A&H

First Match Report

maidenmullet

New Member
To be honest, this is the best game I could have had to start on, in terms of the lessons I have learnt from the game.

In terms of my own self-evaluation I have pointers to work on;
-Firstly my position, a spectator who was also a referee from the home team, said I need to be aware in terms of goal kicks which I 100% agree on as I definitely felt lost when the teams switched ends and need to be aware of where my linesman are for offsides.
-Secondly my reaction time to fouls, I know I need to be quicker in terms of calling a foul as it was a couple of seconds after from reactions which then I called the foul and free-kick.
-Thirdly my awareness of my linesman, a couple of times I missed their call for offside as they went out of my line of vision causing play to carry on resulting in some frustration of the players due to the backtracking but I do wish the people running the lines shouted at me, it only happened a handful of times.
-Fourthly I need to remain level headed, I definitely felt an influence from other players when I myself was not sure what to call probably because of my positioning, so a player would mention then I would go to please them.
-Finally, I blew the final whistle at the wrong time as it was over extra time I was waiting for the play to cease, either going for a goal kick or corner however the team scored leading me to blow the whistle, finishing 1-2. This caused the team that was scored against say it was offside and one of the managers come up to me saying the same after the whistle blew but funnily enough the person running the line was a spectator for the team didn't call offside so that eased my worries. Now I know if a goal is scored in additional time, I blow the whistle after kick-off rather than the goal to save myself from any questioning

I had to deal with some pot mouths, fortunately, that was near the end of the match and probably was coming from frustration and the foul that was called against their team, so I told them to calm down and say I understood where the anger came from but they had to reign it in a bit.

For this to be my first game, it has not put me off refereeing and I look forward to more games, I can only improve and the only way is up.
 
The Referee Store
Well done on self-evaluating.
Positioning will come with experience, as will awareness of assistant referees.
Do not take what players suggest when deciding what to do - that's risky.
Do not react to spectators, and certainly don't speak to them during the game.
You can blow for full time when the ball is in play, no need to wait until it goes out.
Good start - keep learning and stay keen!
 
Yeah, as Chas says, the fact you automatically going into self-evaluation is a great sign for you going forwards!

Specifically with the things you've identified:
Firstly: Positioning at GK's is all about judging how far the ball will go - you want to be side-on to the players challenging for a high ball. Referees with neutral AR's will often take an incredibly wide position to achieve this, but with CAR's it matters less which side, just be on the side of the drop zone and ready to move to adjust for a short/long kick.
Also, be wary of anyone coming up with "I'm a referee" after the game! Some will be legit and offer good advice, but some will be a guy who did the course 20 years ago and thinks that entitles them to give you an earful, or even just to honestly give you outdated advice. Pinch of salt and some caution until you get a measure of them.

Secondly: Disagree slightly with this point, don't feel like you need to rush any decisions. It's totally reasonable to take a moment to see where the ball goes after the foul if there's a possible advantage, it's totally reasonable just to pause to mentally replay what you've seen. Players will try and pressure you by saying you went with the reaction, but if you do it the same every time, the decision is right and the whistle/signal is confident, it's an easy sell to settle in to as the game goes on.

Thirdly: Totally right - think about your positioning. If you're running a diagonal/"lazy S" pattern, it helps keep play between you and your AR, so any flag will happen in your field of vision rather than behind you. If you're just following the ball or watching play from behind, you'll find yourself consciously checking with them more, which is a bad sign.

Fourthly: Comes with experience, and confidence in your decisions. Don't be afraid to start using the stepped approach if complaining becomes too much - it also might help you think of it as them being indisciplined rather than having valid complaints, which might make it easier to ignore when making the next call. But don't over-stress this, I'm sure we've all done it and practice is the main thing here. This ties into your summary paragraph regarding "pot-mouths" too - deal with it, don't ignore it.

Finally: General advice is actually not to call full time as the ball is out of play. In part because you're supposed to be adding time on, so how can the time expire while the ball is out? And also, it gives the impression that you're allowing extra time for an attack to resolve, which feels unfair in the case of a goal. You can blow whenever the ball is in a neutral area, which is practice basically means whenever it's not being directly moved towards a goalscoring opportunity.
 
Well done on self-evaluating.
Positioning will come with experience, as will awareness of assistant referees.
Do not take what players suggest when deciding what to do - that's risky.
Do not react to spectators, and certainly don't speak to them during the game.
You can blow for full time when the ball is in play, no need to wait until it goes out.
Good start - keep learning and stay keen!
Yeah, as Chas says, the fact you automatically going into self-evaluation is a great sign for you going forwards!

Specifically with the things you've identified:
Firstly: Positioning at GK's is all about judging how far the ball will go - you want to be side-on to the players challenging for a high ball. Referees with neutral AR's will often take an incredibly wide position to achieve this, but with CAR's it matters less which side, just be on the side of the drop zone and ready to move to adjust for a short/long kick.
Also, be wary of anyone coming up with "I'm a referee" after the game! Some will be legit and offer good advice, but some will be a guy who did the course 20 years ago and thinks that entitles them to give you an earful, or even just to honestly give you outdated advice. Pinch of salt and some caution until you get a measure of them.

Secondly: Disagree slightly with this point, don't feel like you need to rush any decisions. It's totally reasonable to take a moment to see where the ball goes after the foul if there's a possible advantage, it's totally reasonable just to pause to mentally replay what you've seen. Players will try and pressure you by saying you went with the reaction, but if you do it the same every time, the decision is right and the whistle/signal is confident, it's an easy sell to settle in to as the game goes on.

Thirdly: Totally right - think about your positioning. If you're running a diagonal/"lazy S" pattern, it helps keep play between you and your AR, so any flag will happen in your field of vision rather than behind you. If you're just following the ball or watching play from behind, you'll find yourself consciously checking with them more, which is a bad sign.

Fourthly: Comes with experience, and confidence in your decisions. Don't be afraid to start using the stepped approach if complaining becomes too much - it also might help you think of it as them being indisciplined rather than having valid complaints, which might make it easier to ignore when making the next call. But don't over-stress this, I'm sure we've all done it and practice is the main thing here. This ties into your summary paragraph regarding "pot-mouths" too - deal with it, don't ignore it.

Finally: General advice is actually not to call full time as the ball is out of play. In part because you're supposed to be adding time on, so how can the time expire while the ball is out? And also, it gives the impression that you're allowing extra time for an attack to resolve, which feels unfair in the case of a goal. You can blow whenever the ball is in a neutral area, which is practice basically means whenever it's not being directly moved towards a goalscoring opportunity.
Thank you both for your intellect and opinions on my evaluation points, this is really helpful as I get a totally different perspective and not feel so alienated by getting a clearer picture so your comments are much appreciated in regards to that and my development!

Onto the next match!
 
General advice is actually not to call full time as the ball is out of play. In part because you're supposed to be adding time on, so how can the time expire while the ball is out? And also, it gives the impression that you're allowing extra time for an attack to resolve, which feels unfair in the case of a goal. You can blow whenever the ball is in a neutral area, which is practice basically means whenever it's not being directly moved towards a goalscoring opportunity.
This could be the first time I've ever seen this actually written down and I have had a look around. I've often wondered why refs blow just after a gk is taken, but I've never seen it explained. It's not in the Laws, but it does seem to be the convention.
 
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