The Ref Stop

Some talking points from my game on Saturday

M

Mada

Active Member
I thought I'd share/reflect on some key incidents from my game on Saturday. This is my first season and 4th adults game in the middle having done a few games as an assistant recently.

  1. There was a foul a few yards outside of the box to the attacking team (reds) but the ball fell perfectly a few yards away to one of the attackers who managed to get a clean shot away which the keeper saved. The red team were very upset I didn't then bring it back for a free kick. I played on as in my opinion their advantage was the ability to get the shot away. As they were losing at the time, this was the start of them getting on my back. I suppose you could argue that they didn't gain an advantage as the ball move a few yards to the right rather than being central and they would rather have a free kick.
  2. There was a situation in the 2nd half (again to the red team :confused:) where they scored but the CAR put his flag up. I went with the flag and gave offside but was surrounded by the red team who told me to speak to the linesman. I did and he was really unsure who was offside. I was 50/50 and as the explanation wasn't very clear I changed my decision and gave the goal. After the game one of the defending team said they didn't think the goalscorer was offside so I think I reached the right decision but it was messy and I looked indecisive. I should have gone straight to the linesman rather than be prompted. Lesson learnt.
  3. One of the red team called me a "F****** idiot" so I called over the captain and gave him a very firm warning. His captain told him to shut up and that was that. In hindsight it should have been a card.
  4. There was a patch of mud which the ball got stuck in by the touchline (the pitch was great apart from this small patch) and from where I was standing it looked like the ball had gone out. The CAR was running with his flag pointing behind him up the pitch the same way as I was going to give it so when I looked up it appeared he was flagging in the lazy way that CAR's sometimes do. I therefore gave the throw but the CAR said the ball hadn't actually gone out. The blue player could have started a promising attack had the ball not gone out. I had to go with my original decision but again it looked very messy and made me look a bit daft.
  5. When one of the red players were shooting someone from the blue team shouted "S***" to put him off. I heard him shout something but couldn't be sure exactly what he said. I've given a yellow for unsportsmanlike behaviour in the past and would have if I had made it out. Again the red team thought I was favouring the blue team.
  6. Lots of niggly incidents throughout the game which I struggled to justify as being a foul/who the perpetrator was during a tussle for the ball. It made me start to question myself and what is a foul as it was happening so quickly.

I'd give myself a 6/10. I didn't lose control but I don't think I looked hugely confident at times. One thing I'm really struggling with his justifying and explaining myself in the heat of the situation when things happen so quickly. i.e. "I gave this decision because of x" but doing so in a very clear and concise way. I'm finding it hard to see the bigger picture and almost taking a still picture of the situation in my head so I can refer back to it when needed.
 
The Ref Stop
First of all I'd be happy with 6/10 within my first half season of adult games! Secondly, self reflection is so important. You've identified areas that weren't great calls etc and you will learn loads from this. Going through the points:

1. Most players think that having a shot means you can't bring the free kick back. It depends where it is but I rarely bring it back if they've had a shot (although I did this on Saturday as the player was off balance for a shot!).

2. Tough one and ultimately you reached the correct decision. I think clarifying with the CAR you got the correct call - you don't have to go to the CAR for every offside/disallowed call, but if a team were as aggrieved as they were in your game I'd be inclined to go over and check as you did.

3. Absolute minimum Sin Bin for me, RC for others. If you tolerate that you're leaving yourself open to more and could lose match control easily. It's good that you've now realised it's a card.

4. Bit of a nightmare there but it's grass roots and your CAR running like an Air Traffic Controller hasn't helped! I'd explain about the mistake and go with a drop ball. Sometimes you get these things in games, just laugh it off, which is a lot easier if you've had a decent game thus far.

5. If you know which player shouted it and you know it was to put a player off bring it back for an IDFK and caution for USB, no other option for me.

6. Either let the niggly ones go or if you need to slow the game and get match control blow for everything! If you can't tell who's fouling who then just let niggly ones go and explain its 50-50 or words to that effect, just be as consistent as you can.

Everyone has these games from time to time and they often leave you feeling dejected, but it is so important to learn from them and apply them in your future games.
 
Ok, first thing I'm going to say is don't be too hard on yourself. This is a really good reflection on the game, especially so early in your refereeing career.

Mada said:
I'd give myself a 6/10. I didn't lose control but I don't think I looked hugely confident at times. One thing I'm really struggling with his justifying and explaining myself in the heat of the situation when things happen so quickly. i.e. "I gave this decision because of x" but doing so in a very clear and concise way. I'm finding it hard to see the bigger picture and almost taking a still picture of the situation in my head so I can refer back to it when needed.
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The 'simple' answer to this in my opinion is to talk to the teams, but don't discuss decisions with them. Many (most?) times they are not interested in your decision making process, they are trying to make you doubt yourself and favour them in the future. So I state my decision, maybe say two or three words as to why (etc. 'push', 'giving it for the trip', 'no, the ball was out') then get to my next position to avoid the discussion/argument. That way, if they follow you, it is leaning towards dissent and you can warn them or sanction appropriately.
 
Peach said:
3. Absolute minimum Sin Bin for me, RC for others. If you tolerate that you're leaving yourself open to more and could lose match control easily. It's good that you've now realised it's a card.
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I agree with this. I'm probably one of the most relaxed and tolerant when it comes to language and abuse, but directly calling you a name using profanity is 100% a sin bin as a minimum.

Mada said:
One thing I'm really struggling with his justifying and explaining myself in the heat of the situation when things happen so quickly. i.e. "I gave this decision because of x" but doing so in a very clear and concise way.
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This can actually be worse than not saying anything! It's good to communicate with players and not treat them with disrespect, but at the same time if the game is going on, you shouldn't be trying to explain yourself. Most will just be frustration and trying to influence you (the amount of times players protest a stonewall foul), so don't feel you need to explain it. If it is a very contentious decision and an explanation will help calm things down, then explain as you've given the decision and make it short and sharp, "foul because of a trip on player X", don't go into a lot of detail and don't debate. If a player is really upset about a decision, then quietly say they can come and speak to you at HT / FT and you will be happy to explain your decision. Again doesn't have to be done disrespectfully, but I normally start with "you don't have to agree and we don't need to debate, but this is why I gave the decision" then leave it at that.

As others have said, sounds like you're doing a good job and reviewing games and areas for improvement is the right path to be on.
 
Mada said:
I thought I'd share/reflect on some key incidents from my game on Saturday. This is my first season and 4th adults game in the middle having done a few games as an assistant recently.

  1. There was a foul a few yards outside of the box to the attacking team (reds) but the ball fell perfectly a few yards away to one of the attackers who managed to get a clean shot away which the keeper saved. The red team were very upset I didn't then bring it back for a free kick. I played on as in my opinion their advantage was the ability to get the shot away. As they were losing at the time, this was the start of them getting on my back. I suppose you could argue that they didn't gain an advantage as the ball move a few yards to the right rather than being central and they would rather have a free kick.
  2. There was a situation in the 2nd half (again to the red team :confused:) where they scored but the CAR put his flag up. I went with the flag and gave offside but was surrounded by the red team who told me to speak to the linesman. I did and he was really unsure who was offside. I was 50/50 and as the explanation wasn't very clear I changed my decision and gave the goal. After the game one of the defending team said they didn't think the goalscorer was offside so I think I reached the right decision but it was messy and I looked indecisive. I should have gone straight to the linesman rather than be prompted. Lesson learnt.
  3. One of the red team called me a "F****** idiot" so I called over the captain and gave him a very firm warning. His captain told him to shut up and that was that. In hindsight it should have been a card.
  4. There was a patch of mud which the ball got stuck in by the touchline (the pitch was great apart from this small patch) and from where I was standing it looked like the ball had gone out. The CAR was running with his flag pointing behind him up the pitch the same way as I was going to give it so when I looked up it appeared he was flagging in the lazy way that CAR's sometimes do. I therefore gave the throw but the CAR said the ball hadn't actually gone out. The blue player could have started a promising attack had the ball not gone out. I had to go with my original decision but again it looked very messy and made me look a bit daft.
  5. When one of the red players were shooting someone from the blue team shouted "S***" to put him off. I heard him shout something but couldn't be sure exactly what he said. I've given a yellow for unsportsmanlike behaviour in the past and would have if I had made it out. Again the red team thought I was favouring the blue team.
  6. Lots of niggly incidents throughout the game which I struggled to justify as being a foul/who the perpetrator was during a tussle for the ball. It made me start to question myself and what is a foul as it was happening so quickly.

I'd give myself a 6/10. I didn't lose control but I don't think I looked hugely confident at times. One thing I'm really struggling with his justifying and explaining myself in the heat of the situation when things happen so quickly. i.e. "I gave this decision because of x" but doing so in a very clear and concise way. I'm finding it hard to see the bigger picture and almost taking a still picture of the situation in my head so I can refer back to it when needed.
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Firstly well done on taking up the whistle! As someone who's just done their 7th game - you're not alone in this! I'm still getting to grips with making decisions and all I can say is that I'm learning a lot from my mistakes - there's no better place to learn but it does mean that your first few games will be the toughest.
You're doing exactly the right thing - identifying things that you feel you could have done differently and learning from them. Don't be too tough on yourself. Players make mistakes all the time - poor passes, miskicks etc - why should referees be any different we're only human.

My only tip - have you joined a local Referee Association? It's really important to have a group around you as it can be lonely in the middle and being able to talk to someone after a match is a real help.
 
I think in first incident the advantage we have spoken on here many of times and its one that both teams will debate over, if you let it go and the player misses they want the free kick, if you pull it back and they shoot and score they want the advantage.

The best way to probably sell it is to explain to the attacking side, look you could have had a free kick with a wall between you and a set goalkeeper or you had a shot with no wall from a better position.

Me personally im giving the free kick unless its a one on one where you would say the attacker is over 70% likely to score.
 
Thank you for the comments so far, most appreciated. I'll try and take your suggestions on board and use them in my next game. My aim is to improve the perception of how confident I am about my decisions. In turn this will improve my confidence.

I've been to one local ref association meeting so will try and go along to the next one. It was quite interesting at the start of the season discussing the new changes to the laws of the game.
 
Mada said:
Thank you for the comments so far, most appreciated. I'll try and take your suggestions on board and use them in my next game. My aim is to improve the perception of how confident I am about my decisions. In turn this will improve my confidence.
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Being a quieter person, this has always been one of my (many) issues.

I got some good advice years ago now (first assessment I think), which was that for those contentious decisions, especially the non-important ones (throw-ins, defensive FK), to express lots of confidence. In other words, before anyone can argue, use a stronger voice and clear signal, eg.: "100% blue throw", "clear trip on the number 3". This definitely worked, and makes me feel more confident as well as acting it.
 
Martiju said:
use a stronger voice and clear signal, eg.: "100% blue throw",
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Have to be careful with these though not to leave yourself red faced :) when the blue player says no ref it came off me. Using confident body language is sufficient in some cases and if you are using words like 100% or no doubt to back it up then... well you have to have no doubt before saying it.
 
Mada said:
My aim is to improve the perception of how confident I am about my decisions. In turn this will improve my confidence.
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A tip ive been given and I'm sure other people will use it to. On ball in/out decisions that you're not 100% sure who it last came off, give yourself a few seconds and gauge the player reactions. It's not a sure fire way of getting them correct, but you'll get more right, this will make you more confident and you'll come across as being more confident when making other decisions.
 
Looks like a fair assessment. Being called a "f***ing idiot" is at least dissent to me, and I'd certainly consider the possibility of a red card here for OFFINABUS.

With the niggly incidents, it doesn't really matter if you penalise them or let them go, as long as you're consistent and keep control, which in fairness sounds like you did. What I usually do, if it starts getting niggly, I'll call the fouls and try to calm the players down by talking to them. Sometimes being strict for 5 minutes allows you to play 85 minutes of football. However if a team is chasing the game, then maybe you'll actually have worse match control if you slow the game down, so be careful how you approach things. Try to gauge the players reactions and work out what approach is best for you.

While on this subject, don't forget the stepped approach for persistent infringement. Quite warning, public warning, warning with captain then yellow card. If you can find one player doing most of the niggly fouls and you successfully use the stepped approach, you can kill off any scrapiness without even having to use a card sometimes.
 
one said:
Have to be careful with these though not to leave yourself red faced :) when the blue player says no ref it came off me. Using confident body language is sufficient in some cases and if you are using words like 100% or no doubt to back it up then... well you have to have no doubt before saying it.
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Yes, fair point. Perhaps what I should say is in conjunction with the below - give yourself a couple of seconds to gauge player reaction (who goes to get the ball is normally pretty accurate) then go in with the confidence thing.

Reminded me of another tip from the same game though, when talking to players (especially hulking, intimidating ones) - let them say their piece initially, then tell them that you've heard them and now it's your turn to talk. Stop them if they interrupt (repeat earlier step if necessary). Again, it's treating them like people but asserting yourself at the same time.
 
Martiju said:
Yes, fair point. Perhaps what I should say is in conjunction with the below - give yourself a couple of seconds to gauge player reaction (who goes to get the ball is normally pretty accurate) then go in with the confidence thing.
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Often true, but also have to read the particular game. Some teams always act like it's their throw, and some teams tend to be respectful of the call. Recognize this, and don't reward the team that engages in more gamesmanship.
 
Interesting to note that being called a f---king idiot by a player in, some peoples opinion, is classed as dissent and therefore a sin bin. In my opinion this would be OFFINABUS and a red card every time as this is an out and out derogatory comment.
 
SWC 220 said:
Interesting to note that being called a f---king idiot by a player in, some peoples opinion, is classed as dissent and therefore a sin bin. In my opinion this would be OFFINABUS and a red card every time as this is an out and out derogatory comment.
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Thought the same thing.

Dissent? You're having a laugh. That's a nailed-on dismissal under Law 12. :cool:
 
SWC 220 said:
Interesting to note that being called a f---king idiot by a player in, some peoples opinion, is classed as dissent and therefore a sin bin. In my opinion this would be OFFINABUS and a red card every time as this is an out and out derogatory comment.
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Absolutely.
Dissent is about the decision, abuse is about the person. Calling an official a "f****** idiot" is straightforwardly about the official as a person, nothing about the decision at all, and abusive.
 
To echo that... great point I’ll take on board...

”That’s f***ing idiotic”
Vs
“You are a f***ing idiot”

It’s subtle but the difference is clear and I think it’s wise to learn here to stop to consider if you have been directly addressed (You are...) it helps you easily choose RC, easily sell your decision (he called me a xyz, it’s got to be red) and remember the script for your report.
 
Is it a mere disagreement with a decision (dissent)
or
is it an insult to your competence (offinabus).

This one is easy.
 
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