RateTheRef

The issue shouldn’t be whether it has any involvement but whether or not it should have.
I am on the side of it being highly relevant and “local” referees should be avoided if at all possible.
If I may go slightly off topic I would also like to see referee’s marks made public so that we have an idea. If the assessment process and its ability to weed out those who need it.

The so called postcode rule did exist for may years before being binned so it could be argued that it was tried at length and decided to not be relevant after extensive use. As to whether that is right or wrong - when Keith Stroud lived in Dorset he was not allowed to referee AFCB yet when he moved to Hants he could. His home in Hants was far closer to Dean Court & AFCB come under Hants FA not Dorset so it was ridiculous. His neighbours would have been more likely to support Yeovil or Saints when he lived in Dorset than they were to support AFCB. He'd do a pre-season friendly & pop along often enough to do pitch inspections in winter but it took him moving a lot closer to the ground to be allowed to referee because he was technically in a different county to the ground. Never understood the logic. I do understand the arguments if it's only a few miles but using Stroud again - closer deemed him eligible under the postcode rule than further away but in the same county. FIFA refs often move so they are closer to an airport, should they then be barred from refereeing particular teams because they have moved to say Manchester because of the airport? My opinion is no. I'm one in agreement with it having been abolished, I know others don't share that opinion and that's fine.

In relation to part 2 - I agree but it will never happen!