With the 2022 football season, there has been a nationwide issue of referee shortages. Mission Hills High School played on Saturday and Thursday for games against Chaparral High School and Rancho Bernardo High School as a result of the shortage.
“The refs are one of the most important parts of the game, they are there to make sure the game is played the right way and if they do not enforce the rules the game will be ruined,” said senior David Leyva, left guard on the varsity football team.
Referees work in crews of 7 people, they stay in the same crew for different games. They travel around the country with a crew and call the games. With the shortage of refs, some teams might get under qualified refs that could change the outcome of a game.
“The refs are very important in a game, the refs could make or break the game, I had many times when some of the calls changed the outcome of the game,” said junior Keaton Smith, quarterback on the varsity football team.
Forty three different states have said they had a decline in refs in the country. According to the San Diego Football Association, the reason for the shortage of refs is the “unruly parents and fans.” Some spectators have been seen yelling or even threatening the refs and there have been some incidents where refs were physically assaulted.
“Some of the time I feel bad for the refs because they are trying their best and they get yelled at a lot,” said junior Robert Davis, a center on the varsity football team.
Last year there was a loss of 50,000 refs, not including the refs for Pop Warner games. Currently, the referees are paid around $90 for a varsity game and $45 for a Pop Warner game.
If more referees resign, some teams might have to cancel their games. Next year it’s predicted the refs will decline even more, which could result in some of next year’s games being played on a Thursday or a Saturday.