A&H

How to prepare for a game that you know is tough

R

Redref34

Active Member
Level 5 Referee
Hi all

Parts of this been covered before I believe but…

Got an appointment this weekend and I know it is going to be a tough one in terms of physical, lots of potential dissent from players and managers and tough to manage generally.

Apart from the obvious, how do you go into a game like this? Do you completely put your preconceptions to the side and ref it like you don’t know the teams? Do you pick out potentially difficult players/ coaches before to keep an eye on?

Do you go into the game with an eye to be a bit more on the whistle than you usually would, especially to start ?

Thanks
 
The Referee Store
Personally, from the potential dissent side of things, I would lower my tolerance.

Early stern warnings/public bollockings for careless fouls that verge on reckless.

Potentially don't let so much go physical wise, slow the game down.

That's all from the comfort of my sofa though. On the day it may end up being a different story.
 
You don't know it will be tough, but it is good that you have identified that it potentially might be tough.

In my experience, when you go into a game expecting it to be a battle nothing really happens. I'll always remember being appointed as AR to a step 3 game that had been abandoned due to violence a few weeks before. At the coin toss the referee said along the lines of "look, I know what happened last time but it isn't happening today. If you want to fight again you do it when you next play in March, but try it today and I will be all over it". Literally nothing happened in that game.

If you are concerned then the typical approach would be to gauge the first 10 minutes. In that period give soft fouls if needed, don't play advantage, and generally keep a tight reign on the game. If they are behaving you can gradually start to release that reign, but be ready to tighten it if necessary.
 
Try and referee it with a smile on your face from the very start. You never know - your demeanour may well rub off on the players. ;)

Stamp on dissent from any area early on and concentrate intently for the whole 90 mins. It'll breeze by ... :)👍
 
As Rusty says, the ones you expect to be hard rarely are, possibly because you go in with the right mindset. The ones you expect to be a breeze are the ones to watch out for.

When the game starts make sure you start out giving everything. Then the players know you're on it and you can ease off a bit. If you start out trying to let the game flow right from the start then the tempo will ramp up and it's more difficult to come down hard if you didn't start out like that.
 
RustyRef said:
You don't know it will be tough, but it is good that you have identified that it potentially might be tough.

In my experience, when you go into a game expecting it to be a battle nothing really happens. I'll always remember being appointed as AR to a step 3 game that had been abandoned due to violence a few weeks before. At the coin toss the referee said along the lines of "look, I know what happened last time but it isn't happening today. If you want to fight again you do it when you next play in March, but try it today and I will be all over it". Literally nothing happened in that game.

If you are concerned then the typical approach would be to gauge the first 10 minutes. In that period give soft fouls if needed, don't play advantage, and generally keep a tight reign on the game. If they are behaving you can gradually start to release that reign, but be ready to tighten it if necessary.
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TBF at the level id have expected the clubs to have made it clear as day it wasn't happening again and the players to duly oblige.
 
I don't personally like doing "research" pre-match. Go into every match with an open mind and a readiness to respond to the tone of the first few tackles, the first 50/50, the first one-two thrown in decision.

You should be able to tell from the reaction to the first one or two decisions if the players have turned up to play or to get in a scrap. And in my opinion, this gives you a much better guide to the tone of the match than form guides, league tables or disciplinary histories, all of which can be irrelevant if a team has collectively gotten out of bed on the wrong side that morning.
 
ARs?
Make sure they are on time, start briefing general stuff early.
Good pre-match contact with the coaches.
Good warm up, together.
Get your ARs in the zone with you.
Strong start.

I had a belter of a 6-5 last night. It went great but I tried to manage the game too much. I could have given a borderline SPA much earlier, I could have warned one bench much earlier, I could have given a shouting-across-the-field-dissent card much earlier.

I forget this - you are not there to do anyone favours. It’s not the EPL. Use the cards:)
 
wazztie16 said:
Personally, from the potential dissent side of things, I would lower my tolerance.

Early stern warnings/public bollockings for careless fouls that verge on reckless.

Potentially don't let so much go physical wise, slow the game down.

That's all from the comfort of my sofa though. On the day it may end up being a different story.
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Yes. I always found that "know the law, apply the law" stood me in good stead in difficult games.
 
Get the first few calls 100% and give them sharply, confident, and be in sensational positions to call them

Knowledge is power, fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

that first maybe card, just take it.

Its possible to let a game loose as it progresses, its impossible ( very hard) to pull back a game which has ran away from you
 
Anubis said:
Get the first few calls 100% and give them sharply, confident, and be in sensational positions to call them

Knowledge is power, fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

that first maybe card, just take it.

Its possible to let a game loose as it progresses, its impossible ( very hard) to pull back a game which has ran away from you
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Yes, control at the start of the match. I took this advice in a promotion play off on Weds.

First foul was an odd one. I explained to the offender what I saw and he obviously wasn’t happy. He was in midfield so I realised I would be with him for the next 90.

So, rather than let him walk away miffed, I held the free kick snd explained again so he got it. It was a small thing, took a few seconds a few mins into the match but it set me up for the match.

These teams usually get dissent cards like confetti - but I only had one in added time 90 mins later;)
 
I had one of these earlier in the season and I'd like to think that there's not much more to do than you would usually do, it's just that for me, the little things are all a bit more important and carry a bit more signifcance.

You know it's going to be a challenging game so make sure you're switched on and well prepared for the fixture from what you do the day/night before and on day of the game to make sure you're mentally and physically in the right place for such a game.

First impressions are always important, especially in fixtures that could be challenging - When you arrive they will be looking at who the referee is and make an initial interpretation of whether or not they look like they're up to it. Arrive in plenty of time, looking professional, use the time on the ground to say hello and speak to players & club officials and get a proper pitch inspection and warm-up done out on the FOP.

Guide them through the teamsheet process and make sure you've got correct shirt numbers, team/GK colours, techincal area occupants, etc. - no need to go in to specifics of the game or tell them how you're going to referee it, just show them you're in control, know what you're doing, you're confident, comfortable, and a presence on the ground, earn some respect before you've started the game.

Then from the beginning of the game, make sure they know you're in charge. Big loud whistles, use your voice to be proactive and authoritative, lower your tolerance for both fouls and dissent (to the right level of the game), if it's a good standard they'll expect contact, want to be allowed to play some advantage, etc. and it will only wind them up if you keep blowing or are too soft, but again, let them know you're in charge and be seen to be dealing with anything that is foul play (or bordering foul play) and let them earn the right for you to be more lenient and let them get on with it. Also try and keep things as even as you can so no one side feels hard done by or like you're against them.

Get your first decisions correct, work hard and get around the pitch, get yourself in to credible positions - when there is a foul give it a little sprint and get on top of/as close to the incident as you can to give you that extra bit of credibility and be on top of any potential flare ups.

If you get half an invitation for a card or sin-bin early doors, take it and use the captains to help you manage players if that's your style. If things are escalating, drop your tolerance level further, take your time with restarts, substitutions, discipline, etc. and try and take some sting out of the game.

There's no one size fits all answer, it's obviously so dependent on the players - sometimes you go in to these games and they end up being a breeze, other times no matter what you do it will be total chaos. Just manage the game in front of you as best as you can but hopefully these steps can be useful / help make the game a little easier.
 
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