I Became A Football REFEREE For 24 Hours 

"If you swear again, I'll knock you out" - Ellis Platten 2024

29:20 is exactly why men’s mental health is where it is, it’s always a bit of banter as an excuse for horrible abuse. People need to look in a mirror

I don't think I've genuinely seen a bigger bunch of tossers than those group of fans and half the players, treating a charity match about mental health like a world cup final and genuinely seemingly upsetting alfie

Actually sad how aggressive the players were to you on the pitch. And those crowd members saying it's only "Banter" is awful.

"Seriously, let's stick together!" Ellis in the game: "I thought you were on, it was my lino." 🤣🤣

repeatedly telling grown men to “shush” in a charity match was my highlight ellis 😭😭

You understand why teams cannot get officials for games Also the camera man on the line at half time was spot on and absolutely correct

The room full of players not reacting to Ellis is pure away days

Shoutout to the videographer who backed you all at half-time. To disguise that abuse as "banter" is awful, and a disgrace, considering what you were all there for. Great video, if not stressful to watch at times - I'll stick to 5-a-side!

Genuinely embarrassing how some people are acting in a charity match. This is just a microcosm of what officials go through every week. Imagine turning up to a charity game, abusing referees and hiding behind "it's banter when it's at football" Genuinely well done, lads.

The progression from “shhhhh” to “shush” to “shut up” is beautiful from Ellis

I genuinely feel you are the only man on the planet who could ref a charity game this nasty 🤣

From my experience as a referee adult games either go two ways. 1. They are easy and they accept the fouls you called. With maybe one or two complaints. 2. They complain about everything for 90 minutes. But definitely beats dealing with the parents at the lower youth games.

We all get a bit passionate when we watch football but this was a joke. It's a charity match, it's not the World Cup final. Lighten up and enjoy the occasion and remember who the charity is and what it represents! Well done Ellis, Alfie and Ed for understanding the occasion unlike seemingly everyone else there.

When I was in my late teens I did a course to referee u16s, my brother was playing that league and I thought it might be a good way of helping out as they always struggled finding refs. I explained to the kids it was my first game, they were cool with that and mostly didn't have an issue with my calls. But the parents were super aggressive, challenging every whistle, every call. There was a lady who genuinely told me she wished I'd hang myself and that I should be ashamed. I finished the game, got to the dressing room and cried. It was a horrible experience and I never refereed football again.

A few observations. Firstly- there are a lot of supposed 'men' who played that match who need to take a long hard look in the mirror. Embarrassing, tilted and deserving of a wake up call. Secondly- Ed, Alfie- well done lads. You did so well to hold up throughout. You should be very proud of yourselves. And thirdly- my god Ellis, you absolutely smashed that. There's a reason this channel is a success and that is you. I can't think of anyone I know who could have done what you did there. Absolutely fair play to you and maximum respect from a fellow Norwich local. If I see you in a pub you'll have a beer on me (0% of course if you're still not drinking) for sure.

Ellis. Really liked all the chat during the match. Alfie. Just wanted to give you a big hug. Ed. You deserved everything you got for posing in those boots.

You know Ellis you could be a great referee if you really wanted to. You have the character and personality, to really master the craft. And they might pay well. I don’t know how much they pay in England but in the USA it’s good. One of my favorite videos you’ve made. Loved it! ⚽️

Genuinely stressful to watch, but brilliant effort lads

"you're so far behind I'm still in a relationship!" - Ellis 2024

For a charity match that was hard work! Fair play to you all, and special mention for Alfie's touch😮‍💨

"ITS FOOTBALL SO ITS BANTER" And that there is why people dont feel confident to speak out

giving abuse then saying it’s just banter is part of the problem. thanks for promoting Andy’s Man Club, even though I’ve never been to them I know all about what they do and I’ve suffered badly with my mental health lately so it’s good to promote the message that it’s okay to talk about it

Ellis might be born to be a ref. He handled that a lot better than 95% of people would have, PGMOL Refs would have caked their duds if they had to deal with that, never mind the copious misuse of VAR.

Unreal video! Was a pleasure to be involved in the production behind the camera!

“HANBAAAALLL” “SHUSH” elite tension management from Ellis 😂

Loving this mate being a survivor of suicide myself one of my favourite sponsors you’ve been with so far amazing video once again

Ellis actually showed that he has a bit about him with how he acted in this game 👏 but yes this has completely confirmed that I don’t miss Sunday league 😅 so toxic

Nice of Ellis and Ed to bring their adopted child along. So cute

Great reason, I sponsor a player for my ice hockey team and on the back I've chosen to have Andy's Man Club. Anyone who has ever done any officiating in any sports even juniors, knows how hard and overawing it is.

That bald guy needs to calm down and realise he is in a charity game and not a premier league game things can slide in a Charity match

The 22 men who played in that match should be embarrassed genuinely 😂😂

I never realized how short Alfie actually is

I played in this game, the main bit you got of me was me grassing on one of the referee players saying he said he was gonna kill me 😂 cheers Ellis 👍🏻

I’ve just finished my third season of refereeing and I’m glad this video shows the brutality of what we got though sometimes 😂

Motm performance from the cameraman having a word to the blokes on the sideline 😅👌

What a truly awful group of people on that pitch, would put you off joining Andy’s Man Club for life.

Ellis is genuinely good at this. Albeit he signed off on the edit

The crowd saying its banter obviously need a refund from the charm school

The big bald guy with the beard on the blue team is an absolute menace 😂

The complete switch in dynamic between Ellis and Alfie in this video compared to the gaffers is so funny 🤣

Cracking video for a life saving cause. The irony that the fact a team of referees spent the majority of the game abusing the referee though.. Wow.

One of the funniest videos I’ve ever watched. “You’re so far back I’m still in a relationship” is so funny. And Alfie with “Indian is on the menu tonight and it’s an all you can eat buffet” was hilarious. As a ref myself you were all shocking 😂 but all worth it for a great cause

I lost a friend to suicide last year, and it’s the worst thing. I miss him so much, and I’ll never forget what he’s done for me in life.

"ed, you are so far behind play im still in a relationship" might be the greatest thing utter in awaydays history

Every decision whether it was right or wrong the players argued about 😂 unbelievable Jeff

Ellis thank you so much for doing this, I'm one of the facilitators for Andy's Man Club in Plymouth, and the work thr charity do is simply amazing. The lives that have been saved because men have a non judgemental place to just talk is unbelievable. You also get free tea/coffee and biscuits! On the other hand I thought you refereed that really well. Clear communication and tried to let it flow

Having been a ref for several years, this is actually relatively tame, kids games are the worst, full grown adults thinking their kid is the next Messi, kicking off over an offside in a 4-0 league match, Ellis maintained great control of the pitch tbf to him and stood up for himself well, just don’t be afraid to card players for Dissent, at least 4 of those blues would be getting a yellow in one of my games but then the paperwork doesn’t bother me ;) always bound to be a struggle with the assistant team he had, hope his fourth was top notch🙃 Nice work for a good cause though!

46:43 "I didn't realise you were a RU-vidr, not a Lino" Mate, NO ONE is a Lino, people just volunteer because no one else there can. They're not professionals at that level! This is part of the problem with grassroots culture and the frequent official disrespect within - everyone expects correct decisions every time, and give grief even if they are correct. They can't win! Anyway, awesome video guys, great job done by all three of you

As a facilitator at Andy’s Man Club. This is very close to my heart. It’s great the work you’ve done on this video to promote AMC and trying to help end the stigma that it’s okay to talk and admit you’ve got a problem in your head. Great work mate and thank you❤️

You learn quickly, as a referee, there is no such thing as a "friendly" game, even a charity one.

Tough debut refereeing in Bradford hahah. Respect the bravery. Class video

As soon as you kicked off I thought, I bet he hasn’t started his watch 😂 I did refereeing for 8 years started when I was 15. Really enjoyed it but struggled with the commitment of wanting to go to watch football at the weekend. Especially with so many games being moved to Sundays. Found it a lot easier to referee 22 adults rather than dealing with parents for the kids games. Think you did well certainly confident with your communication with the players and explaining decisions. Just a shame about the incompetent assistants!

you know what, fair play to all 3 of you, done well officiating that

26:05 the advantage for the handball for the wrong team has to be the highlight for me

This was absolutely amazing to watch. You guys as managers and refs have been my favourite so far. "Indians on the menu" my personal favourite from Alfie. So good well done guys.

eds commentary is gold. this is literally an episode of peep show

I think I learned more British slang in this one video, then I have since I started watching your content late last year. This was hilarious to watch, and it's cool that it goes to a great cause.

Ellis was actually a quality ref 😂 unreal video 👏

Ellis was much better than I expected lmao

Much respect using your platform to speak about mens mental health. Means a lot to people like me.

Alfie voice was trembling with pending tears 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

As a former licensed official, Ellis you have a great personality for the job. Great work considering the circumstances. Definitely did your job better than those painters and plumbers did. 😂

Very appreciative that you are supporting mens mental heath, Ellis. Cheers buddy much love

Suffered with gambling addiction and mental health for years year gamble free and year drink free. followed you since day one. Class what you are doin 💙👊

This was a brilliant video for a fantastic cause. Well done you three for putting yourselves out there and raising awareness for this charity. As someone who is currently going through this type of crisis, there needs to be be more open discussion surrounding men's suicide and mental health. Well done again.

You need to do this as a series. Side channel was class to watch it. 😂 Your best content in a long time. Well done. Need Ben as a 4th official 😂

Fantastic video, you should be rightly proud of the story telling you brought to this. You made a great advert for the charity too, and easily the most powerful moment was when you told off the gobby lot who were giving your team such grief. Well done mate.

As someone who is struggling with mental health and also a former referee, I have never laughed so hard in my life. Such a great video and cause, although some took it more serious than others haha! Great work Ellis, Alfie and Ed!

What a great video. More reffing please!! Ellis and Alfie were hilarious. Well done!

Need a part 2 of this, so good! Ellis you’re genuinely a natural ref, and fair play for telling these idiots to shush 😂🤫

24 hours?! That’s a lot of extra time.

" i bottled that one," I reckon those lines have been uttered at Stockley Park many times 😂

That was fantastic, i love the longer videos too, some great moments in that Ellis was very good at keeping calm with the abuse except when he said he was gonna knock someone out haha that was hilarious

As a rugby referee I cannot beleive the amount of abuse that was going on especially for a charity game. Fair play to you for keeping a cool head and trying to make the game flow and reminding people the reason they were there. Great communication and interaction with the players, even if it wasnt returned. Genuinly think you've got a great foundation to try and give it a go a bit more. I appreciate you may not want to!

I've filled in as an equally inexperienced referee in a floor hockey tournament and while I didn't get quite as much abuse, just knowing how far out of my depth I was was mentally exhausting. I knew how this vid was gonna go, it was painful to watch but the three of you did a great job considering the circumstances. Glad that cooler heads prevailed after the match.

Huge props to you for doing that (I know I couldn't), but also for being so open and speaking about MH.

A 50 minute awaydays video? Never have I been this hard, thank you Ellis

Fair enough it’s only a charity game but football is competitive. FairPlay to you guys for stepping up and giving it a go. Ellis is a ref in the making. Ed, well I don’t think you’ll quite make it and Alfie just lost it and gave up and no one likes that. Great episode.

Phenomenal Video, Ellis! I hope Alfie recovered and didn't have a Mini B on the way home. Ed...those boots 🤌🏽

Watching this what I assume is at least a week after it was a filmed and I know Alfie is still having multiple moments a day where he reminisces over the feeling of approval after that touch in the first half

I thought you was great that day Ellis. Thanks for reffing. I, also, forgot to start my watch on the first ever game i reffed.

This was a really good video for a good cause, and honestly ellis you did really well, i think ed and alfie did well aswell to be honest, for all of your first time reffing, it must have been terrifying LOL, to the person saying "when its football its banter" they need to have a hard look at themselves, and think if it was happening to them how would they feel. Props to the cameraman for calling them out. Amazing content as always keep up the great work, and congrats on 400k! 👍👍

Such a good video, content is next level at the moment! You've got some great people around you.

Honestly one of the best videos this channel has ever seen, pure class and fair play to Alfie for editing this with all the subtitles 😂

Brilliant content guys, i genuinely enjoy everything you's upload. I thought you all conducted yourselfs brillaintly, thanks for making my days a little brighter

Requesting more Alfie on the channel, even without the beard. What an absolute legend he comes across as. I think he’s earned a few overseas trips with the Lino swagger

This video reminded me of why I don’t play Sunday League anymore 😂 Bunch of 40 year old men trying to injure each other for 90 minutes

The best one yet & you've all made some great videos. I hope it gets the support it deserves. Keep it up. Ed was Ed, Ellis crumbled 😅😅 & I thought you were actually really good which was a surprise 🤷.. Can't wait for the next one.

Absolute cinema, great video mate enjoyed every sec of it

Liked the chat by the ref during the game - well done - ellis and the linos

This could be my most favourite video ever, so many quotes to take from it. Think Ellis done very well as a ref, Alfie cracking me up the whole video and Ed don’t think of taking up a career as a Lino.

One of your best videos ever. Loved it! 👏

I just wanna give props to Ed for that quality throw in call, great job.

The thing about being a ref I think is that you can't turn out to any game and expect it to be a friendly kick-about. Football gets heated even when playing with friends. Therefore, as a ref you need to take control and get respect early on. I think you conducted yourself well in the game, however some of the challenges should deffo have been carded early on to set a precedent.

Alfie getting someone to apologise to him is hilarious

It’s insane the abuse especially when you can see some of the decisions are so unbelievably correct haha also a charity game why do they care so much 😂about

One of your best videos Ellis! really enjoyed this one with you three

Genuinely proud of you lads, well done for sticking up for yourselves and calling out of order behaviour and raising awareness for a great charity 👍

Utter chaos. Some of your best work yet. Incredible.