Article on the difficulties of refereeing a crowded box

[Wilson80]

My latest article on It's the Laws of the Game, Stupid! is called Box of Tricks — it's about about the challenges officials face given all the contact in the penalty area, and has a couple of ideas about steps that could be taken.

Summary:

• Given all the contact in packed penalty areas, refs have a nigh-on-impossible job.
• The Premier League and PGMOL have issued useful guidelines on what is and what isn’t a foul in these situations.
• These guidelines should be used to inform discussions about potential offences in the box.
• Yet, while such instructions are helpful for referees, their task remains very challenging.
• Rather than the on-field official trying to identify fouls in the box in real time, there could be a greater role for VAR.
• But this could well lead to more VAR interventions, and so goal celebrations would become even more conditional.

Keen to receive any corrections and comments!

Box of Tricks

The difficulty of refereeing a crowded penalty area combined with the way VAR is used leads to inconsistent decision-making. Is there a better way?

lawsofthegame.substack.com

 

[HibbyGaz]

Really good article, enjoyed reading that

 

[NoFoulsAllowed]

Just annoying from prem. Everyone trying to find out exactly where the bar is and willing to push it and inch or two every time.

You see it with teams literally pushing players off the pitch before the ball has been kicked.

It is cheating and it is an ugly part of the game.

 

[Wilson80]

Really good article, enjoyed reading that

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed. Please do subscribe to my Substack to receive future ones

 

[Wilson80]

Just annoying from prem. Everyone trying to find out exactly where the bar is and willing to push it and inch or two every time.

You see it with teams literally pushing players off the pitch before the ball has been kicked.

It is cheating and it is an ugly part of the game.

Agree it's all very unsatisfactory!

What do you reckon can be done about it? Do you think e.g. a zero-tolerance approach could work?

 

[NoFoulsAllowed]

Agree it's all very unsatisfactory!

What do you reckon can be done about it? Do you think e.g. a zero-tolerance approach could work?

It cycles doesn't it. Start of the season pgmol and clubs meet to discuss that they don't like it. The box is policed and a few unexpected penalties are given.

Then over the course of the season it relaxes a little. Then penalties during set piece jostling becomes a really high threshold.

Ugly part of the game that is hard to police as your article has accurately pointed out. Football is a contact sport after all.