From time to time, life provides you with a reminder of things you know or knew but had allowed to slip from the forefront of your mind. Sometimes the realisation that you had forgotten them comes as an pleasant surprise, other times the memory stings a little as you realise you had been in denial about those forgotten facts.
Here are some things that I "re-learned" this morning as I made my return to active refereeing in the local Sunday League ...
- Credibility sometimes matters more than the correct decision
- The ability to sell a decision is inexorably linked to your proximity to play
- My eyes are faster than my brain which is in turn faster than my legs
- Sunday League players are fantastic people as are the people who run their clubs
Having covered these points, I will proceed with the match report from my return and I hope you're got the time to spare as it might be a little longer than my usual blog posts.
I arrived earlier than planned to find the club secretary and the players putting up the nets. As far as they were concerned, the field was fit and we were playing. On inspection I agreed with them. It was soft and very damp in some places but good enough for a game. I went to my changing room, got out of my tracksuit and headed out for my warm up. I didn't enjoy it as the wind was strong and the rain was drizzly. It didn't stop me spotting two piles of dog feces and I asked a club official to get them removed.
The team sheets arrived, everyone's name was written up in my notebook and I headed out to play but we had to wait a little while for the dog "deposit" to be removed. We got underway and I didn't have to give a free kick for almost 12 minutes, which was just as well as I was struggling to get my second wind. The field had a substantial slope and the central area was heavy, so I tried to run around rather than through it, meaning I had to run a lot further than I really wanted.
The first big call came on half an hour, just after the home team's opening goal and involved a player I've refereed many times. He made a reckless challenge and became the first player I have cautioned in nearly two years. I was about 5 yards from the incident, he acknowledged I was right and we got underway without much fuss. His team scored their second goal soon afterwards with a lovely piece of play.
The ball was played up the right wing and was flicked nonchalantly overhead by the right back, then again by the right midfielder (wing back?) and the attacker ran towards goal as I shouted to the defender challenging him for the ball not to pull him back. The forward broke free before rounding the goalkeeper and passing the ball into the goal.
The away team struck back almost immediately with a counter attack and then 2 decisions in quick succession changed the complexion of the game as we entered added time at the end of the first half. From my angle I could tell the home player had committed an act of dangerous play with his foot up at shoulder height, but I couldn't see if he made contact with his opponent, so I awarded an indirect free kick. The offending player challenged the decision and I responded by making sure he moved back the required distance before moving into position to observe the drop zone.
As the ball flashed into the penalty area, a home central defender inexplicably stuck out his left arm as the ball was heading towards the goal line for a goal kick and instinctively I awarded a kick from the penalty mark. A goal was scored, we kicked off and I immediately ended the half.
The second half started off quietly but the first of my points above comes into play. The away team pushed up the hill, the attacker tried to go around the goalkeeper who dived to gather the ball and the attacker fell down. The manner in his fall suggested there was no contact and I stopped play before cautioning him for simulation. It was the right decision at the time and playing the incident back in my head, it still feels and looks like the right decision. The problem was that I made it from the halfway line, some 45 yards from the players and that made it the wrong decision and more difficult to sell.
The player took umbrage and upped his effort levels, scoring a good goal just a minute later. He then threw himself (fairly) into a challenge and got injured. According to a team mate after the game, he spent yesterday afternoon in the casualty department of the local hospital with an injury to the same knee, but this looked serious and he had to be carried off the field of play.
This only happened after I had been harangued by his girlfriend when I asked her to move off the field of play. She had wandered 10 yards infield as I adopted a position to allow me to observe his assessment and the remainder of the players. The team manager looked a little embarrassed as he had to usher her off the field. His team scored another goal 4 minutes later to double their lead and the game seemed to be settling into a pattern of long ball football as both teams tried to avoid the centre of the field which was now resembling a quagmire.
On the back of the lack of credibility of my decision to caution for simulation I worked harder at closing down my proximity to play. In the 72nd minute I spotted a reckless challenge near the corner flag when I was only 10 yards away. I also ran towards the players so that as the offender looked for me, I was standing almost on top of him and the player he had illegally challenged. The player was cautioned and then a few minutes later he committed another reckless challenge and was dismissed. His response was to use OFFINABUS language towards me before leaving the field. His team conceded another goal 10 minutes later and we were soon all done.
I did my warm down and felt my cramped muscles easing so much that I was able to run upstairs to my changing room to check I had all my kit. I noticed that the door to the changing room had sustained three holes, low down, as if it had been kicked, since I went out for kick off. I didn't see it happen so can only have my suspicions.
A quick drink in the bar after the game (blackcurrant and soda water) allowed me the time to have a chat with some of the players and club officials. One of the players suggested he was thinking of being a referee and I told him I thought he'd do a good job (no bs as he reads the game well and is very fair). We had a few laughs about playing FIFA12 before I headed home to write up my reports and have a warm bath.
Game done, reports sent and recovery jog planned for tomorrow night.
Continue reading...
Here are some things that I "re-learned" this morning as I made my return to active refereeing in the local Sunday League ...
- Credibility sometimes matters more than the correct decision
- The ability to sell a decision is inexorably linked to your proximity to play
- My eyes are faster than my brain which is in turn faster than my legs
- Sunday League players are fantastic people as are the people who run their clubs
Having covered these points, I will proceed with the match report from my return and I hope you're got the time to spare as it might be a little longer than my usual blog posts.
I arrived earlier than planned to find the club secretary and the players putting up the nets. As far as they were concerned, the field was fit and we were playing. On inspection I agreed with them. It was soft and very damp in some places but good enough for a game. I went to my changing room, got out of my tracksuit and headed out for my warm up. I didn't enjoy it as the wind was strong and the rain was drizzly. It didn't stop me spotting two piles of dog feces and I asked a club official to get them removed.
The team sheets arrived, everyone's name was written up in my notebook and I headed out to play but we had to wait a little while for the dog "deposit" to be removed. We got underway and I didn't have to give a free kick for almost 12 minutes, which was just as well as I was struggling to get my second wind. The field had a substantial slope and the central area was heavy, so I tried to run around rather than through it, meaning I had to run a lot further than I really wanted.
The first big call came on half an hour, just after the home team's opening goal and involved a player I've refereed many times. He made a reckless challenge and became the first player I have cautioned in nearly two years. I was about 5 yards from the incident, he acknowledged I was right and we got underway without much fuss. His team scored their second goal soon afterwards with a lovely piece of play.
The ball was played up the right wing and was flicked nonchalantly overhead by the right back, then again by the right midfielder (wing back?) and the attacker ran towards goal as I shouted to the defender challenging him for the ball not to pull him back. The forward broke free before rounding the goalkeeper and passing the ball into the goal.
The away team struck back almost immediately with a counter attack and then 2 decisions in quick succession changed the complexion of the game as we entered added time at the end of the first half. From my angle I could tell the home player had committed an act of dangerous play with his foot up at shoulder height, but I couldn't see if he made contact with his opponent, so I awarded an indirect free kick. The offending player challenged the decision and I responded by making sure he moved back the required distance before moving into position to observe the drop zone.
As the ball flashed into the penalty area, a home central defender inexplicably stuck out his left arm as the ball was heading towards the goal line for a goal kick and instinctively I awarded a kick from the penalty mark. A goal was scored, we kicked off and I immediately ended the half.
The second half started off quietly but the first of my points above comes into play. The away team pushed up the hill, the attacker tried to go around the goalkeeper who dived to gather the ball and the attacker fell down. The manner in his fall suggested there was no contact and I stopped play before cautioning him for simulation. It was the right decision at the time and playing the incident back in my head, it still feels and looks like the right decision. The problem was that I made it from the halfway line, some 45 yards from the players and that made it the wrong decision and more difficult to sell.
The player took umbrage and upped his effort levels, scoring a good goal just a minute later. He then threw himself (fairly) into a challenge and got injured. According to a team mate after the game, he spent yesterday afternoon in the casualty department of the local hospital with an injury to the same knee, but this looked serious and he had to be carried off the field of play.
This only happened after I had been harangued by his girlfriend when I asked her to move off the field of play. She had wandered 10 yards infield as I adopted a position to allow me to observe his assessment and the remainder of the players. The team manager looked a little embarrassed as he had to usher her off the field. His team scored another goal 4 minutes later to double their lead and the game seemed to be settling into a pattern of long ball football as both teams tried to avoid the centre of the field which was now resembling a quagmire.
On the back of the lack of credibility of my decision to caution for simulation I worked harder at closing down my proximity to play. In the 72nd minute I spotted a reckless challenge near the corner flag when I was only 10 yards away. I also ran towards the players so that as the offender looked for me, I was standing almost on top of him and the player he had illegally challenged. The player was cautioned and then a few minutes later he committed another reckless challenge and was dismissed. His response was to use OFFINABUS language towards me before leaving the field. His team conceded another goal 10 minutes later and we were soon all done.
I did my warm down and felt my cramped muscles easing so much that I was able to run upstairs to my changing room to check I had all my kit. I noticed that the door to the changing room had sustained three holes, low down, as if it had been kicked, since I went out for kick off. I didn't see it happen so can only have my suspicions.
A quick drink in the bar after the game (blackcurrant and soda water) allowed me the time to have a chat with some of the players and club officials. One of the players suggested he was thinking of being a referee and I told him I thought he'd do a good job (no bs as he reads the game well and is very fair). We had a few laughs about playing FIFA12 before I headed home to write up my reports and have a warm bath.
Game done, reports sent and recovery jog planned for tomorrow night.
Continue reading...
