I thought I'd seen everything in last week's game but it seemed that football still had a few old tricks up its sleeve.
The falling temperatures meant that the game was in doubt but the early morning sunshine saw the white coating melting away but the top layer of the field was crusty. I did have to laugh when one of the players told me we could play as it would "take a stud". It was the perfect opportunity to trot out my one liner "... yes mate but when you weigh as much as I do, everything takes a stud ...".
I didn't expect to see sparkling flowing football from the bottom team in the league against the team 4th bottom. I wasn't disappointed in that respect but what I did see was generally honest endeavour from two groups of players who obviously look forward to their weekly run out, who never gave up trying, never gave up running (sometimes slowly) and I thoroughly enjoyed my 90 minutes with them.
The game was just over a minute old when there was a late challenge and I could have let it go, but practising what I preach, I blew the whistle and the players noticeably stiffened. I wondered if I had done something wrong but I overheard a few whispers along the lines of, we can't mess with this bloke. A few minutes later, I had to use my considerable presence to separate two players standing nose to nose, intent on continuing their clash after another late challenge. Two cautions later and no one could underestimate my intentions not to let this game get away from me.
Suddenly there was an injured player on the ground who seemed in a bad way, so I stopped play and ran towards him. I got the trainer to check him out and sent him to the touchline. Now I explained to the defender that I was dropping the ball and told the keeper not to pick the ball up before running upfield to get into position for the drop zone. I looked back over my shoulder to see the goalkeeper shaping to kick the ball from his hands ... PEEEEEEEP! and an indirect free kick for "a passback".
No complaints from the defence when I asked the question of the goalkeeper about whether I had told him not to pick the ball up. He admitted that I had, everything went very quiet and the free kick resulted in nothing. The away team scored a goal, the home team equalised and the away team scored another ... we had only played 15 minutes!
Having spent a fair part of last week making decisions from distance and having to sell them hard. This week I was able to improve my proximity and as a result (with a whistle on the run and keeping on running into the action zone) I was having no problem selling them. This week's problem was getting my angles right. Twice in the 2nd half I got them wrong and found my view (from less than 15 yards) screened by a player.
The result was that I didn't give a free kick for handball by the away team and I also couldn't give the penalty to the away team. I gave the non-decision and sold it with a strong "cutting the grass" signal. It seemed to work with the away manager/trainer when I made a point of talking to him while waiting for a goal kick to be taken.
I had already given a penalty to the away team but they had missed it when their captain virtually passed the ball to the home team goalkeeper. I have to mention the goalkeeper at this point. He wasn't particularly tall but he was athletic and made some fantastic saves, especially the one where he palmed a 25 yard drive up and around the post.
The home team tired, the away team scored a few more goals and then we had a claim for an injured player needing treatment. I had seen him go down but didn't think it looked serious and when I looked to check on him, he was getting back to his feet. The problem was that the home team had played the ball out for a throw-in, the away team didn't give them the ball back and they won a corner after charging upfield on an unopposed counter attack. The players were so incensed I knew it would take something special to put things back on an even keel. The away team captain told his player to pass the ball to the goalkeeper at the corner and suddenly everyone calmed down.
In between times, I managed to get too close to the ball and when it took a deflection after a foul, the ball caught me squarely on the jaw - muddy face time! I had to deal with another couple of late challenges (both cautioned) and a bout of dissent from a centre forward who picked up a caution.
After the game finished I had a young spectator want to know if I had ever refereed in The FA Cup. I had to admit that I hadn't and she asked, "So you're just a FA Referee, not a FA Cup Referee ...?" Put like that I had to agree and she thought it was great that they had a proper referee at their game. That, along with the early intervention on the first challenge, the sporting actions of the away team captain at the corner and the acceptance of my bad line of sight explanation on the denied penalty, all made it a very enjoyable day out on the grass.
The next two weeks were supposed to see me leading on a new referees course but it isn't going ahead, so I've got Sunday off and a promotion assessment on the 12th before a long weekend away ... I hope the hotel room has Sky Sports!
Continue reading...
The falling temperatures meant that the game was in doubt but the early morning sunshine saw the white coating melting away but the top layer of the field was crusty. I did have to laugh when one of the players told me we could play as it would "take a stud". It was the perfect opportunity to trot out my one liner "... yes mate but when you weigh as much as I do, everything takes a stud ...".
I didn't expect to see sparkling flowing football from the bottom team in the league against the team 4th bottom. I wasn't disappointed in that respect but what I did see was generally honest endeavour from two groups of players who obviously look forward to their weekly run out, who never gave up trying, never gave up running (sometimes slowly) and I thoroughly enjoyed my 90 minutes with them.
The game was just over a minute old when there was a late challenge and I could have let it go, but practising what I preach, I blew the whistle and the players noticeably stiffened. I wondered if I had done something wrong but I overheard a few whispers along the lines of, we can't mess with this bloke. A few minutes later, I had to use my considerable presence to separate two players standing nose to nose, intent on continuing their clash after another late challenge. Two cautions later and no one could underestimate my intentions not to let this game get away from me.
Suddenly there was an injured player on the ground who seemed in a bad way, so I stopped play and ran towards him. I got the trainer to check him out and sent him to the touchline. Now I explained to the defender that I was dropping the ball and told the keeper not to pick the ball up before running upfield to get into position for the drop zone. I looked back over my shoulder to see the goalkeeper shaping to kick the ball from his hands ... PEEEEEEEP! and an indirect free kick for "a passback".
No complaints from the defence when I asked the question of the goalkeeper about whether I had told him not to pick the ball up. He admitted that I had, everything went very quiet and the free kick resulted in nothing. The away team scored a goal, the home team equalised and the away team scored another ... we had only played 15 minutes!
Having spent a fair part of last week making decisions from distance and having to sell them hard. This week I was able to improve my proximity and as a result (with a whistle on the run and keeping on running into the action zone) I was having no problem selling them. This week's problem was getting my angles right. Twice in the 2nd half I got them wrong and found my view (from less than 15 yards) screened by a player.
The result was that I didn't give a free kick for handball by the away team and I also couldn't give the penalty to the away team. I gave the non-decision and sold it with a strong "cutting the grass" signal. It seemed to work with the away manager/trainer when I made a point of talking to him while waiting for a goal kick to be taken.
I had already given a penalty to the away team but they had missed it when their captain virtually passed the ball to the home team goalkeeper. I have to mention the goalkeeper at this point. He wasn't particularly tall but he was athletic and made some fantastic saves, especially the one where he palmed a 25 yard drive up and around the post.
The home team tired, the away team scored a few more goals and then we had a claim for an injured player needing treatment. I had seen him go down but didn't think it looked serious and when I looked to check on him, he was getting back to his feet. The problem was that the home team had played the ball out for a throw-in, the away team didn't give them the ball back and they won a corner after charging upfield on an unopposed counter attack. The players were so incensed I knew it would take something special to put things back on an even keel. The away team captain told his player to pass the ball to the goalkeeper at the corner and suddenly everyone calmed down.
In between times, I managed to get too close to the ball and when it took a deflection after a foul, the ball caught me squarely on the jaw - muddy face time! I had to deal with another couple of late challenges (both cautioned) and a bout of dissent from a centre forward who picked up a caution.
After the game finished I had a young spectator want to know if I had ever refereed in The FA Cup. I had to admit that I hadn't and she asked, "So you're just a FA Referee, not a FA Cup Referee ...?" Put like that I had to agree and she thought it was great that they had a proper referee at their game. That, along with the early intervention on the first challenge, the sporting actions of the away team captain at the corner and the acceptance of my bad line of sight explanation on the denied penalty, all made it a very enjoyable day out on the grass.
The next two weeks were supposed to see me leading on a new referees course but it isn't going ahead, so I've got Sunday off and a promotion assessment on the 12th before a long weekend away ... I hope the hotel room has Sky Sports!
Continue reading...
