<P> All referees carry a whistle, a watch, penalty cards, a data wallet with pen and paper, and a coin for determining which team has the choice of ends or kick - off . Most are encouraged to have more than one of each on them in case they drop a whistle or a pen runs out and so on . Often, referees utilise two watches so that they can use one to calculate time lost for stoppages for the purposes of added time . At the highest levels, referees wear a full duplex radio with customised headset to communicate between each other and assistant referees use electronic flags, which send a signal to the referee when a button is pushed . In matches with goal - line technology, the referee will have on their person a device to receive the system's alerts . </P> <P> Referees use a whistle to help in match control . The whistle is sometimes needed to stop, start or restart play but should not be used for all stoppages, starts or restarts . FIFA's Laws of the Game document gives guidance as to when the whistle should and should not be used . Overuse of the whistle is discouraged since, as stated in the Laws, "A whistle which is used too frequently unnecessarily will have less impact when it is needed ." The whistle is an important tool for the referee along with verbal, body and eye communication . </P> <P> Before the introduction of the whistle, referees indicated their decisions by waving a white handkerchief . The whistles that were first adopted by referees were made by Joseph Hudson at Mills Munitions in Birmingham, England . The Acme Whistle Company (based at Mills Munitions Factory) first began to mass - produce pea whistles in the 1870s for the Metropolitan Police Force . It is frequently stated the referee's whistle was first used in a game between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Norfolk in 1878; however the last such fixture known to have taken place between the two clubs was in 1874 . The Nottingham Forest account book of 1872 apparently recorded the purchase of an "umpire's whistle" and in 1928 an article by RM Ruck about his playing days in the early 1870s referred to the use of a whistle by umpires to indicate an infringement . </P> <P> The whistle was not mentioned in the Laws of the Game until 1936 when an IFAB Decision was added as footnote (b) to Law 2, stating "A Referee's control over the players for misconduct or ungentlemanly behaviour commences from the time he enters the field of play, but his jurisdiction in connection with the Laws of the Game commences from the time he blows his whistle for the game to start ." </P>

What did uk soccer officials use before whistles