A&H

Free-kick and the Whistle

maidenmullet

New Member
Hi, after my first couple of games I have come across this dilemma;

When should I blow the whistle for the free-kick to be taken?

As for some free kicks, I blow the whistle to signal the kicker they can re-start play but other times I just tell the player kicking just kick it when ready.

I am unsure if the type of free kick is a factor or which third it is in or even the situation. As I have felt if I blew the whistle for every free-kick the power of the whistle will deteriorate after each blow but also slow the game down. But also watching referees on television not every free-kick needs a whistle blew and I would like for that to be identified-why?

Many thanks!
 
The Referee Store
I asked the same question to an L2 ref. I saw that sometimes he did and sometimes he didn't and wanted to know his reasoning.

He generally used to let them get on with it in the defensive 2/3 of the pitch unless there was a clear reason why he wanted to hold up play (speaking to players, calming down pressure etc). In the final third he didn't want surprises or to be caught out of position, so would indicate he wanted it on the whistle. This gave him the opportunity to be in the best position and to manage to 'ceremonial' side of things - managing the wall, speaking to players etc. He'd start the game by clearly saying it was on the whistle, but as the game went on he would just hold the whistle in the air and point to it. He had them well trained by this point!
 
When should I blow the whistle for the free-kick to be taken?

1. When you've cautioned/dismissed someone for the resultant free-kick. (As you'll both be out of position anyway and because you need to write the details down, so everyone MUST wait for you.)

2. When you've done a sub before the f/k is taken (does happen, and yes, some teams are daft and take it when you're standing on the halfway line despite telling them to wait... If you have A/R's you need to wait for them to get in position.)

3. When it is within shooting distance and they ask for the wall to be put back 10 yards (or you're doing this anyway). If they affirm that they want the wall back, then it is on the whistle regardless. If they don't, then they can take a quick kick, but it's their problem if anyone is under 10 yards distance, unless it's someone standing on the ball and asking for a caution.

I find quick free-kicks are fairly rare, top teams tend to have a set piece specialist (of a sort), and grassroots teams tend to like to lump it into the box rather than let it bobble down the wing for a goal kick. Your mileage may vary!

4. When you've been dealing with a potential injury, and so you're miles out of position anyway.

Think that just about covers it? I may have missed something. :confused:

That would mean nearly every defensive free-kick, or any freekick towards the middle of the pitch wouldn't need a whistle in theory.
 
Just to point out that the Laws of the Game are often a good place to go to, when looking for advice.

In the "Guidelines for Match Officials" section, you will find the following:

"The whistle is needed to ... restart play for:
free kicks when the appropriate distance is required
[...]
restart play after it has been stopped for a:
caution or sending-off
injury
substitution"

Which is more or less exactly the same list that @RobOda gave.
 
1. When you've cautioned/dismissed someone for the resultant free-kick. (As you'll both be out of position anyway and because you need to write the details down, so everyone MUST wait for you.)

2. When you've done a sub before the f/k is taken (does happen, and yes, some teams are daft and take it when you're standing on the halfway line despite telling them to wait... If you have A/R's you need to wait for them to get in position.)

3. When it is within shooting distance and they ask for the wall to be put back 10 yards (or you're doing this anyway). If they affirm that they want the wall back, then it is on the whistle regardless. If they don't, then they can take a quick kick, but it's their problem if anyone is under 10 yards distance, unless it's someone standing on the ball and asking for a caution.

I find quick free-kicks are fairly rare, top teams tend to have a set piece specialist (of a sort), and grassroots teams tend to like to lump it into the box rather than let it bobble down the wing for a goal kick. Your mileage may vary!

4. When you've been dealing with a potential injury, and so you're miles out of position anyway.

Think that just about covers it? I may have missed something. :confused:

That would mean nearly every defensive free-kick, or any freekick towards the middle of the pitch wouldn't need a whistle in theory.
QFK are definitely rare, though they can happen in a Sunday league adult men's cup final, a little outside their own 18 yard box, when the team only has 11 players for the match, and they immediately lose the ball to the other team who proceed to ping a worldy over the keeper...

Happened just over a week ago!
 
This is regarding use of whistle

View attachment 5570
Was on a line recently where the ref blew for every time the ball went out and it got confusing on some goal kicks because they'd occurred following a challenge.
It wasn't a light tap on the whistle, it was a full on blow. He then points to 6 yard box but couple times (i was bench side) you could hear comments like "has he given a penalty?"..
 
Make it known to the player wether they should wait for a whistle or if they can take it whenever they are ready.

I had a player a few weeks back take a penalty before I whistled and scored it. I ordered a retake and he missed. I had forgot to tell him to wait for my whistle which caused some unhappy parents.

It just clears up any confusion
 
Make it known to the player wether they should wait for a whistle or if they can take it whenever they are ready.

I had a player a few weeks back take a penalty before I whistled and scored it. I ordered a retake and he missed. I had forgot to tell him to wait for my whistle which caused some unhappy parents.

It just clears up any confusion
Up until the word "parents" I was ready to be very unsympathetic to the player, but actually, I think this is a good example of one of the things I would change between refereeing kids and adults. I think a lot of adults wouldn't be very impressed being told to wait for a whistle on a penalty, but it's definitely reasonable to make sure the kids are comfortable with what they're waiting for.
 
Make it known to the player wether they should wait for a whistle or if they can take it whenever they are ready.

I had a player a few weeks back take a penalty before I whistled and scored it. I ordered a retake and he missed. I had forgot to tell him to wait for my whistle which caused some unhappy parents.

It just clears up any confusion
You aren't explicitly required to tell him to wait for your whistle on a pen. So good on you for not backing down and requiring the retake.
 
Some great advice already given, but if the kicker has been told to 'wait for the whistle', I usually hold the whistle up and point to it. This will reinforce your call and It helps to make the experts on the touchline (parents, coaches etc), aware of your instruction. As other members have said, following the advice in the LOTG is a great rule of thumb.
 
"I never blow my whistle for a dropped ball, but I see occasionally some referees doing it..."

You are required to blow your whistle for restarts after some events (injury, substitutions, sanctions etc). Now if the restart happens to be a dropped ball, it may seem the whistle was for a dropped ball but in fact it was due to the specific event.
 
"I never blow my whistle for a dropped ball, but I see occasionally some referees doing it..."

You are required to blow your whistle for restarts after some events (injury, substitutions, sanctions etc). Now if the restart happens to be a dropped ball, it may seem the whistle was for a dropped ball but in fact it was due to the specific event.
Agreed. But we, for some reason in this country, blow the whistle down the ear of the receiving player and then drop the ball.
I
During an injury players tend to toddle off and get water or Congregate, so generally I am ready I use the whistle to indicate I'm ready to restart and get people into position, as opposed to waiting for people to be in position and then blowing the whistle milliseconds before the restart
 
Agreed. But we, for some reason in this country, blow the whistle down the ear of the receiving player and then drop the ball.
I
During an injury players tend to toddle off and get water or Congregate, so generally I am ready I use the whistle to indicate I'm ready to restart and get people into position, as opposed to waiting for people to be in position and then blowing the whistle milliseconds before the restart
Yes, me too, don't want anyone claiming they hadn't realised that play had restarted.
 
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