A group of 19 referees and assessors from Canada Soccer’s
\u200bReferee Program were called to Prince Edward Island in August, appointed to the
\u200bCanadian Premier League’s Island Games. The abridged second season of the country’s
\u200bcoast to coast professional league, is being hosted in Charlottetown, PEI,
\u200binside a bubble to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The competition’s champion
\u200bwill be granted entry in to the 2020 Canadian Championship Final with a spot in
\u200bthe 2020 Concacaf Champions League.
For many of the sixteen referees, the Island Games has
\u200bprovided an opportunity to regularly officiate top-level matches as they continue
\u200btheir development as top level referees with prestigious national and
\u200binternational appointments and standing on the Canada Soccer and FIFA List of Referees.
\u200bA place in the bubble required each referee to self-isolate for fourteen days
\u200bbefore departure and required a negative COVID-19 test before arrival.
“It
\u200bwas not easy, but as a high-level referee you often have to make those
\u200bdifficult decisions,” said Quebec’s Myriam Marcotte, the sole referee on the
\u200bFIFA List of Officials in Charlottetown. “I was physically ready, so I only had
\u200bto adapt a little bit my training to allow a little more game preparation, but
\u200bother than that I was good to go. The most difficult part was to
\u200bquarantine.”
The group of referees includes Carly Shaw-Maclaren, Filip
\u200bDujic, Pierre-Luc Lauzière, Myriam Marcotte, Juan Marquez, Yusri Rudolf, David
\u200bBarrie, Mathieu Souaré, Gabrielle Lemieux, Lyes Afra, Travis Lefebvre, Stefan
\u200bTanaka-Freundt, Sean Hornsby, Philippe Bettez- Quessy, Jason Olinski, Michael
\u200bHood, assessors Joe Audi, Robert Sawtell, and Isaac Raymond, Canada Soccer’s
\u200bManager, Referees.
“It’s always a feeling of pride and
\u200baccomplishment to be appointed to any game or tournament by Canada Soccer,”
\u200bsaid Ontario’s Sean Hornsby. “This particular event came as a relief – soccer
\u200bis such a huge part of my life and without having a season due to the pandemic,
\u200bI felt a bit lost. Knowing this tournament was going
\u200bto happen was like a breath of fresh air.”
For the members of Canada Soccer’s NEXTGEN List, Hood and
\u200bOlinski, the Island Games provided an opportunity to receive top-level matches
\u200band valuable experience. As they look to make the jump to the Canada Soccer
\u200bNational List, they can see the pathway up close with NEXTGEN graduate and
\u200bnewly minted Canada Soccer List Referee Carly Shaw-Maclaren at the Island Games.
“This
\u200bexperience has allowed me to referee my first professional soccer games in such
\u200ba short period of time,” said British Columbia’s Shaw-Maclaren. “This exposure
\u200bhas helped me gain confidence in the professional game and I will be able to
\u200bapply this next season.”
With
\u200bthe kickoff of the four-team Group Stage on 9 September, six matches remain for
\u200bthe referees to make their mark and potentially earn an Island Games Final
\u200bappointment on 19 September.
For information on Canada Soccer’s Referee Program including details on the National List, match appointments, profile details, media files, and more visit: migmultidev-canada-soccer.pantheonsite.io/referee.