Terms of Service

FindaRef is a referee matchmaking platform operated by FindaRef Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17238017, with its registered office at 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX. We connect FA-registered referees with football match organisers across the UK using automated matching, email, and in-app notifications.

We are a technology platform. We do not employ referees, organise matches, or supervise fixtures. Where a match fee is paid through the platform, we facilitate that payment through our payment processor (Stripe); Stripe, not FindaRef, holds and moves the money (see section 6). We are not a party to the officiating arrangement itself, which is between the referee and the organiser.

By creating a FindaRef account you agree to these terms and our Privacy Policy, Acceptable Use Policy, and Safeguarding Policy. These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

If you do not agree to any of these, do not use the platform.

Referees join FindaRef free of charge. There are no subscription fees for referees.

To use the platform you must:

• Hold a valid FA registration at the grade you list
• Be 16 or over (under-18s require a parent or guardian to manage the account)
• Keep your availability accurate and up to date
• Accept or decline fixture offers within the stated response window
• Honour confirmed fixtures or cancel with reasonable notice

FindaRef may suspend or remove accounts that misrepresent qualifications, consistently fail to honour confirmed fixtures, or breach our Acceptable Use Policy. Three late cancellations within 90 days may result in a temporary suspension.

Organisers access FindaRef via a paid subscription. Subscriptions give you access to our automated referee matching service.

To use the platform you must:

• Provide accurate fixture details including date, time, location, grade required, and whether minors are involved
• Ensure safeguarding arrangements are in place for any fixture involving participants under 18
• Treat matched referees professionally
• Avoid repeated last-minute cancellations

FindaRef does not guarantee that a referee will be found for every fixture. Matching depends on availability, grade, location, and other eligibility factors.

Organiser subscriptions are billed via Stripe. Current subscription tiers, prices, fixture limits, and any free option are shown on our pricing page and at checkout before you subscribe.

We may change our subscription tiers and fees from time to time. The prices that apply are always those shown on the pricing page and at checkout. A change to the price of a recurring subscription takes effect from your next billing period after we give you reasonable notice, and you can cancel before it takes effect if you do not accept the change.

All plans include a 14-day free trial. Your trial converts to a paid plan automatically unless cancelled before it ends. No refunds are issued for partial months. You can cancel at any time from your account settings. Access continues until the end of the current billing period.

Subscription fees are for access to the FindaRef matching service. They are separate from match fees. Where an organiser pays a referee's match fee through the platform, that payment and any platform fee on it are covered by section 6.

All prices are exclusive of VAT. VAT will be added where applicable at the prevailing rate.

Organisers can pay a referee's match fee through the platform. This section explains how that works. Paying through the platform is optional; where it is not used, any fee is a private arrangement between the organiser and the referee and this section does not apply.

Who holds the money. Payments are processed by Stripe using Stripe Connect. When an organiser pays, the funds are held on a Stripe-operated balance. FindaRef never receives, holds, or controls the money. To receive payments, a referee completes Stripe's onboarding and accepts the Stripe Connected Account Agreement; their balance and any withdrawal are operated by Stripe, not FindaRef.

Platform fee. FindaRef charges a platform fee (a matchmaking fee) on match-fee payments. The fee is charged to the organiser and the amount is shown before the organiser confirms payment. The referee receives their full agreed fee.

Saving a card (autopay). Organisers can optionally save a card so that confirming a referee funds the fixture automatically, without re-entering card details each time. The card is held by Stripe; FindaRef stores only a reference to it (its type and last four digits) and any per-fixture spend cap you set. You can turn autopay off at any time from your Billing page.

When the referee is paid. Funds are released to the referee after the match is confirmed complete, not when the organiser pays. After completion the amount shows in the referee's account as pending for a short clearing period (currently around 48 hours), and then becomes available to withdraw to their bank or debit card. This clearing period is what lets us resolve most disputes before money moves.

Refunds, cancellations, and no-shows. We only earn our platform fee on a completed match. If a match does not go ahead, the organiser is refunded in full, including our fee. In summary:

• Organiser cancels more than 24 hours before kick-off: full refund to the organiser, including our fee; the referee is not paid.
• Organiser cancels within 24 hours of kick-off: the referee is paid 50% of their fee as a late-cancellation fee for holding the slot, and the organiser is refunded the rest, including our fee.
• Organiser moves the fixture to a new date: the referee is asked to accept the new date. If they accept, the booking and its funds carry over and no money moves. If they cannot make it, the fixture is offered to another referee for the new date, and the organiser is refunded in full if it cannot be filled.
• Match postponed or called off before kick-off: the organiser is refunded in full, including our fee.
• Referee cancels or does not attend: the fixture is offered to another referee where possible; if it cannot be filled, the organiser is refunded in full.
• Teams do not attend but the referee did: the referee is paid 50% of their fee as a call-out fee, and the organiser is refunded the balance. We keep our fee only on the amount paid to the referee.
• Match abandoned after kick-off: the referee is paid in full, in line with grassroots convention, and the organiser is not refunded.
• Disputes we cannot resolve automatically are reviewed manually. While a payment is under review, funds are held and neither released nor withdrawn until the review is complete. We aim to resolve reviews within 3 business days.

Stripe's card processing fee on a payment is not returned by Stripe on a refund; FindaRef will normally absorb that cost on fault-free cancellations.

Tax. Match fees you receive as a referee are your income. You are responsible for declaring and paying any tax due on them. FindaRef does not deduct tax at source and does not give tax advice. As a digital platform, FindaRef may be required to report information about referees' platform earnings to HMRC and to give you a copy of what is reported.

Our role and liability. FindaRef facilitates these payments through Stripe but is not the counterparty to the officiating service and does not hold the funds. We are not liable for the underlying officiating arrangement between an organiser and a referee. Nothing in this section removes your rights under the refund and dispute process described above, or any rights you have under law.

FindaRef operates a referral scheme under which registered users may earn commission for introducing new organiser subscribers to the platform. By participating in the scheme, you agree to the additional terms in this section.

Eligibility. Any user with an active FindaRef account is eligible to participate. Participation is voluntary and free.

How it works. Each user is assigned a unique referral code accessible from their dashboard. When a new user creates an account using your referral link and subsequently subscribes to a paid organiser plan, you become entitled to commission on that subscription, subject to the terms below.

Commission. Commission is calculated at 50% of the referred subscriber's net monthly subscription fee (excluding VAT) and is payable for a maximum of 6 consecutive months per referred subscriber. The amount therefore depends on the plan the subscriber is on; current plan prices are shown on our pricing page.

The commission rate for a referred subscription is locked at the time that subscription begins and is not affected by subsequent plan price changes.

Commission triggers and conditions. Commission only arises when:

• The referred user signs up via your unique referral link
• The referred user subscribes to a paid organiser plan and their first payment clears successfully (free trial sign-up alone does not trigger commission)
• You have provided valid payout details via your dashboard

Voiding and forfeiture. Commission will not be paid, or will cease, in the following circumstances:

• Self-referral: referring yourself, a business you control, or a connected person
• The referred user's subscription is cancelled, lapses, or is refunded before the relevant month's commission is due
• The referred subscription results in a chargeback. Any commission already paid on that subscription may be recouped by FindaRef
• FindaRef reasonably suspects fraud, manipulation, or abuse of the scheme
• Your account is suspended or terminated

Payment. Commission payments are processed manually each calendar month. FindaRef will make reasonable efforts to pay within 30 days of the end of each month in which commission is earned. Payment is made to the bank account or PayPal address registered in your dashboard. If no valid payout details are on file, commission will accrue and be paid once valid details are provided (subject to a 12-month expiry on unpaid commission from the date it was earned).

Tax. Commission payments are income. You are solely responsible for declaring and paying any tax (including income tax and National Insurance) arising from commission received. FindaRef will not deduct tax at source. FindaRef reserves the right to request information and apply withholding if required to do so by HMRC or any other authority.

Disclosure obligation. When sharing your referral link, you must clearly disclose to any prospective referee that you may earn a financial benefit if they sign up. This is required under the UK ASA/CAP Code governing advertising and marketing communications. Failure to disclose may result in removal from the scheme.

Changes to the scheme. FindaRef may modify commission rates, conditions, or discontinue the referral scheme at any time by giving 30 days' written notice (by email or via the dashboard). Commission already earned and confirmed at the point of any change will be honoured. Commission on referrals that have not yet converted to paid subscriptions at the point of scheme discontinuation will not be payable.

No guarantee of earnings. FindaRef makes no representation or guarantee regarding the amount of commission any participant will earn. The referral scheme is not a substitute for employment or self-employment income.

By signing up, you consent to receive operational messages including verification codes, fixture offers, confirmations, and reminders. We send these by email and through in-app notifications. These messages are required for the platform to function.

Marketing messages require separate consent and can be opted out of at any time. You can manage your notification preferences in your account settings. Turning off operational messages will prevent the platform from contacting you about fixture offers.

FindaRef does not run the government DBS check itself (that is carried out by the DBS) and does not supervise fixtures. For youth fixtures, our team does review the DBS certificate a referee uploads, records the outcome, and only lets referees with a valid DBS on file claim a youth fixture. This is a check on documents we are shown, not a substitute for the organiser's safeguarding arrangements. Full safeguarding responsibility at the fixture lies with the organiser. See our full Safeguarding Policy.

All content on the FindaRef platform, including the software, design, trademarks, logos, text, and data, is owned by or licensed to FindaRef Ltd. Nothing in these terms grants you any right to use FindaRef's intellectual property other than as strictly necessary to use the platform as intended.

You may not copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from any part of the platform without our written consent. You may share your unique referral link and use the FindaRef name for that purpose only.

You may not use FindaRef to:

• List fraudulent or fictitious fixtures
• Misrepresent your qualifications or FA registration
• Harass, abuse, or threaten other users
• Attempt to take referee or organiser relationships off-platform to avoid subscription fees
• Create multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions or to generate fraudulent referral commission
• Manipulate or abuse the referral scheme, including through self-referral or creating fake accounts

See our full Acceptable Use Policy. Violations will result in immediate account termination and may result in legal action.

FindaRef is not liable for: cancelled or abandoned matches, referee no-shows, no-shows by organisers, safeguarding failures at fixtures, or losses arising from the failure to match a referee to a fixture. Where a match fee is paid through the platform, we handle refunds and payment disputes under the process in section 6; other than that, we are not liable for the officiating arrangement between users or for how Stripe processes a payment. This does not affect your rights under section 6 or under law.

Our total liability to you for any claim arising out of or in connection with these terms or the platform is limited to the greater of: (a) the total subscription fees you paid to FindaRef in the 3 months immediately prior to the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) £100.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.

We may update these terms from time to time. We will give at least 14 days' notice of material changes by email. Continued use of the platform after the effective date of any change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

For questions about these terms, contact us at hello@findaref.co.uk or visit our contact page.