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It was a caution for a reckless challenge, not spa. If you play advantage for spa then the chance is still there so the promising attack has not been stopped so there’s no need for a caution.

I have done this and I also wouldn't recommend it because it can really screw up your match control! Near the PA if a team asks for a quick one as I'm getting to the area then I'll let them have it, but once I've got there and the defence are setting up then I'll tell everyone "it's on the...

My take on the OP was that he was asking what to do in exactly those games where both teams are already at it. If one team is “trying to play expansive, quick and intelligent football” then you haven’t lost control yet but you could if you don’t deal with the other team if they are misbehaving...

The first thing is to slow the game down. Give free kicks when you may normally be tempted to play on, and don't be tempted to play advantage unless it's a really good one with the player about to roll the ball into the goal. The players need to understand you're in charge so you need to get...

It’s hard to generalise without being there. It may be dangerous or it may not, and you have to decide on the day. The important thing is to inspect the fop before the game and make a decision about its safety. If you think something is dangerous then don’t start the game until it’s been dealt...

I live next to the first beach down from London, so it’s been rammed every day since May. None of the locals come here except for the sailing clubs. The actual beach isn’t big enough for that many people to distance properly so they’re jammed together. They spend the day at the beach with their...

Have to disagree. I live next to a beach. Common man has not been compliant, and social media has already been determining the way forward. We have been isolating due to health reasons, so while I was working from home I kept looking out the window. Watching the idiots squeezing themselves into...

I thought it was quiet!

“I wouldn't hold too much credence to what Keith Hackett says. I don't know whether it is because he is completely out of touch with the modern game and laws, or whether he just deliberately gets it wrong, but either way he has come out with some very strange reactions to incidents in recent...

Looking at the tweets, Keith Hackett thinks it should be a “Penalty kick and red card” for holding the player back! I think he talked himself into justifying an earlier comment and had to find something. Now he can’t backtrack. I can’t see any holding although the picture’s not clear, but that’s...

Over the years I have had a few players comment that "so and so was wearing jewellery last night and he wasn't told to take it off!" My reply is always that I wasn't refereeing that game, and he wasn't playing in it! The usual one is "it doesn't come off" - "then you can't play" usually means...

Ridiculous! If the team doesn’t want to play then they don’t have to, but they should forfeit the game. Why don’t they want this referee? If he’s not up to the job he shouldn’t be on the league so the team are basically accusing him of not being impartial and by removing him the league are...

As Rusty says, observers are more experienced and more professional at this level. There will be games where you don’t agree with his opinion and you have the right to discuss this in the debrief but don’t argue with him. I have had referees convinced a mass con wasn’t their fault, even though...

I had a cup semi years ago, and sent the Home goalkeeper off after 15 minutes. The score was 0-1 and an opponent played the ball past the keeper and went to run past him to put it away. The keeper rugby tackled the forward, grabbing him round the waist and pulling him over. Every player on the...

You said it was a potential caution for a dangerous tackle but the captain walked off when you tried to warn him. That’s him showing who’s boss, so if talking doesn’t work then you have to make it. By letting him walk away he’s won that round. It’s surprising how often the captain is the one who...

If handled properly I now think it's actually helping, at least for me. I work on a hard league in East Kent where discipline is an issue. I tend to get the same teams because they know I won't take their rubbish. I had the reigning premier division champions yesterday - their discipline is...

That’s what our training officer said although that might have been misinterpreted, either by him or by me - it was a long time ago! In this country it’s probably not an issue now anyway because below step 5 (senior football) it’s always rolling subs so would be 4 not 5.

Once you enter the fop for the inspection you can take disciplinary action but this is different depending on whether the game has started or not. You don’t caution players before the game but can sort of dismiss them. What would be a caution after the start of the game would be reported as...

I once found someone had stuck glass end-on into the ground so the sharp points were sticking up. Anyone sliding across it would have had their legs filleted (or worse). Even then, while I was sorting it out I still had players shouting “come on ref! Let’s get on with it!”

I have used the sin bin approach quite a lot, and on the whole I'm finding it works well. There are a few issues though. On Sunday I had a player telling me that I was wrong to show a yellow card for a dissent sin bin - apparently it should be a blue card. This isn't the first time I've been...