Refereeing Commission identifies education and technology as key assets to drive further progress

Earlier this week, the members of the European Refereeing Commission (ERC) chaired by Arturo Di Giacomo convened at the home of European Volleyball in Luxembourg for their annual meeting, thereby laying ambitious plans to further improve the quality and consistency of refereeing at the highest level. 

The ERC will continue to utilise education as a key tool to pursue such a goal and have recently completed a full revamp of the materials made available through the CEV Officials Academy, previously known as CEV Campus, where international Volleyball and Beach Volleyball referees, Challenge referees, and Referee Coaches can retrieve all official documents, case studies, and much more. The ERC has established a task force whose members are due to analyse and respond to questions by members of the community, thereby providing much-needed feedback to elite and up-and-coming referees. This information will be made available to all users – thus ensuring not only that it is spread as quickly as possible, but also helping standardise and implement best practices for a smooth and efficient management of all matches. 

The European refereeing community, which currently includes some 400 international Volleyball and Beach Volleyball referees, continues to grow and evolve. Later this year, during the CEV EuroVolley 2026 Men, the ERC will deliver a seminar for Referee Coaches in Sofia, Bulgaria, whose primary aim is to align criteria, evaluation processes, and standards – so as to make sure that referees are mentored and supported by a qualified group of individuals all sharing the same drive and vision. 

Moreover, to inject ‘fresh blood’ and ensure the steady replacement of those referees who will soon retire due to age limits, the French city of Vichy will be playing host this coming May to a European International Referee Candidate Course (EIRCC), where those aiming to join the existing cohort of international match officials will familiarise themselves, among other things, with the latest technology implemented to support their work – from the video challenge system to the electronic score sheet and much more. 

While preparing a number of proposals for the CEV Board of Administration to review at their next meeting scheduled for early March, the ERC members did also discuss measures likely to make sure that their vision and philosophy is extended to Beach Volleyball as well, thereby providing consistency of policies and standards across the sport, with an emphasis on the use of new technology to improve the quality and effectiveness of the decision-making process.