i'm disturbed...i just went on ebay and searched for soccer referee (as i frequently do) and there were two different 2003 badges up for bid. this distresses me...makes me think of what a referee (he's a senior this year...on our school team) told a HS referee last year...that the ref got his badge @ a yardsale...i think ebay might be worse? commentS?
That this is available on EBay is disturbing, but not surprising - it seems you can get most anything there. However, in my soccer ref community (Maryland), we pretty well know who's who, and if someone shows up with a badge he/she is not entitled to (e.g., a State badge), they would be found out in short order and quickly reined in. Further, people who resort to this tactic are probably not up to the level of officiating required to merit the badge they got by nefarious means.
Right on, I can't tell you how many times I've responded to comments by coaches, fans, etc. that they will "get my badge taken away" with something about how the badge doesn't mean anything and people can just buy one. I thought I was joking, but seeing that you can actually buy badges kinda puts an end to that. And if for some reason a team doubts you're a real ref, carry around your ID card, can't buy those.