The Whistle

On this episode of The Whistle, we hear from former A-League Assistant Referee and current NSWFRA Senior Vice-President, Nick Backo. Nick tells us about his progression as a football referee, which saw him awarded a spot as an Assistant Referee on the A-League Match Officials Panel. After making a key match error in only his second A-League match in 2012, Nick never received another appointment. We hear about how Nick was able to bounce back and stay involved in the game that he loves, despite the significant setback he faced during his time on the A-League. For the listeners, there is a lot of valuable takeaways about resilience in refereeing, and putting things into perspective.

In our second episode of The Whistle, we speak with Australia's newest FIFA Futsal Referee, Jonathon Moore. Jono shares his passion for fitness and cycling, as well as his pathway to FIFA, which he was nominated for in 2018. We hear about Jono's horrific cycling injury, which landed him in the ICU with 11 broken bones and a small brain bleed, 8 weeks before he was due to fly out for his first international tournament as a FIFA Referee! Jono also discusses some of his strategies for working with officials where English may not be their first language when overseas at international tournaments. There's something to take out for everyone from this episode!

Welcome to the very first episode of The Whistle! Today we welcome special guest and current FIFA Futsal Referee, Darius Turner to the show. We find about Darius' journey, and how he went from refereeing at his local Futsal competition to the world stage. Darius also reflects on his many experiences refereeing at the FFA National Futsal Championships, and how an email on his 30th birthday changed his life forever.