George Orfanakos knows a thing or two about football.

And talking to the 53 year-old former Pan Hellanic goalkeeper, York Region Trojans coach and level two referee it soon becomes clear he doesn?t take the sport lightly.

In fact, Orfanakos is perhaps as strict as they come in terms of discipline.

The long-time Canadian resident is one of Bermuda?s newly recruited referees who?s hit the ground running in light of the perennial ref shortage.

And while he gives the Island the thumbs up, his assessment of the current state of local football isn?t quite so flattering.

?The talent is here but the coaching standards from what I have seen so far leave much to be desired,? said Orfanakos. ?This is a serious game and if you want to move up the ranks (FIFA world rankings) then there?s only way for Bermuda to achieve that ? through discipline. No matter how good your players are, if they don?t listen to you then they are no good to you.

?You need players who want to learn and accept your coaching methods so that the overall standard gets higher. If a player ever gave me an attitude when I coached, when they came off the field I would say to them ?put your uniform in a bag and if you don?t want to play for us then you are welcome to play anywhere else except on this team?.?

But Orfanakos doesn?t view local football as all doom and gloom.

?I?ve seen some good talent in the short time that I have been here,? he added. ?I?ve seen individual skills here that under the right coaching circumstances could help their careers. What I think we need here is to tighten up and invite more high level teams to compete so the level in Bermuda can also rise.

?The way you can raise your standards is by competing with better teams. You might get trashed the first, second or third time but you will notice by the fourth and fifth time you?ll adapt and your skill level will improve as well.?

Born in Greece, Orfanakos moved to Canada at age six where he later played for the Hellanics ? a team comprising of Caribbean and European players ? as a ?keeper from 1969 to 1972 in the Toronto National League before enjoying coaching stints in the New Market and District, Toronto District and Toronto Services Soccer Leagues with the Trojans.

In 1990 he began a career in officiating after successfully completing both level one and two referee courses.

Employed locally at Marshall?s Group of companies as a operations manager, the former York University facilities planning and construction administrator has also officiated Under-18 international matches involving Scotland, Sweden, Mexico and Ireland in Greece.

Now Orfanakos intends to share his wealth of experience among his colleagues at Bermuda Football Association and Bermuda Referees? Association.

As for local club facilities, Orfanakos said: ?They are sub par with the exception of the National Sports Centre. The dressing rooms are very poor and also the conditions of the fields.

?Back home the soccer parks are run by the municipalities and they have tons of money and the fields are well manicured and changing and wash rooms clean. And each field has lights and is marked properly and so on.?

Not only does Orfanakos have an eye out for those who run afoul of the laws of the game on the pitch, he is also on the lookout for any potential talent.

?I?ve got a couple of names already that I am going to speak to when I bump into them an ask them if they are interested in perhaps having someone look at them from a university for a possible scholarship,? he said.