FOOTBALLERS generally enjoy the bulk of the spotlight in any game, and fittingly so, given they are and should be the true spectacles of any clash.

But around the world, and even in Jamaica, the referees are enjoying more recognition and incentive for their good work.

On the flip side, the advancement of television replay technology puts referees and their assistants directly beneath the microscope and errors are shown up more than ever before.

Against this backdrop, Jamaica’s own Courtney Campbell was thrilled after picking up the prize of top referee of the 2013-14 Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) season at Thursday’s Awards Ceremony at the Courtleigh Auditorium.

“It feels good sitting there and being recognised. It never used to happen in the past, but we are more recognised now,” the 45-year-old told the Jamaica Observer.

“I must thank the Jamaica Football Federation, Premier League Clubs Association and Professional Footballers Association of Jamaica for at least placing us as a very important stakeholder in the business.”

Campbell, no longer on the FIFA referees’ international list because he has just eclipsed the age limit, said he was not surprised he was the best throughout the RSPL competition.

“Experience says it all. It was expected. I’ve been an international referee for 10 years and working in the local leagues is somewhat different, but it’s the same 17 laws which govern football. We just go there and apply what we need to do and it works out,” he said.

Campbell, an authoritative figure on the pitch, who earlier this year became president of the Jamaica Football Referees Association (JFRA), spoke of how local spectators have hardened his resolve.

He noted the major difference between abusive fans at home and the ones on the international scene.

“The Jamaican spectators have built me for the international circuit. I don’t like to referee a game in Jamaica when there are no fans. Sometimes when you finish a game, going home you have to reminisce on what the fans said to you. And you play back the game in your mind to see where you have gone wrong.

“The fans in Jamaica are not violent, but they verbalise what they are doing. But on the international stage they will throw ‘you know what at you’. Refereeing in Jamaica, I’m very much comfortable,” he said.

Ricardo Morgan was the top assistant referee, while Anthony Cooke was the declared Commissioner of the Year.