Five a-side footballers have sympathised with the job referees have in trying to control them and the action on the pitch.

But they believe that referees themselves can help make officiating small-sided football easier.

One Hampshire referee has spoken out about the "grief" associated with refereeing fast-paced small-sided football with its potential for "volatile flashpoints."

Greg Dickson, said: "I regularly hear about issues in small-sided football. I feel people's tempers are more likely to boil over more quickly in a small area than on an outdoor pitch. I don't think small-sided football does refereeing any good.

"I have been offered the chance to referee indoors in Basingstoke but why would I do that? Why should I drive all the way there, get some grief and drive all the way back in one evening.

"Small-sided football can be a volatile situation. On an outdoor pitch there's more players and some would probably walk away from flashpoints and leave any protagonists to it. But in small-sided football there are only five against five and everyone is more likely to join in."

And a straw-poll of players at JD 5's Wednesday night five-a-side league at Eastleigh's Silverlake Stadium showed that players seemed to agree with Dickson that refereeing small-sided football is a tough job.

For full story see Monday Sport.