Buzzin Football

You Are The Ref: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide To The Laws Of Football

You Are The Ref: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide To The Laws Of Football by Paul Trevillion and Keith Hackett with a foreword by England goalkeeper David James

As a boy growing up in the 1970s my life was filled with two things: football and music.

Each week I would buy a copy of Shoot the football magazine for all the football news, photos of footballers leaning against flash cars or eating exotic food like corn-on-the-cob (Mick McGiven of Sunderland – why I remember that I don’t know!) and of course the weekly cartoon strip You Are The Ref.

Who can forget the cult classic comic strip from Roy of the Rovers artist Paul Trevillion.

You Are The Ref put you under the spotlight and ask the question: what would you decide?

Observer Books has published a beautiful book with six main sections, the first is an introduction to You Are The Ref including profiles of artist Paul Trevillion and former referee Keith Hackett, the voice of You Are The Ref since 1981.  The second and main section of just under 100 pages is actual You Are The Ref cartoon illustrations where a scenario is explained and you are asked to make a decision.  My favourites include:

“At half-time in a non-league game you notice one of the goalkeepers going into the ladies toilet. You approach the manager, who admits the keeper is female. The opposition manager demands you abandon the game.  What do you do?”

“As a player runs in to take a crucial penalty in blustery conditions, a carrier bag, caught by a gust of wind, wraps itself around his face.  He miskicks – but the keeper, in hysterics, makes no attempt to stop the ball.  It rolls into the net.  What do you award?”

The main section shows amazing illustrations by Paul Trevillion of current football superstars and Jimmy Bullard from all over the world along with player facts and information.  The You Are The Ref comic strips are interspersed with a great selection of 15 all-time World Cup icons chosen by Paul Trevillion.  These include facts and illustrations of great footballers from the 1960s onwards, the likes of Gordon Banks, Michel Platini, Paolo Rossi, Geoff Hurst, Bobby Charlton, Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne & Johan Cruyff.

In a short third section there are explanations of 18 laws of football including the offside rule.  Further sections include the official signals made by a linesman, or to give then their correct title Assistant Referees; followed by a few pages on how to become, and what it’s like being, a referee.

The last section of the book briefly explains how you can learn to draw like Paul Trevillion, though this is a bit ambitious in just four pages. Draw Like Trevillion uses the current England manager Fabio Capello, as an example.

Following a dismal World Cup where England fans have once again been let down by the so-called ‘golden generation’ You Are The Ref is the perfect book to rekindle some truly golden memories of when football boots were made of leather and football shirts were made of cotton.

The comic strip continues to this day in The Observer during the football season.

You Are The Ref: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide To The Laws Of Football by Paul Trevillion and Keith Hackett is published by Observer Books.