an alternative is unless which is the contrary to if 
unless ($reference =~ m/38[0-9]{8}[A-Z]{3}/) {
  $reference = "";
}

[download]

If possible, I prefer unless way over !~ because I think it is better readable since I sometimes miss !~ at the first fast view to get the structure of a program

Best regards,
perl -e "s>>*F>e=>y)\*martinF)stronat)=>print,print v8.8.8.32.11.32"

In reply to Re: Regex 'If Not Match' by strat
in thread Regex 'If Not Match' by PugSA

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