Comparison

SFRef Soccer Referee Watch vs CSL Referee

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SFRef Soccer Referee Watch

This app helps referees manage soccer and futsal matches directly from their smartwatch or iPhone. It tracks game time, scores, substitutions, fouls, and player statistics. Rosters can be imported via Airdrop or OCR, and game reports can be generated instantly.

Highlights
  • Independent watch operation
  • GPS location tracking
  • Preconfigured match setup
  • Substitution tracking
  • Roster import (Airdrop, OCR)
  • Instant game reports
  • Workout statistics
Features
Read full description

Run the app independently on the watch - don't need the phone at all, even for configuration. You can also setup a match on the phone and transfer it to your watch, if you prefer. Run the app independently on the iPhone if you don't have a watch. Use GPS to track referee locations on the field. Preconfigure matches for the next week/month/season and load it up whenever you need it. Your matches can be saved on the phone and/or the watch. Doing tournaments? Save current match results on the watch and move on to the next match. Your results can be accessed at a later time when you want to file a report. Track substitutions by enabling them in your match setup. Tracking is not enabled when you do a quick game setup on phone or watch. Getting rosters late? Ask coach to install app and Airdrop (or send it as an email attachment). You can also scan and use OCR to fill in rosters. No more manual entry. Setup your match and Airdrop it to your Assistant Refs, so the match is configured on their app also. Send a game report from your device after the game with the press of a button. Reports include goal/card details as well as player game time. Look at your workout stats (distance, calories burned heart rate). More statistics will come soon! See how to set it up on the watch: https://youtu.be/nv2hU8S2OWI Tip: Remember to: - Put your watch in Airplane mode during the game. It ensures you are not interrupted by other events. Your watch will also not constantly search for the phone across the field and lose charge. Free app can track games with up to 10 minute halves. Purchase in app to track longer duration. Users who purchased the app from 1.0 to 6.5 will have no restrictions. Now the details: The app has three timers - game clock, stoppage clock and elapsed time. Elapsed time starts at zero and runs uninterrupted during the game. Game clock and stoppage clock are tied together - either game clock is running during the game or stoppage clock is running. They are controlled by a tap on screen. From Game clock screen, swipe left to go to the game record screen. Here all elements are editable with a tap. You can change home and away team names. You can record scores or record yellow and red cards. The app automatically records the time at which the event took place. In case, you added a goal event or card event in error, you can delete the incorrect entry. On the watch, do a force touch and go to event logs. Tap and delete whichever event you entered incorrectly. Displays will update automatically. On the phone, go to events, then hit Edit and then delete. From the game record scene, swipe left to go to Futsal DFK accumulated fouls tracker scene. Swipe up on the numbers to increment. If you made a mistake, swipe down to decrement. Displays turn yellow after 5 fouls and on the watch, a haptic is sent. After the sixth accumulated foul, the display turns red and watch also plays a haptic. On the game clock screen, force touch takes you to a menu where you can set game duration, enable GPS (for referee location tracking), reset clocks, discard the entire game or load game settings from watch filesystem or the paired iPhone. If you select reset clocks, you can select which period to start to set elapsed time appropriately. You can also generate a game report to the paired iPhone running the app and send it out from iPhone app to Notes, iMessage, email or other eligible apps. From Futsal DFK screen, swipe left to look at referee workout statistics. If you run the app on the phone, it also maps the referee location during the course of the match. To view your map after the game, go to menu on the game clock scene -> Load/Save -> View Map. The map will show on the paired iPhone. Privacy Policy: On the Apple Watch, the app uses HealthKit to get distance walked and energy burned while a game is in session. On the iPhone, the app collects referee location while a game is in session.

About

CSL Referee

This app provides youth soccer referees with access to their game assignments, team contact information, and directions to fields. Referees can quickly submit match reports, enter scores and cards, and view league rules. It also offers exclusive soccer-related deals for users.

Highlights
  • View current assignments
  • Access coach and team contact info
  • Receive urgent news notifications
  • Get directions to fields
  • Enter scores and cards
  • Submit match reports
  • View CSL Rules
Read full description

Coast Soccer League is the largest youth soccer gaming circuit in the United States. We're located in Southern California it have participating teams from San Luis Obispo to the Mexican border. This app is for CSL Referees. The CSL Referee App you can view your assignments and quickly photograph match reports and enter game results. Driving directions to your games are a touch away. Lots more too! • View your current assignments •Access contact info for coaches, managers and your referee team •Receive notifications for urgent news and schedule changes •Get directions to fields and weekend weather updates •Quickly enter scores and cards and send match reports •View the CSL Rules •Special soccer offers for Referees app users only

Screenshots

SFRef Soccer Referee Watch4 screens
CSL Referee4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: CSL Referee at 100% against SFRef Soccer Referee Watch's 59%. CSL Referee also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). SFRef Soccer Referee Watch's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (153 vs 5). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SFRef Soccer Referee Watch sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. CSL Referee asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SFRef Soccer Referee Watch holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SFRef Soccer Referee Watch has 153 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 59% of SFRef Soccer Referee Watch's written reviews are positive against 100% of CSL Referee's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SFRef Soccer Referee Watch ships an update every 3 weeks, CSL Referee every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
SFRef Soccer Referee Watch versus CSL Referee: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSFRef Soccer Referee WatchCSL Referee
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (153 ratings) — better4.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews59.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings153 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS14.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPeramanayagam MarimuthuCSL Media, LLC

Customer experience

SFRef Soccer Referee Watch

All ratings153 ratings
Positive85.0%
Neutral7.2%
Negative7.8%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive59.3%
Neutral13.6%
Negative27.1%

CSL Referee

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

SFRef Soccer Referee Watch

One-time2
  • Limited Access$3.99
  • Full Access$6.99
None

CSL Referee

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SFRef Soccer Referee Watch free?
SFRef Soccer Referee Watch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CSL Referee free?
CSL Referee is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SFRef Soccer Referee Watch or CSL Referee?
SFRef Soccer Referee Watch is rated higher. SFRef Soccer Referee Watch averages 4.4 out of 5 from 153 ratings, while CSL Referee averages 4.0 from 5 ratings.
Do SFRef Soccer Referee Watch or CSL Referee have ads?
Neither SFRef Soccer Referee Watch nor CSL Referee shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SFRef Soccer Referee Watch or CSL Referee?
SFRef Soccer Referee Watch ships an update every 3 weeks, and CSL Referee every 2 months. Most recently, SFRef Soccer Referee Watch was updated on September 26, 2026 and CSL Referee on September 3, 2026.

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