A&H

Taking your time when making a decision

J

Jack M

Active Member
Level 6 Referee
Does anyone else do this? I usually wait between 1 and 2 seconds to see if an advantage can be played or to give myself a bit more thinking times when it comes to KMDs such as penalties.

Usually this leads to shouts of "your going with the shout ref!!" or "Make your own mind up ref!!" etc.
 
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I always try to give myself some thinking time when making a decision. It's very rare you have to blow instantly, unless it's a really awful tackle, but then you don't need to think about it. Players moan that "you're going with the shout!" but the same players would moan that it was never a foul if you blew immediately anyway.

If the tempo of the game is raised then it's more important to blow quickly, in order to slow the game down. This allows you to get your control back again. This is the sort of time when you wouldn't be looking to play advantage anyway.

For the first couple of minutes I am a bit more pedantic and blow quickly to make sure I have control before easing off to let them play football. This ensures they know who's running the game. It's also then easier to take control again if the tempo ramps up. If you've let the game flow straight from the whistle then it's harder to slow it down when you need to.
 
Yes, I often do the same. Judging by the dissatisfaction I have incurred, I can only conclude that most clubs place a greater value on the authority of a decision than its content ('the referee is always right' philosophy, ironically).
I have had to explain to coaches, club assistants, parents and players that I need the time and that the speed of my response is not to be inferred as my favouring one side over another. Having spent a few seasons asking those in the technical area to refrain from comments/appeals on the grounds that I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions, I discovered a few weeks ago that the best way to deter a manager from this kind of attitude is to appear to accept his claim on a 50/50, but then to award the free-kick to the other team. Initial exasperation, but I didn't hear anything for the rest of the match.
 
I had one last week, One player pushed his opponent in the back and then got the ball, it was so close to the penalty area I know it was a foul but I had to give myself 2 seconds to process if it was on the line or off. It was just out the box (not by much at all) but still gave myself that time, the agro I got "but ref I got the ball" yes he did by pushing him in the back to get it. I gave him a caution for not letting it go after warning him several times and my decision was final. I would rather give myself 2 seconds and get it right than blow right away and get it wrong, we are humans we will make mistakes.
 
I like to take my time with as many as possible, but max 2 seconds really.

I do tend to get a lot of shouts of 'you only went with the shout ref', but tend to get the captain of the team claiming that across for a chat at the earliest possible instance.

"Skipper, I don't want to hear shouts of 'you went with the shout' from your team. I'm committed to making the right decisions in play and sometimes I need a second to see how the game develops before making a decision. As I said at the start - I'll blow the whistle, you kick the ball. Sort it out if it happens again please, or I will have to. Thanks."
 
If you delay a decision too often then it will make you look indecisive.

The referee's decision making process will typically be slower than that of a player or spectator at the best of times. The referee has a number of things to consider even before he assesses the possibiliy of advantage. Thus, that's going to slow down the mental processes, which is why even if you're making the decision immediately, players are shouting before you've put whistle to mouth.

But aside from that, I'd argue that delaying it too often is a bad look. Experience should help you identify fairly quickly if advantage is even a possibility - if you find that you're delaying for this reason a lot, then perhaps you're looking for advantage more often than you need to be.
 
I always say to players that they can shout quicker than I can blow.....

The fact is that players will shout for anything and everything...

The real key to making good confident and accurate decisions is positioning....making sure you are in the right place will help you make better quality decisions.
 
CapnBloodbeard said:
If you delay a decision too often then it will make you look indecisive.

The referee's decision making process will typically be slower than that of a player or spectator at the best of times. The referee has a number of things to consider even before he assesses the possibiliy of advantage. Thus, that's going to slow down the mental processes, which is why even if you're making the decision immediately, players are shouting before you've put whistle to mouth.

But aside from that, I'd argue that delaying it too often is a bad look. Experience should help you identify fairly quickly if advantage is even a possibility - if you find that you're delaying for this reason a lot, then perhaps you're looking for advantage more often than you need to be.
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Good points, well made. That's why it's important not to start out by delaying the whistle. If you do this straight away then players think you always react to appeals and you will lose credibility. Get control of the game by blowing quickly at first before you ease off. This allows you to judge the mood of the game, as well as setting you base line for match control. Then if you ease off but the players aren't receptive to you taking time then you need to be quicker to stop the game. If you are going to hold the whistle for a fraction then it needs to be on your terms, not theirs. If you're going to delay you need to read the game and be adaptable so that you recognize when it's not advisable and don't do it.

When speaking to the captains I always tell them that I will try to keep the game moving as much as possible, but that if their players aren't letting me that I will kill the game. It's their choice, because I'd rather not be too busy if at all possible, but if I'm not enjoying the game then neither will they. The important thing is to judge your involvement from the teams. If they are letting you take some time then you generally can, but if the tempo of the game is raised - niggly fouls, lots of moaning etc - then you need to recognize this and react before it becomes an issue. As an assessor, if I see a referee is adapting his game to suit the mood then that's a good thing. If he's routinely delaying the whistle to check for potential advantages even though there's no possibility and the game is really tense then it's not.

As Padfoot rightly says, the key is positioning. If you're in the right position to see things then this gives credibility to your decision, even if that decision is not to do anything.
 
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