“ A GUIDE FOR REFEREES “
1. The changes in the Laws of the Game over the past few years have been designed to : -
* Create more attacking play
* Create more goals
* Eliminate cheats
As a result changes to Laws 11 & 12 have been made to bring this about.
SUMMARY .
Law 11 - the introduction of PASSIVE and ACTIVE areas in play has bought about more goals and more attacking play .
Law 12 - removing the word “intentionally “ and replacing it with “CARELESS, RECKLESS or using EXCESSIVE FORCE “ thus eliminating the need for Referees to judge intent .
i.e. was an infringement committed - YES - Direct Free Kick .
In a sliding tackle (from any direction) where contact with the player is made BEFORE contact with the ball is made a MANDATORY CAUTION shall be issued .
A tackle from behind which endangers the safety of an opponent MUST be sanctioned as Serious Foul Play, punished by a Direct Free Kick and an ORDERING OFF of the player.
When a team is denied a goal scoring opportunity thru unlawful means, the offending player shall be sent from the field for Serious Foul Play and a Direct Free Kick or Penalty Kick shall be awarded .
Law 14 -The words “AND MUST STAND BEHIND THE PENALTY MARK “ have been added. This does not apply to the Goalkeeper and the player taking the Penalty Kick.
(Diagram in Chart indicates area where they should now be standing.)
Also when a teammate of the kicker enters the penalty area or moves in front of or within 9.5 m (10 yds) of the penalty mark before the ball is in play after the whistle:
if the ball rebounds from the goalkeeper , the crossbar or the goal post
and is touched by this player , the referee stops play and restarts the
match with an indirect free kick to the defending team .
2. THE REFEREE.
a) The Referee should keep possession of the Ball until players are ready to kick - off.
b) It has been directed that in the future that the Referee will toss up the coin after asking the visiting team which side they want (e.g. heads) indicate to the home team that they have the other (tails), toss the coin , catch and show which side is up allowing the side winning the toss to decide which goal they will attack .
c) Interfere as Little as possible, Never Seek to become the Centre (Focus) of Attention.
d) Do Not Sacrifice Playing time for small minor incidents, a Warning on the run will in most cases be sufficient.
e) Ensure that the Match proceeds within the context and Spirit of the Laws of the Game.
f) Show concern for any injured players.
g) A strong Cautioning Technique will not give players an excuse to Argue with the Referee.
h) REMEMBER! Good positioning is the place with the best view, be close enough to react effectively.
3. DISCIPLINE.
Discipline may be defined as:
the correct application of the appropriate sanction
in other words, the punishment must suit the crime .
Any referee, who is not prepared to apply the required sanction, is failing in their area of responsibility.
Essentially, sanctions can be seen as a hierarchy that increases in severity: -
# Free Kick
# Free Kick and a word on the run
# Free Kick and a public warning
# Free Kick and a caution
# Free Kick and an expulsion
It is important that the sanction is neither to hard or to soft.
It should be appropriate for the offence committed.
Referees who allow advantage after a cautionable offence has been committed must return at the next stoppage of play and caution the offending player.
Referees must never publicly admonish a player twice. Just as players can only receive one caution before being sent from the field, they should only ever receive one warning before being cautioned
“ SOFT OPTION “ refereeing (i.e. a yellow card for a red card offence) undermines discipline and seriously weakens control by the referee .
4. WHISTLE SIGNAL.
A Referee controls a game by the use of the whistle and his voice.
Should an infringement / foul occur the following indicates the types of whistle signal to be given :-
Minor Foul - Little whistle
- Medium whistle & hand signal
T - Medium whistle & hand signal with a quiet word
O - Strong whistle l and moving
l - Strong whistle & hand signal l toward where
l
- Strong whistle & hand signal with Public Warning l foul occurred
- Yellow Card
Serious Foul - Red Card
5. POLICING THE WALL.
With the changes in the Laws, Referees are encouraged to minimise stoppages and to keep the game moving. As a result, referees are correctly allowing free kicks to be taken quickly even when the ball is moving slightly or is not on the exact blade of grass.
This approach is sensible when there is no chance of a goal being scored direct from the free kick. However around the penalty area or within scoring distance, a free kick to the attacking side will generally be taken as a shot on goal. This results in what is normally called a “ set play “.
The ball is placed, the wall is set - up and at a signal from the referee, the free kick is taken . Although referees should be prepared to allow the taking of a quick free kick to the attackers if they wish to do so.
The question now becomes how do we best handle the set play?
1. Place the Ball
For a “set play “ free kick, the ball needs to placed where the offence occurred .
THEN
2. Show the Whistle
to the attacking players and tell them to wait for the whistle
THEN
3. Move to the Wall
The referee should move towards the wall (sideways / backwards) so that the ball is always visible.
THEN
4. Deal with the Nearest Problem
Take those players who are near the ball with you as you move towards the wall.
THEN
5. Establish the 9.15 Metres
by moving to where you want the wall . Use your voice and presence to bring the players back. Try to avoid using the whistle, because if no appreciable effect is achieved then the referee has just diminished the impact the whistle will have on the game.
THEN
6. Once the Wall is Placed
move out to one side , slightly in front of the wall but where the players in the wall can still see you .
(If you have an assistant referee, now is the time to send them to the goal line.)
THEN
7. Blow the Whistle
to re-start the game .
Refereeing today is about putting the odds in your favour thus maximising your chances of getting it right each time.
# an unsupervised wall breaks about once every four walls (odds 1:4)
# a goal from “ set play “ is scored about one in twenty (odds 1:20)
# ball striking upright/crossbar or missing completely are about one in ten thousand (odds 1:10,000)
This means that the referee who is covering the goal line at “set play “ free kicks is taking on odds of 1:200,000, therefore put the odds in your favour i.e. on the wall breaking .
6. USING SPACE / POSITIONING CONCEPTS.
Every game has many periods of time where the player with the ball is not under any pressure from an opponent . Referees should use this time to look around and see: -
(a) what is happening
and
(b) where can the player with the ball , play the ball to.
Thus the referee can then determine:
Where the play is going to go
and therefore
Where they can go to get the best view
This “Space” can be used effectively by referees to enhance both their movement and their control of games.
So, referees should do what players have always been told “ Get your head up and have a look “ when the player with the ball is not being closed down.
Most people, when talking about positioning, only refer to A, B and C. These, of course, are in reality the components that make up good positioning.
Firstly, it must be emphasized that the primary reason a referee moves is to improve their view of play. In other words, referees are constantly trying to fulfil the defintion of good positioning:
“Good positioning is the place with the best view, close enough to react effectively”
Good positioning can, therefore, be recognized by the implementation of its three components: Angle, Ball and Close.
The first priority for a referee is to see what has happened (or about to happen). In other words the referee must have an angled view on play.
There are three basic types of angle:
External: where the referee is outside (or to the left of play). In this position the referee can see through the point of contact and will have the majority of players in view and have play between themselves and their assistant referee.
Internal: here the referee is on the inside (ie the right side) of play, most of the players cannot be seen and play is not between the referee and the assistant referee.
Limited: the referee, in this situation has much less than an angle of 45 degrees on play and as such, their chance of getting the decision correct is dramatically reduced. Limited angle is also referred to as being “end on” or “flat”
After a referee can see through the “point of contact”, their second priority is to get close
to play. Close means that the referee should be within 10 – 15 metres of the ball.
The third priority of good positioning is to keep the ball between the referee and the assistant referee.
Therefore, the components of good positioning are:
1st Priority Angle so they can see.
2nd Priority Close so they can sell the decision and control the
play.
3rd Priority Ball so the referee can be out of the way, have
more of the players under observation and
more efficiently utilise the assistant referee.
7. ADVANTAGE.
Free kicks are awarded to compensate a team for the opportunity that has been unfairly removed from them and as such, they are a tool to ensure the game is played in the correct spirit.
When we talk about advantage, we refer to the advantage clause in Law 5 which states that the referee shall :
“allow play to continue when the team against which an offence has been committed will benefit from such an advantage .... “
Firstly we need to understand that advantage is not merely possession of the ball.
For any advantage situation to be considered the player must have possession AND the opportunity to mount an attack.
When considering advantage, referees should draw on their experience and their commonsense. In some circumstances advantage has little chance of success.
e.g. a player shielding the ball and facing the corner-flag with an opponent tapping on his Achilles
or
a player facing the sideline with opponents surrounding him
In such cases, the player certainly has possession but little or no opportunity.
The Laws now allow the referee a time frame (2 - 3 seconds) to decide if advantage is possible or whether to penalise the original infringement.
Slow decisions may cause problems and create doubt in the player’s minds. The better referee makes quick, confident decisions.
The only advantage that slow decisions give to a referee is that it gives them more time to consider what has happened. It does not give the referee a better chance of getting the decision right.
Refereeing is about having the courage to make decisions and seeing them through to their conclusion. If a referee makes an error in an advantage decision there is no loss of face in acknowledging this fact.
8. MANDATORY CAUTIONS.
Major Objectives for 1996 and onwards for FIFA and Soccer Australia include: -
* Maximisation of playing time
* Elimination of cheats
* Protect the skilful player
How often have you heard the following when cautioning a player “ The Referee last week didn’t “ and “ Why cant Referees be consistent”
To this end FIFA has given us MANDATORY instructions on when to caution a player to meet their Objectives .
1. A player who feigns injury shall be cautioned.
2. Players who deliberately waste time shall be cautioned.
* Takes a Free Kick from the wrong place with the intention of forcing the Referee to order a re - take.
*Standing on or near the ball to prevent the restart of play .
* Tapping, throwing or running away with the ball to prevent the restart of play .* Slowly getting the ball back into play at Free Kicks , Throw - Ins , Goal Kicks and Corner Kicks .
3. A player who deliberately handles the ball to break up an attack shall be cautioned.
4.When a player deliberately handles the Ball in his own Penalty Area in order to prevent a goal but a Goal is scored he shall be cautioned.
5.When a player “TAKES A DIVE “ in the Penalty Area and no infringement has been committed by his opponent, he shall be cautioned.
6. A player who holds an opponent to prevent him from gaining possession of the ball shall be cautioned.
7. When an attacking player attempts to score a goal by the illegal use of the hand , shall be cautioned .
8. When a player uses a deliberate trick in order to circumvent IBD 4 of Law 12 ( playing the ball back to the goalkeeper ) , he shall be cautioned .
9. When a player makes a lateral sliding tackle (from any direction) and makes contact with the opponent before contact with the ball is made , he shall be cautioned .
10. A player who re - enters the field after being ordered off to adjust his equipment without the Referees permission shall be cautioned.
9. SERIOUS FOUL PLAY.
A player is guilty of Serious Foul Play if he uses excessive force or brutality against an opponent when challenging for the ball when it is in play.
Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force AND endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.
10. VIOLENT CONDUCT.
Violent Conduct may occur either On or Off the field of play or outside its boundaries, whether the ball is in play or not. A player is guilty of violent conduct if he uses excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball.
He is also guilty of violent conduct if he uses excessive force or brutality against a teammate or any other person. (See Law Chart for methods of restarts of play)
11. SCREENING THE BALL.
A player may screen the ball while it is under his control AND is within playing distance from an opponent without using his arms.
If however he prevents an opponent challenging for the ball by illegal use of the hand, arm, legs or body, he must be penalised by a direct free kick or penalty kick if the offence was committed inside the penalty area.
12. SCISSORS OR BICYCLE KICK.
A scissors kick is permissible provided, in the opinion of the Referee, it is not dangerous to an opponent.
13. SIMULATION.
A player who attempts to deceive the referee by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled is guilty of simulation AND must be cautioned for unsporting behaviour.
14. CELEBRATION OF A GOAL.
While it is permissible for a player to celebrate when a goal is scored, it must not be excessive and referees are instructed to intervene if it results in excessive time wasting in such cases.
A player must be cautioned when:
· He makes gestures which are provocative, derisory or inflammatory
· He climbs on to a perimeter fence to celebrate a goal being scored
· He removes his jersey in celebrating a goal
Leaving the field is not a cautionable offence, but is essential that players return to the field as soon as possible.
Referees are expected to act in a preventative mode and exercise common sense in dealing with the celebration of a goal.
15. ATTITUDE TOWARDS REFEREES.
The captain of a team, has no special status or privileges under the Laws of the Game BUT he has a degree of responsibility for the behaviour of his team
A player who is guilty of dissent by protesting a referee’s decision MUST be cautioned.
A player who assaults a referee or who is guilty of using offensive, insulting or abusive language OR gestures MUST be sent off.
16. PROCEDURE FOR PENALTY KICKS AT END OF EXTRA TIME.
If at the end of normal time / extra time, one team has a greater number of players than the other (i.e. thru injury or expulsion etc.), the team with the greater number SHALL reduce their numbers to equate with that of their opponents. The referee shall be informed of the name and number of each player excluded.
The Referee shall then:
· Select the goal to be used, then toss coin with both Captains. The winning Captains team must take the first penalty kick.
· The team which scores the most goals in first five kicks wins.
· If a draw after five kicks, then sudden death penalty kicks applies.
· Only those players left on the field at the end of extra time can take part in the penalty kicks. (refer paragraph above)
· The opposing goalkeeper is to position himself outside the penalty area behind the A/R standing on the goal line.
· All players – (except the two goalkeepers and the kicker) are to remain in the centre circle, officials/subs etc. stay off the pitch.
· Referee will take each kickers name/number as they come up to take penalty kicks.
· If all players have taken their kicks, then players may, in any order, take a kick again.
· An injured goalkeeper is the only player allowed to be replaced by a named substitute, who has not taken part in the match.
· Any eligible player can change places with his goalkeeper at any time during the taking of penalty kicks.
· If the ball rebounds from the goal post to goalkeeper then enters goal, it shall be awarded.
N.B. If during the taking of the Penalty Kicks, one team’s number is further reduced as a result of a send-off, the kicks proceed with those players that are left on the field. A further reduction in player numbers by there opponents is not required.