The Ref Stop

Giving players information.

None of that malarky for me.

During the course of a match, I might be tempted to shout something "advisory" if/when the temperature of the game might benefit from it on the odd single occasion but as a general feature of my game? - forget it.

I'm not there to coach or mollycoddle any player. To be honest, if I were to be running behind or alongside a player shouting "steady/go careful/no foul" whilst they were totally engaged in their game, I'd half expect that player to turn around and accuse me of distracting them or putting them off. I'm there to control the match within the remit of the LOTG, not individuals. :)
 
The Ref Stop
I've always been intrigued by the variety of opinions on this. For me, I would never insert myself to tell a keeper yay or nay on picking it up; I'd respond if asked, but I never have been. I will say things like "straight up" on a punt coming down, or "play the ball," or "watch the hands" when players are competing--all depending on the nature of the game. I tend to view minor TI infractions as trifling, but if I've let it go I may say to the player "better job keeping the foot down next time please," or reference keeping the foot down the next time the player takes a TI. On challenges, I'll say "no foul" or "keep playing" to let players know I saw the play and am not making a call; I really don't like "nothing there"--there would be nothing to say if there wasn't "something," even though it wasn't a foul. And on a PK I always remind the kicker to wait for the whistle, the GKs to stay on the line, and the other players that they are waiting for the kick not the whistle. I think much of this comes down to style--and my style varies with age as well. (I mostly do 14U to 19U, but occasionally dip down to 12U or 10U.)
 
Hoosier Ref said:
Back pass.... tough one and I agree with one. What you say needs to avoid the possible interpretation of coaching. "you can pick it up" can seem to the other team as telling the keeper what to do. "no hands here" is borderline but slightly better. At the levels I work, they should know. Couple of things I have picked up working regional level competitions. I do talk to the players. Don't get excessive or they quit listening to you. I was told by an assessor and think it is good advise to avoid saying "easy". The coach manager may want his players challenging aggressively (and legally). This could sound like advise opposite of what the coach wants. Better phrases to use...... my personal favorite is "smart here.... smart here". It lets them know I'm here and doesn't tell the players what to do and is open ended. If a foul you deem worthy of calling (not trifling or dubious) prompts a whistle they really have no room to complain nor do their mates. I also use the "I'm here" at times. Explaining calls too much can open a can of worms with the players feeling entitled to explanations of everything. If there is a no-call that I know could be contentious, I might come out with "nothing in that," "not enough in that" "that's a good tackle" or "I saw it, we're playing".

If you say "no foul" and there is a little push or clip at the ankle that has no impact and calling it would not be consistent with what you have called could the player feel aggrieved? maybe. You did say "no foul" then a technical foul was committed. That's why I prefer "smart here" then if I make a call, they tend to feel pretty foolish and their teammates get on the player.

A national assessor said he liked the phrases I used but to be careful of giving too much of a running narrative as it could minimize impact when I do call out something critical.
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On a similar note I cringe when I hear referees shout don't dive in or stay on your feet. That's just wrong as players are entitled to do either of those things as long as they don't do so in a careless or reckless way, or of course in a way that uses excessive force. Instead I much prefer be careful, steady, don't foul him, etc.
 
I'm not keen on phrases like 'don't pick it up', as the underscore indicates a likely path to confusion.
I suspect that some observers will be persnickety about on-field phraseology. Possible observer mindset of 'what worked for me, will work for others'.
Aside from during stoppages (and the occasional 'careful!' inside the defensive PA), I prefer to praise good football than coach the players.
 
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I will say that I think shouting unnecessarily is a substitute for good, consistent and appropriate game management. If, within 15 minutes, the players have not already understood what is, in your opinion, acceptable or not it is likely that you are not being as consistent in your decision making as you should be.

I prefer to manage the game with quiet and frequent one-on-one chats rather than loud shouting to players. I also do not regard it as my job to prevent players from committing fouls; it is my job to punish players who attempt to play outside of the bounds of the LotG. Until they do cross the line, I have no reason to shout at them.

To specifically answer the question in the OP, I would say that I have never, nor am I ever likely, to voluntarily shout "you're okay to pick it up" or anything like that. If he asks me, I will answer. If he was ok to pick it up but scrambles it away with his feet instead, I will try to tell him or a teammate that he would have been okay and tell him why quietly and on the fly.
 
CanuckRef said:
To specifically answer the question in the OP, I would say that I have never, nor am I ever likely, to voluntarily shout "you're okay to pick it up" or anything like that. If he asks me, I will answer. If he was ok to pick it up but scrambles it away with his feet instead, I will try to tell him or a teammate that he would have been okay and tell him why quietly and on the fly.
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This is approach I take. If asked I'll happily guide the GK on what to do (OK to pick up, not OK) but I would never voluntarily coach / guide the GK. I think that opens up a lot of potential problems. What happens if you do it in on instance for one team and then in the same game for some reason (forgot, other things going on drawing your attention etc) on another occasion you don't do it for the other team, that would be anarchy and unfair.
 
spuddy1878 said:
Views on this.

If a ball is going back to the goalkeeper and its debatable back pass do you communicate with the keeper saying "dont/do pick it up keeper"

This isnt really a major issue but taking it a bit further, my game today ball played through forward goes round the keeper (tightish angle) and passes the ball towards the goal, as its a yard or two off the line a team mate who was offside when the pass\shot was taken puts the ball into the net.
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I don't tend to shout anything which has 'do' or don't' as it can lead to confusion if only part of the sentence is heard. If I shout 'Don't pick it up keeper', they might not hear (or claim they didn't hear) the don't, meaning they believe I told them it's OK. I always wait for them to shout me and I say yes or no, or the thumbs up/down if they look my way asking.
 
Big Cat said:
I'm not keen on phrases like 'don't pick it up', as the underscore indicates a likely path to confusion.
I suspect that some observers will be persnickety about on-field phraseology. Possible observer mindset of 'what worked for me, will work for others'.
Aside from during stoppages (and the occasional 'careful!' inside the defensive PA), I prefer to praise good football than coach the players.
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Exactly the point I came to make. I once shouted "no hands" to a GK - when he picked it up, he claimed I'd said "use your hands!". Clearly rubbish, but the attempt to help killed my match control immediately.
 
I never had a problem telling a keeper they could or could not pick up a ball when they looked like getting it wrong...........as for talking to players, took me a long time to have the confidence to do it. As @RustyRef states, keeping it to, careful, no foul etc. Is good
 
Big Cat said:
I'm not keen on phrases like 'don't pick it up', as the underscore indicates a likely path to confusion.
I suspect that some observers will be persnickety about on-field phraseology. Possible observer mindset of 'what worked for me, will work for others'.
Aside from during stoppages (and the occasional 'careful!' inside the defensive PA), I prefer to praise good football than coach the players.
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I once had an assessor tell me not to use a body language expression I used to manage a player. Even though he clearly saw it working for me.

Out of interest what is the reason behind "the occasional 'careful!' inside the defensive PA"? (*Follow up question alert*)
 
one said:
I once had an assessor tell me not to use a body language expression I used to manage a player. Even though he clearly saw it working for me.

Out of interest what is the reason behind "the occasional 'careful!' inside the defensive PA"? (*Follow up question alert*)
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I have a longer history of officiating golf tournaments than I do... getting shouted at
In golf, the ethos was to help players avoid breaching the Rules of the Game
My 'careful!' comments are directed at defenders to alert them that their dual has now entered the PA. I think that's within the Spirit of the Game. It seems to be acceptable at 'grass roots level' anyway. Not sure about much higher levels of the game
 
Big Cat said:
I have a longer history of officiating golf tournaments than I do... getting shouted at
In golf, the ethos was to help players avoid breaching the Rules of the Game
My 'careful!' comments are directed at defenders to alert them that their dual has now entered the PA. I think that's within the Spirit of the Game. It seems to be acceptable at 'grass roots level' anyway. Not sure about much higher levels of the game
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I mean, the defenders should know where they are on the pitch. That's a massively important part of defending.
 
CanuckRef said:
I mean, the defenders should know where they are on the pitch. That's a massively important part of defending.
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True. Players are muppets though (I was one of them)
At least when they don't listen, I can point to the spot and shrug the shoulders (Selling thing complete!)
Let's see what @one was gonna say...
 
So you are telling the defender if he fouls now it's a pen. Fair enough, nothing against it at lower levels. It helps your match control. You are preventing having to make a controversial decision. Big gain for little pain.

Coudn't the same apply when you see a keeper is in doubt if he can pick up a ball, you know if he picks it up you are likely to give a IFK which will be protested by defenders. And if you don't give it, it will be protested by attackers. A simple clear shout of "no hands" may possibly see a little protest from attackers which you can easily dismiss but avoids the bigger protest. We are still talking about lower level games or youth.
 
one said:
So you are telling the defender if he fouls now it's a pen. Fair enough, nothing against it at lower levels. It helps your match control. You are preventing having to make a controversial decision. Big gain for little pain.

Coudn't the same apply when you see a keeper is in doubt if he can pick up a ball, you know if he picks it up you are likely to give a IFK which will be protested by defenders. And if you don't give it, it will be protested by attackers. A simple clear shout of "no hands" may possibly see a little protest from attackers which you can easily dismiss but avoids the bigger protest. We are still talking about lower level games or youth.
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I think "that's a backpass!" works better. Best not to mention hands or picking the ball up.
 
It's fairly accepted to help/warn players in certain circumstances - making it clear where they can and cannot put their hands when in a defensive wall in the PA, or delaying a corner to clarify what's an unacceptable level of pushing and shoving.

Although warning players in-play is not strictly necessary, I don't know how it can be argued against if a referee wants to do it...
 
The situation on a backpass is interesting. I'm not sure I could really communicate something that would not be considered coaching in the timeframe the keeper would need to have that information.

I would NEVER proactively provide that information. In other words, if it's a deflection, I'm not going to yell out "deflection" or "Keeper can pick it up!" There's too much room for interpretation. Now once the keeper DOES pick it up, I will say something like "Play it!" or "Deflection!" to let everyone know that I'm not going to call a backpass violation.

For some of the other items, one of my pet phrases to use when players are coming together is "Play the ball!" Another one is "Be fair!" That way, I'm using language out of the Laws while still letting players know I'm right there and ready to call something. I try to stay away from things like "Be smart" or something else like that. The goal is to have the ability to talk while not having something you say come back to bite you.
 
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