The Ref Stop

8 second law example

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Wow….i am the referee from this game. I saw the response on twitter(X) after the game but during the game there was no problem. Prior to the game I spoke to both GK’s and I explained the law change and how I had interpreted it. That is once I considered the GK had control of the ball….ie when he had fallen to the ground I would start the 8 secs. I agree that perhaps I was a bit quick but it was still over 8sec(only just) but I awarded a corner and we got on with the game until the losing manager posted this on X after the game. I had earlier booked for him for dissent and I ended up booking this GK for delaying the restart later in the game. The team manager of the GK thanked me after the game and said I had a good game….the losing manager didn’t and would not talk to me after the game.
Since this game, I have given GK a bit more time and now I can hear managers on the sidelines complaining…..that there is time wasting going on and saying 8 seconds.
Just goes to show how that you can’t win….i believe that I was technically correct in law but having not received any guidance I used what I had read.
Damned if you do….damned if you don’t
 
The Ref Stop
Honestly, with how the law was written I am not surprised we didn’t even make it 1 month into the season before the first “controversy”.

As I said before strictly by law you were right in the video. But what you said you are doing now will cause far less headaches for you. Regardless of the benches moaning
 
one said:
Why was the 6 second law introduced when it was?
How did that workout when referees applied your approach 🤔 🤣
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Notably, prior to the 6 second law, back in the era of 4 steps (which were counted in wildly different ways over the years), there was also a requirement that the GK not unreasonably delay releasing the ball—a totally subjective standard. (I no longer have my old books, but I believe a delay was a form of ungentlemanly behavior and a caution.) I believe when the 4 steps went away, the 6 seconds was added to make it less of a subjective guessing game on how long a R would tolerate.

I think I’ve posted this before. I think with the new 8 seconds law, the core feature is the visible countdown, which makes it hard to not at least loosely enforce it.
 
socal lurker said:
Notably, prior to the 6 second law, back in the era of 4 steps (which were counted in wildly different ways over the years), there was also a requirement that the GK not unreasonably delay releasing the ball—a totally subjective standard. (I no longer have my old books, but I believe a delay was a form of ungentlemanly behavior and a caution.) I believe when the 4 steps went away, the 6 seconds was added to make it less of a subjective guessing game on how long a R would tolerate.

I think I’ve posted this before. I think with the new 8 seconds law, the core feature is the visible countdown, which makes it hard to not at least loosely enforce it.
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Albeit that I have seen some Step 5/6 Referees lower there arm after signalling each time down signal, which at least doubles the 5 seconds!! Whether they do that intentionally is not known, but I have picked them up on it after the game.
 
DavidObs said:
I’m sure it does, but I can’t imagine we want two different signals in open age football.
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It totally depends on how fast the arm goes up and down. Basketball uses (or at least used to use) a swinging arm as a way for refs to standardize the one second count.
 
socal lurker said:
It totally depends on how fast the arm goes up and down. Basketball uses (or at least used to use) a swinging arm as a way for refs to standardize the one second count.
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Yes, that’s true, but from my perspective even if it can sync the time, it’s the fact that there are now 2 different signals in open age football, which I don’t think was intended (though I stand to be corrected).
 
Controversial opinion:

I understand the law is potentially unclear.

What I can’t understand is how this is being made so complicated. Count down 8 seconds from when you think the keeper has control of the ball shout out from 5 and put your hand in the air. Give a corner if you get to zero.
 
Redref34 said:
Controversial opinion:

I understand the law is potentially unclear.

What I can’t understand is how this is being made so complicated. Count down 8 seconds from when you think the keeper has control of the ball shout out from 5 and put your hand in the air. Give a corner if you get to zero.
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You’re right, it’s not in the least bit complicated for any one individual referee. However, unless there is a decent amount of consistency and coordination across referees, then it risks becoming confusing, complicated and frustrating for players and teams … especially goalkeepers!
 
Russell Jones said:
You’re right, it’s not in the least bit complicated for any one individual referee. However, unless there is a decent amount of consistency and coordination across referees, then it risks becoming confusing, complicated and frustrating for players and teams … especially goalkeepers!
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Point taken. Same with something like handball though in my opinion.

All I believe that I can do is try to be consistent across a single game. Easier said than done.
 
Redref34 said:
Controversial opinion:

I understand the law is potentially unclear.

What I can’t understand is how this is being made so complicated. Count down 8 seconds from when you think the keeper has control of the ball shout out from 5 and put your hand in the air. Give a corner if you get to zero.
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Umm, no. The Law does not call for a “shout out” from 5. It calls for a visual signal from 5.

But I do agree there can be some over thinking here. The R decides when it is fair to start the 8 seconds. Just start when you think the GK fairly has control and it won’t be a big deal.
 
socal lurker said:
Umm, no. The Law does not call for a “shout out” from 5. It calls for a visual signal from 5.

But I do agree there can be some over thinking here. The R decides when it is fair to start the 8 seconds. Just start when you think the GK fairly has control and it won’t be a big deal.
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Again though, rarely would you signal a free kick without a verbal explanation or at least a pre instruction to enable the player to not commit the offence. The law doesn’t require you to verbalise this you just do it because it’s common sense and makes you a better referee.

I won’t be giving a corner without the goalkeeper explicitly knowing that this is going to happen if he/she doesn’t get a shift on and release the ball. That way there is very little room for argument.
 
For those involved in futsal, is there such attention paid to the count as 11 a side officials seem to be making? I understand people do it, but there seems to be any which way to not have to actually penalise for the 8 second. Whether that’s delaying the count because the goalkeepers hair is out of place, or you can’t decide which method to count.

Can the goalkeeper be challenged for the ball as it’s under their control? No. Great, start a consistently timed count. Keeper still got hold of the ball at the end of the count? Corner.
 
Runner Ref said:
For those involved in futsal, is there such attention paid to the count as 11 a side officials seem to be making?
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Just as much attention as you get for say the 10 yard distance has for free kick in 11 a side. It has been an integral part of futsal for as long as i know so it goes with the flow. I suspect it will be the same for football once everything is settled in several years. Its getting a lot of attention now cuz its new.
 
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