President of Bermuda Referees' Association Richard Knight and acting secretary Cornell Castle have both backed the decision to postpone Sunday's season-opening Premier Division clash between North Village and Boulevard at BAA Field because of the no-show by official linesmen.

"I think (referee Leroy) Wilson made the right decision," said Knight yesterday.

"It's not just about getting the match played to make everybody happy. He has to consider the safety of the players first, the fairness of the match and would not choose people who would deliberately cheat.

"I don't think people deliberately really cheat, it's just that they make mistakes. And if they make a mistake then what are you going to do about it?"

Knight pointed out that it was always difficult to recruit volunteers who would satisfy both teams in the Premier League.

"You have to be very careful when you decide to play a match with volunteers," he said. "Maybe in the Commercial Division you can get away with it, but not at Premier Division level. At that level you definitely need three knowledgeable officials because football is in a state now where the least little mistake can cause chaos. A person who is only trying to help but makes a simple mistake could cause all hell to break loose.

"As the president for the association, I back the referee one hundred percent."

Castle also said referee (Curly Joe) Wilson, the only assigned BRA official to show up at the ground, was "justified" in his decision to call off the game, despite pleas from Boulevard officials to have the match go ahead as scheduled.

"I think the end result was justifiable. Even Boulevard's coach John Rebello mentioned an incident involving his club last season when unofficial referee assistants were used," said Castle.

Castle was referring to the match played between Somerset Trojans and Blazers, also scheduled on the first day of the league season last year in which controversy temporarily halted proceedings.

"I think Curly (Wilson) made the right decision because what if a team would have been leading 1-0 late in the match and a crucial call had to be made. Who would they (players, club officials) look to then? All hell would've broken loose!"

Castle said the match could have been played had at least one other official been present.

The former North Village player is currently sidelined with an injury and attended Sunday's contest as a spectator.

The Royal Gazette learned yesterday that another official, Greg Simons, had informed Bermuda Football Association officials on Friday that he would be unavailable for the match.

Meanwhile, BFA officials have arranged a meeting for today to discuss the matter at their headquarters on Cedar Avenue.

"We will be meeting with all the parties involved, mainly the two clubs and the referee tomorrow (today)," BFA general secretary David Sabir said yesterday.

"Hopefully we can get some sort of idea as to where we can go forward before discussing the matter any further with the media."

It is understood that both BFA and BRA members met only recently to address the referee shortage which has plagued the sport over the past few years.

"The BFA met with executives of the BRA prior to the start of the league season and we all recognised the reality of the current shortage of referees and the impact that it is going to have on the game," said Sabir.