Privacy

EasyRef helps grassroots football clubs arrange and record referee payments. This page explains what information we hold, why, who can see it and what you can ask us to do with it. EasyRef is run by [Company name] Ltd ([company number]), [registered address].

Who is responsible for your information

Club members and matches: your club decides why and how this information is used, so the club is the controller. EasyRef processes it on the club's behalf, under a written agreement with the club, and only to run the service.

Referees: EasyRef keeps one referee profile for you, whichever clubs you referee for, so EasyRef is the controller of your profile. We share your payment details only with clubs you referee for, and only so they can pay you. You agree to this when you first add your bank details.

What we hold

• Club members (secretaries and managers): name, email address, role and the teams you manage.
• Referees: your EasyRef ID (a permanent reference that never changes), name, phone number, email if given, and the bank account you want to be paid into (account name, sort code and account number). For referees under 18 we record only that they are under 18 (yes or no), never a date of birth, and the parent or guardian whose account is paid.
• Changes to your details: previous phone numbers and email addresses, so we can recognise an old number on an appointment. When bank details are replaced, we keep only the last 4 digits of the old account. Each payment records the account name and last 4 digits it was paid to.
• FA registration (only for matches the club arranged itself): your FA number and a screenshot of your registration. The screenshot is deleted as soon as it has been checked; we keep only the fact that it was checked.
• Matches: teams, date, venue, fee, whether the match was played, and when the fee was paid.
• Appointment pictures: if a manager adds a match from a screenshot, the picture is read to fill in the details and is not stored. The text read from it is kept with the match as proof.
• Activity log: who did what and when, so every payment can be traced.

Why we use it

• To record referee appointments and confirm matches were played.
• To check a new referee is genuine and that the bank account belongs to them (or their parent or guardian).
• To show the club who to pay, and to show referees when they have been paid.
• To send sign-in codes and the links referees need.
• To prevent fraud and keep an accurate record of payments.

We never sell your information and never use it for advertising.

Who can see it

• Bank details are visible only to the secretary of a club you referee for. Managers, other clubs and other referees cannot see them.
• EasyRef staff who check referees see the name on the bank account and any FA proof, not the full account details.
• Managers see the matches for their own teams.

Services we use

We use a small number of trusted providers to run EasyRef: Supabase (database and file storage, hosted in London), Vercel (website hosting), Resend (email) and Anthropic (reading appointment pictures; Anthropic does not use these pictures to train its models). Where a provider processes information outside the UK, we rely on the legal safeguards UK data protection law requires.

How long we keep it

We keep information for as long as your club uses EasyRef, plus the period the club needs for its own records. FA registration screenshots are deleted as soon as they are checked. When a club stops using EasyRef, its information is deleted or returned to the club.

Your rights

You can ask to see the information held about you, to correct it, or to have it deleted. Ask your club, or email privacy@easyref.uk and we will help. If you are unhappy with how your information has been handled, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Keeping it safe

Information is encrypted when stored, access is limited by role and enforced by the database itself, and every change is logged. Referee links are unique and can't be guessed, and a link for bank details works only once. New bank details are checked by EasyRef before any club uses them. A new phone number must be confirmed from that phone, and bank details can't be changed for 7 days after a number changes.