance.
In summary, there is always something that you need to think when you’re refeering. Whether this is remembering to caution a player with a yellow card after playing a long advantage. Or simply packing all of your equipment before the game so you don’t turn up having forgotten your whistle. Therefore it is a good idea to simply set your watch and let it do the timekeeping for you. Sure, it’s ok to glance down at it every now and then, but you want to keep your focus on the game and not the time.
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One Or Two Watches?
Some soccer referees wear two watches. Whilst this is less common in modern day, where you’re able to use smartwatches and do two things at once. There still is something to be said for using two watches rather than one. Simply put, if you set one watch to count down from 45 minutes and use the other to allow for stopages in the game, you will get an exact amount of time that has elapsed. This is far superior to a rough guess. Of course, this can be done on a single watch, but is somewhat easier to do on two.
What To Look For In A Watch For Refereeing
Alarms / Vibrations
This is the main feature of any watch worth its salt. This way you’re able to set an alarm which is ideally both audible and physical, then simply forget about the time.
By using a digital watch with an alarm, you can actually focus on refereeing the game more. This will allow you to focus on the things that matter, whilst letting technology take care of what it does best.
Countdown Timers
Many watches are now custom-built for refeering and take this in to account. Soccer referee watches are particularly easy to find since this is the most popular sport in the world. It is very easy to scroll through Amazon and find many different brands which have 45 minute countdown timers. This makes it extremely easy to just push a button as soon as you blow your whistle and forget about everything until the alarm sounds.
However, there are not just watches made for soccer. Many watches have options for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40 minute intervals. This can be useful if you’re refereeing a sport such as rugby or are in a rare added-time scenario.
Waterproof
This should go without saying. Even if you’re lucky enough to live and referee in a sunny state such as California, it still rains 36 days per year in the dryest areas. This means that if you’ve been refereeing for any significant amount of time, you’re going to get caught in a downpour.
The last thing you want is to get caught up in a storm and for your watch to stop working. Granted, you may have a rough idea of how much time is left, but you will not know the exact amount. If the score was 3-0 with 5 minutes left, this may not be too much of an issue. But in a close game, every second matters.
Battery Life & Reliability
This is mostly a concern with smartwatches. Regular digital watches are very reliable and built to last. Almost every digital watch brand you can think of is made in Japan and will not let you down. Casio for example is well known for having digital watch batteries that last around 5 years before needing replacement. As a soccer game is 90 minutes, 5 years is a timeframe you don’t have to worry about.
In terms of smart watches, if you are diligent enough to charge your watch before each game, then you don’t have to think about battery life too much. However, if you’re a person who leaves things until the last minute, it may well be worth buying a smartwatch with a longer battery life (or a solar capacitor). This way you won’t get caught out 30 minutes into the game with your watch giving a red battery warning.
Inexpensive
Since you’re going to be using this watch one or two times per week for a couple of hours, it wouldn’t make sense to spend a whole lot of money on it. Referees watches are not stylish or fashionable, they are just made to do an important job.
Typically, digital watches are not particularly expensive anyway, so this is not too much of an issue. However, there is not much point in buying a high end G-Shock for $500 when you’re able to get something that does an equally as good job for 10x less than this.
The only exception to this rule is a smartwatch. If you buy a smartwatch, it should be an everyday wear which is also used for refereeing. Therefore you actually get to use it day-to-day and it’s worth spending a bit more.
Optional Features
Optional features are pretty much exclusive to smartwatches and are not needed for refereeing. With that said, you may want to know extra details about what your body is doing on the pitch.
For example, a heart rate monitor will tell you about the highs and lows during your 90 minute run around the field.
You’re also able to use fantastic apps designed for refereeing. RefSix for example keeps track of things like red and yellow cards, substitions, goals and of course time.
The Best Watches For Referees
Casio AE-1300WH-4AV Referee Timer
Hands down the ultimate referee watch. This Casio is built especially for referees of all sports. It is rugged, durable and has a massive 10 year battery life, so you will never have the worry about it running out mid-game.
You can run two stopwatches at the same time, as well as choose from a variety of preset countdown timers which are already stored in the watches memory. This makes the watch not just suitable for soccer referees, but pretty much any other sport you can think of as well. These timers are 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 12 & 10 minutes.
What makes this watch even better is the price. At well under $50, if this watch lasts you 10 years before the battery dies, that is under $5 per year, and even then you have the option to swap the battery out. You simply will not find a better value watch than this for referees.
Garmin Forerunner 245
Made primarily as a fitness tracking watch, the Forerunner 245 has a plethora of ways to track and analyse your fitness stats. This will be useful for measuring your activity during a match of soccer, as well as any other exercise you’re doing outside of this.
Unlike its predeccesors, the Forerunner 245 has a countdown timer which is precisely why its useful for referees. Prior to this model, many Garmin watches simply did not have this function. As a smartwatch, it’s a reasonable and average price for what you’re getting. So the fact it can be used as a referees watch too is a real deal breaker.
RefStuff
The RefStuff watch is a watch designed and made specifically for soccer referees. It is one of the few watches that was actually made for the sport. You are able to program team colors into the watch so you can keep track of the score on your wrist. This may seem like something you can do in your head, but every now and then there is a game which finishes 6-5 or 7-3. It can be easy to forget about a goal when this happens.
Of course the main feature with this watch is the 45 minute countdown (or count up) timer. You are able to set the watch so that both a vibrational and sound alarm go off when the 45 minutes have elapsed. RefStuff watches are a little on the expensive side, but this makes sense as they have had to design an entire watch around the game of soccer.
Casio G-Shock 6900
G-Shock watches are notoriously tough. So whatever sport you’re refereeing, this can handle whatever life throws at you and a whole lot more. G-Shock watches vary in price depending on the specifications, however the 6900 can always be picked up well under $100 and often closer to $50 when it’s on sale.
Unlike a standard watch designed for refereeing. You won’t have any problems wearing this in your day-to-day life as its pretty smart and normal looking. On the field, it has countdown timers, split time and an alarm function, so will be able to do everything that you need.
Samsung Galaxy Active 2
Much higher up the cost scale is the Samsung Galaxy Active 2. Of course, you would be crazy to spend this much on a referees watch, but this is a watch you can wear all the time, as well as refereeing.
It has many features you can use in regular life such as taking phone calls or using a GPS. In terms of sports functionality, it offers a fairly solid wrist based HRM as well as being compatible with the RefSix App. This app will take care of everything you need on the field such as goals, cards and minutes elapsed. The Galaxy Active 2 can pretty much function as your assistant on the weekends and a normal watch whenever you’re not refereeing.
