THE refereeing crisis in Craven is on its way to being solved but officials are still concerned about the level of indiscipline in the game.

A sharp decline in the number of referees in recent years had put the future of the Craven League in doubt.

But a concerted effort by the league and the Craven FA to encourage people to take up the whistle - backed by the Craven Herald's Fair Play Trophy to encourage good behaviour towards referees - has seen the situation improve.

The number of active registered referees with the Craven League has increased from single figures to around the 25 mark over the last two years.

The pool of available officials has been further increased by referees from other leagues operating on an occasional basis in the Craven League and by qualified club volunteers stepping in when required.

The improvement has meant the league can sometimes ensure the whole fixture programme across four divisions has a qualified referee. It was not long ago that it only just had enough officials to guarantee a man in the middle in the premier division.

While officials in Craven are encouraged by the improvement of the refereeing situation, a concern remains at the increasing level of indiscipline on the field.

It seems that Craven League clubs are on the way to at least matching the total of around £5,000 which they had to pay in fines and costs to the West Riding County FA last season.

For the Craven Herald's Fair Play Trophy league table, see this week's paper.