santa sangria
RefChat Addict
I’m also all in on this one as per various historical scenarios
Drop Ball restart location
- Thread starter Russell Jones
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Can I just say that the idea of the ball being in play till the referee signals makes perfect sense. I have always felt uncomfortable with the concept of a referee saying "the ball was dead when I decided in my head, not when I blew the whistle". In the vast majority of cases, should a second offence happen before the referee has whistled, it makes no difference as "restart based on the first offence" is clear in Law. Should the ref drop the whistle or it ceases to function then in this extremely rare circumstance the ref is entitled to call out "STOP!" (Law 9 merely says play has been stopped by referee).
Last edited:
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
Shouting "stop" may not always work in a stadium with 60,000+ fans
I would expect a ref at that level to have the $7.99 to buy a spare whistle.Shouting "stop" may not always work in a stadium with 60,000+ fans
santa sangria
RefChat Addict
We are talking about one a million events. In 13 years and 800+ matches and hundreds of thousands (at least) of decision points, I’ve got one case of ”play stopped in my head before whistle” and one of accidental whistle.
There are very rare situations where the referee cannot blow the whistle, they might have dropped it, it might have malfunctioned, or the referee may have become incapacitated. In the women's game where I took the ball full pelt from short distance in an area no man wants the ball I'm not convinced I'd have been able to blow the whistle even had I wanted to. Also reminded me of this one where Lee Probert got absolutely wiped out by two players, he somehow managed to blow the whistle but clearly was was going to have to be stopped even had he been unable to.
one
RefChat Addict
There are also times that there is a very short time between when you want the game stopped and when you 'signal' (by whistle or other means).
One is the example i gave earlier when the keeper is in control of the ball near goal line but is accidentally knocked unconscious by own player, hits the deck and dropps the ball into goal. By the time the referee can signal, a goal is scored however this is after the referee and just about everyone else wanted to stop the game.
These are rare occasions but the laws should provision for.
Law 9:
Glossary
A signal (which is not necessarily a whistle) is a physical indication of a decision. The decision could only have been taken place before the signal. I think it's reasonable to interpret the laws so that the referee has stopped play when s/he has made the decision. I think the laws have put enough trust in referees not to misuse the power this interpretation give them
Also a rhetorical question, if the ball remains in play until the referee gives the signal (ball over line outside of this context), does the ball go in play as soon as the referee gives the signal for a restart?
One is the example i gave earlier when the keeper is in control of the ball near goal line but is accidentally knocked unconscious by own player, hits the deck and dropps the ball into goal. By the time the referee can signal, a goal is scored however this is after the referee and just about everyone else wanted to stop the game.
These are rare occasions but the laws should provision for.
Law 9:
Glossary
A signal (which is not necessarily a whistle) is a physical indication of a decision. The decision could only have been taken place before the signal. I think it's reasonable to interpret the laws so that the referee has stopped play when s/he has made the decision. I think the laws have put enough trust in referees not to misuse the power this interpretation give them
Also a rhetorical question, if the ball remains in play until the referee gives the signal (ball over line outside of this context), does the ball go in play as soon as the referee gives the signal for a restart?