A SENIOR figure in Herefordshire football has urged the county FA to deal with the shortage of referees 'immediately' or risk losing teams from the league.

A shortage of match officials has seen many fixtures this season go ahead without a man in the middle.

The Herefordshire Football Association has since written to clubs to see if any of those with floodlights would be prepared to host matches on a Friday evening to “alleviate the referee shortage on a Saturday”.

Andy Morris, chief executive of Westfields FC, said the current situation could have a “disastrous effect” on the future of the Herefordshire Premier Division.

Speaking shortly after Westfields Reserves played Hinton with a player manning the whistle, Morris said: “I know that this is a national problem in the grass roots game and not just a local problem but I feel that with social media and other ‘chat’ that’s going on, there is a growing need to sort this matter urgently.

“I think in the event that a referee is not going to attend a game then the secretary of both clubs need to be advised so advance plans can be made by both clubs on a Friday on Saturday to try and get an experienced player or club official to referee the game.

“Furthermore, it may well be that the Referees’ Development Officer could engage with all the clubs in the county league to have a meeting so that perhaps a referee’s examination could take place with all clubs so at least one person from each club could be experienced at knowing the rules of the game and handling a game on match days should the occasion arise where no referee is in attendance.

“I just feel that unless something is done immediately, this could drift on and cause problems with teams dropping out or not wishing to join this county league in the future. I know interest has been created from other counties such as Worcestershire and Shropshire with teams joining us and now is the time to grasp the nettle and develop this county league for the future of grass roots football.”