Mick.
RefChat Addict
Did a favour for a mate and reffed an U12 cup game today. This particular league don't usually get a "proper" ref and normally do it among themselves. So both sides were grateful to see the man in black.
Yellows are 2-1 up going into half time. I run a countdown watch on my right with extra time stop watch on my left. My extra time count is only about 3 seconds (very quick sub). Yellows make a break from their half and as the player reaches the half-way line my timer goes off. I now know that I only have about three seconds left in play. I hit the watch to stop the time and count down three seconds. As the player is making a direct line for the goal and only has one defender ahead of him I give him a couple of seconds to shoot or not. I have now counted in my head to about 8 and he still hasn't taken a shot. The blue defender is just in front of him. As I bring my whistle up to my mouth and start to blow, yellow takes a shot. Ball goes past the defender, past the goalie and straight into the back of the net. Cue celebrations from yellow, followed by me shaking my head, disallowing the goal and calling for half-time.
The time had run out a bit before the shot and I gave him a couple more seconds to develop the play or not. It was just my luck that the player took the shot as I blew. He could easily have been tackled or missed, or just kept running.
Blue coach comes up to me at half-time and asks how come I didn't let him continue to press the advantage. I said that I had gone over my time and when the time is up the time is up. I said that I know a lot of people expect an attacking team be given the chance to develop something, but how is that fair to the defence? How would it have looked if I had let yellow score and just after the re-start blow up for half-time. Also, what if the yellow had taken a shot and it had been kicked straight back by blue goalkeeper and now blue had a chance to develop something. At some point the half must end and to me it was only right that it ended when the time ran out. He seemed satisfied with this. I must say that yellow coach fully understood it as well.
As if to prove the point, when the ball went out for a goal kick at the end of the game, time ran out while the goalie was running back to get the ball. My extra time (2 mins) had been used up so, before the goalie has got the ball, I blew for full time. I know that some refs like to blow when the ball is in play but for me, when time is up, time is up.
Yellows are 2-1 up going into half time. I run a countdown watch on my right with extra time stop watch on my left. My extra time count is only about 3 seconds (very quick sub). Yellows make a break from their half and as the player reaches the half-way line my timer goes off. I now know that I only have about three seconds left in play. I hit the watch to stop the time and count down three seconds. As the player is making a direct line for the goal and only has one defender ahead of him I give him a couple of seconds to shoot or not. I have now counted in my head to about 8 and he still hasn't taken a shot. The blue defender is just in front of him. As I bring my whistle up to my mouth and start to blow, yellow takes a shot. Ball goes past the defender, past the goalie and straight into the back of the net. Cue celebrations from yellow, followed by me shaking my head, disallowing the goal and calling for half-time.
The time had run out a bit before the shot and I gave him a couple more seconds to develop the play or not. It was just my luck that the player took the shot as I blew. He could easily have been tackled or missed, or just kept running.
Blue coach comes up to me at half-time and asks how come I didn't let him continue to press the advantage. I said that I had gone over my time and when the time is up the time is up. I said that I know a lot of people expect an attacking team be given the chance to develop something, but how is that fair to the defence? How would it have looked if I had let yellow score and just after the re-start blow up for half-time. Also, what if the yellow had taken a shot and it had been kicked straight back by blue goalkeeper and now blue had a chance to develop something. At some point the half must end and to me it was only right that it ended when the time ran out. He seemed satisfied with this. I must say that yellow coach fully understood it as well.
As if to prove the point, when the ball went out for a goal kick at the end of the game, time ran out while the goalie was running back to get the ball. My extra time (2 mins) had been used up so, before the goalie has got the ball, I blew for full time. I know that some refs like to blow when the ball is in play but for me, when time is up, time is up.