You Are The Ref facts for kids
You Are The Ref is a fun British comic strip that has been around since 1957. It shows unusual and tricky situations that happen in football games. Then, it asks you, the reader, to decide what the referee should do!
This comic strip was created by a sports artist named Paul Trevillion. He is also famous for creating Roy of the Rovers, another well-known football comic. Many top referees have helped with You Are The Ref by giving the correct answers to the questions.
A book collecting some of these strips was released in 2006. From 2006 to 2016, you could find You Are The Ref online at theguardian.com and in The Observer newspaper.
Who Were the Referees?
When the comic strip moved to Shoot magazine in 1969, a famous referee named Stan Lover started helping out. He was in charge of the referees' group in London. Stan Lover would provide the official answers to the questions You Are The Ref asked every week.
Later on, other well-known referees took over from Stan Lover. These included Clive Thomas and then Keith Hackett. Keith Hackett was the one who gave the answers for the strips that appeared in The Observer newspaper.
What About Cricket?
There was also a version of the comic strip for cricket fans! It was called You Are The Umpire. Paul Trevillion, the same artist, drew this one too.
You Are The Umpire appeared in The Observer newspaper when football was not being played, usually during the off-season. This happened from 2007 to 2016. A cricket umpire named John Holder was the expert who provided the correct answers for the cricket questions.
