The Ref Stop

Corners and Free Kicks

Ref-Al

Ref-Al

Member
After coming back to refereeing, I was getting frustrated with not being able to see everything and sometimes having to make a judgement call on a decision. So I've been trying to do a lot of work recently on my positioning, to give myself more confidence in my decision making by giving myself a wide angle of vision . But I am still struggling with corners and free kicks.

I take a good position, far side of the box from the taker. But then I almost panic as the ball comes in as I try to look at about 5 different things........where is the ball going? Who gets the first/last touch? Is the keeper being fouled? Is there any offences anywhere else in the area?

What do people do to help with this? Once or twice, I have kept an eye on what is going on around the keeper as there has previously been some pushing and as the balls pings off a head and goes over, I have no idea if its a CK or GK. Or I see who gets up to it, and am being screamed at by the keeper who claims he's been pushed and is now picking the ball out of the net/

My other issue is when the ball comes over and then gets knocked down back towards the corner it came from. I am then blind to the ball and would have to run and change my angle by nearly 120 degrees to get sight of it, by which time its moved and I am out of position again or I am in the way of play. Am I doing something fundamentally wrong, or am I being harsh on myself and these moments are just part of the game we have to deal with? Of course, at my level, only having CAR's also doesn't help these situations.
 
The Ref Stop
Al..... the best bit of advice I got from 1 of my old timers was never to look too closely for penalty area infringements ...unless its a blatant shove or pull just let the game go because if you look ,you will find every time

Don't get me wrong if I see an infringement I will give it ,but just a general overview is enough as you cannot watch all 16 -18 players at the same time

On your second point ....Yes..... you are bring way too harsh on yourself!!! take your best position and change it round every 3rd or 4 th corner to a goal line view to keep the players guessing where you are
 
Ah the age old problem of where to stand at corners (without assistants) I have had three different assessors give me three different places to stand at corners, so who is right? I say none of them. Im with Beezer, mix it up keep the players on there toes and make sure they don't get wise to where your standing.
 
If you have proper ARs, then the appropriate place to stand is on the opposite side of the field to the AR, somewhere along the top of the penalty area between the corner at the arc. Of course, the positioning of the players will dictate how much you have to move in any given direction to ensure that you're viewing as many players as possible while keeping your AR in view.

If you don't have proper ARs? It's a crapshoot at best.
 
Cheers guys, two games this weekend, so will try mixing it up and see how it goes.

My first game should be the "easier" game and I will keep my eye on the flight of the ball and see how the "confidence" goes. I'm sure sticking to one everytime will make it easier purely based on the fact I will be prepared to what I am going to do.
 
I think it depends on speed/skill of players as well - how quick can they break from one end of field to the other, where are corners landing etc.

Most important thing is of course if ball crosses the line for a goal and second for me, is GK being impeded making goal more likely.

Best place to judge both these is on the goal line, but of course if defending side break up field you are then behind the play and about 21 players!

As others have said, without neutral ARs, its best to mix it up and see what works best in your particular match.
 
Ref-Al said:
Cheers guys, two games this weekend, so will try mixing it up and see how it goes.

My first game should be the "easier" game and I will keep my eye on the flight of the ball and see how the "confidence" goes. I'm sure sticking to one everytime will make it easier purely based on the fact I will be prepared to what I am going to do.
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Maybe Al that could be the problem your facing in this situation ? as soon as the corner or free kick is taken ,the last thing you should be looking at is the flight of the ball ? the ball does not commit fouls. Get your eyes on the players that will help you so much ! ;)
 
Sorry, I worded that badly. What I meant was I would stay focused on the ball (upon arrival) in the area to see who gets on the end of it and where it flys off to.
 
Wherever you go, seeing the goal line and what is happening around the goal keeper is vital. 90% of meaningful fouls happen around the keeper (made up stat alert!).

No matter were you place yourself before the kick, the important thing to remember is not then switching off. Ball is in flight, players moving, time for the ref to move also! Where is the ball landing, where to go to get an angle on any potential challenge, be prepared to get to the goal line quickly to judge ball in - not in decisions (as a lone ref).

Be in a credible position. Job 75% done (made up stat alert! Again)
 
I always tend to stand on the corner of the box and penalty D of the side where the corner is coming from. I mix it up if there are 2 or 3 corners in a row. Iv noticed players dont take too much notice where you stand especially if you mix it up a little. One thing I would mention is the time i stood behind the players on the far side of the corner taker, a boy on the near post handled it and I couldnt see it....as there were a tight group.Should have been a clear pen...yet I was blindsided with no assistants. Had i been where I now normally try stand i clearly could have gave the pen.
 
I'm always impressed by the fact that monkey gets it right 100% of the time (made......) ;)
 
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Darren Paterson said:
I always tend to stand on the corner of the box and penalty D of the side where the corner is coming from. I mix it up if there are 2 or 3 corners in a row. Iv noticed players dont take too much notice where you stand especially if you mix it up a little. One thing I would mention is the time i stood behind the players on the far side of the corner taker, a boy on the near post handled it and I couldnt see it....as there were a tight group.Should have been a clear pen...yet I was blindsided with no assistants. Had i been where I now normally try stand i clearly could have gave the pen.
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I would always argue to stand on the side nearest the taker. Assuming the corner is crossed into the box you're pretty much garunteed to get it towards to front post, but it's 50/50 it will get as far as the back.
 
My positioning?
No or club AR - off the goal line, edge of the GA, same side as the kicker Same logic as above - the ball will normally bounce back out of the near side.

With AR - normally around the top or far corner from the AR (doesn't matter if it's far or near side to the kicker, I just want to have the ball between myself and the AR).

Positioning is about what's likely to happen and what's significant. The most significant thing that can happen here is a close ball in/out decision on the goal line, followed by ball in/out on the way through, followed by a PK. So I'll position myself best for the ball in/out. The only time that actually puts me out of position is if the ball goes to the far side, or if there's a quick counter - though if there's a quick counter, normally a foul is pretty obvious so you can spot it from anywhere. I'd rather be in position for ball in/out of play - and it keeps me close for a PK decision too.

free kicks - no ARs, I'll probably want to get in an offside line. I prefer to look front-on through play, but offside is more position-critical, and I'm only a few yards off the goal line then too.

Naturally I vary my position a bit when I can too.
 
I too always tend to stand on the corner of the box and penalty D of the side where the corner is coming from, i don't want to be behind the players where i can't see anything... luckily my head rotates 360 degrees like an owl and i see everything ( wishful thinking) i want to be front side where i can see hands/pushes/nudges/shirt pulls/shorts pulls etc.........
 
the best bit of advice I got from 1 of my old timers was never to look too closely for penalty area infringements ...unless its a blatant shove or pull just let the game go because if you look ,you will find every time

Great advice and so true. Useful if you believe you may have just given the incorrect decision as you can usually right the wrong. Also helpful if you want to get your own back on a player as they will often foul someone during the corner/free kick. Look and you shall find.
 
Be in a position where you can adjust your positioning to get the best view of the drop-in zone without having to worry about the ball hitting you or colliding with a player. That approach should give a natural variation to your positioning.
Watch a few games and see if you can predict where the ball is likely to go from how the players are lining up.
 
Had my first game on the weekend so only advice on positioning for CK's was the diagrams in LOTG. There was a mentor/assessor with me to give me advice and he said to me that when I don't have NARs, I should stand goal line far post and move out as the ball comes in. This seemed to work decently for me second half but it was U11s so my view was pretty difficult to block anyway. I'll try some of the suggestions on here over the coming weeks too
 
What's the point in moving out as the ball comes in?
My view is you want to be on the near side, not the far side for those, but that's only an opinion. Experiment, see what you prefer.
 
CapnBloodbeard said:
What's the point in moving out as the ball comes in?
My view is you want to be on the near side, not the far side for those, but that's only an opinion. Experiment, see what you prefer.
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Well considering it was my very first game, I just did what I was told and he was happier in the second half but to be honest, your advice does make more sense to me
 
It was intended as a question not a criticism. Positioning at corners is one thing where you'll receive a lot of conflicting advice. I stated earlier in this thread why I believe my idea is important - in a nutshell, I think standing on the goal line is more important for a ball in/out scenarios in the goal, rather than ball going out on the way in, which is why I don't see the point in moving.

But of course you're going to do what the assessor says in that game :P
 
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