The Ref Stop

what would you do?

I'd have disallowed it. I've had several of those in games and the players have never known the Law, even when some of them said they were qualified referees.

Obviously in such a situation explaining to the captains is a good idea too, to diffuse the anger and confusion.
Pierluigi said:
I have to say this is a rule that does take a certain depth of knowledge of the Laws of the Game to be made aware of it and is certainly not a law that I or an assessor would perhaps expect a Level 8, 7 or 6 to know.
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I would hope that every referee would know this Law. It's not like it's hidden anywhere. It's written in the same size font as all the rest. ;)

How did you go 6 to 4, by the way? I thought they stopped that.
 
The Ref Stop
frank_ref said:
I'd have disallowed it. I've had several of those in games and the players have never known the Law, even when some of them said they were qualified referees.

Obviously in such a situation explaining to the captains is a good idea too, to diffuse the anger and confusion.


I would hope that every referee would know this Law. It's not like it's hidden anywhere. It's written in the same size font as all the rest. ;)

How did you go 6 to 4, by the way? I thought they stopped that.
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Yes this is true, but since when have you read a 200 page book and been able to remember every sentence written? We are only human. Those with less experience are less likely to have come across it and be aware of it!

I was nominated by my county at the start of the season after having a really high assessment average in my 7-6 season. Anyone can still do it but some counties are less inclined than others. (My county usually promotes 1 per season via this method)
 
Pierluigi said:
Yes this is true, but since when have you read a 200 page book and been able to remember every sentence written? We are only human. Those with less experience are less likely to have come across it and be aware of it!

I was nominated by my county at the start of the season after having a really high assessment average in my 7-6 season. Anyone can still do it but some counties are less inclined than others. (My county usually promotes 1 per season via this method)
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Did he?!? Must have missed that one.....
 
If you look at the laws of the game the first note under law 5 - the referee - is to enforce the laws of the game.

So to ignore a law of the game to prevent a bit of **** ( excuse my French) is totally wrong.

Would you have acted differently if you were being assessed?
 
I agree with @frank_ref , they taught it on my course, and for me any level 7 or 8 referee should know the laws, it's just application of them which defines a good referee.
 
So, to recap:

"England expects that every man will do his duty"

From the 1805 Referee's Chart and Players guide to the Laws of the Game

Bloke called Horace Nelson, top man back in the day I'm told ;)
 
oh liner said:
If you look at the laws of the game the first note under law 5 - the referee - is to enforce the laws of the game.

So to ignore a law of the game to prevent a bit of **** ( excuse my French) is totally wrong.

Would you have acted differently if you were being assessed?
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I would have done the same if an assessor was there, and if it happened again, I would do the same thing.

The question was not what should you do, but what would you do.

Give a human response not a laws one?
 
The question is common sense over the rules? If you are honest with yourself, we all do it all the time?
 
simonwref said:
I would have done the same if an assessor was there, and if it happened again, I would do the same thing.

The question was not what should you do, but what would you do.

Give a human response not a laws one?
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I think I can speak for many others here as well when I say that if I noticed this infringement I can put my hand on my heart and say I would force it to be retaken...
 
Pierluigi said:
I think I can speak for many others here as well when I say that if I noticed this infringement I can put my hand on my heart and say I would force it to be retaken...
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Agreed - I have stopped a game in the past for this - in my (limited) experience, players have always just accepted what I said.
 
Pierluigi said:
Yes this is true, but since when have you read a 200 page book and been able to remember every sentence written? We are only human. Those with less experience are less likely to have come across it and be aware of it!
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Disagree. Number one, the Laws are only about 50 (small) pages. Number two, you don't have to remember every sentence written. It's not about being able to repeat verbatim what you've read. Plus, I'm guessing pretty much every ref will be coming to the game with prior knowledge, so you're mainly zooming in on the ones you're not familiar with as a player/fan/whatever. Number three, how would someone be "less likely to come across it"? It's not some secret text. Basically, anyone who reads through the laws is as likely as anyone else to read that one, and it should stick out given that the most likely response is, "ooh, I never knew that".
simonwref said:
If it happened again, I would do the same thing.
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You're actually saying that, knowing the Law, you would purposefully not apply it because -

Actually, I can't think of a "because". Other than you thinking that the keeper "deserves it"/you don't want to make a fuss denying a goal for a team that probably doesn't understand why.
simonwref said:
Give a human response, not a laws one.
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I think all those that are saying, "I'd apply the Law" are giving a human response. Some are also saying that is what they've done in real life situations. I don't think there's anyone here that's only saying they'd order a retake because they're online, and then going out to their games and doing the opposite.

Though good for you for sticking to your guns, even in the face of would-be assessors telling you you're wrong.
 
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Simon knowing a lotg but not applying it is completely in step with everyone else on here. It's just the choice of which law he has chosen to ignore that is, perhaps, the mystery here

Oh, by the way, do you take sugar, Simon :)
 
haywain said:
Simon knowing a lotg but not applying it is completely in step with everyone else on here. It's just the choice of which law he has chosen to ignore that is, perhaps, the mystery here

Oh, by the way, do you take sugar, Simon :)
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Please give examples.

Btw, no sugar, I'm diabetic :)
 
I'm thinking of things like ball going forward or player standing in the opposition half for a kick off, correct position for a throw-in, etc etc etc

for me, ball not clearing the penalty area, be it for a goal kick or a free kick, is a gimme. the law is there and, as long as the ball hitting the player in the penalty area is obvious to all, then the job's a good'un. the fact that a goal resulted from your decision not to apply the lotg on this occasion does raise the stakes somewhat

to me, the issue you raise of being 'brave' enough to give it is the main one here. suspicion exists, even at the highest levels, that referees can be, indeed, are swayed by managers, crowds etc so why that can't sometimes be the case at grass roots level should come as no surprise to anyone

i think it's your insistence that you would knowingly do it again, i.e. a pre-meditated act rather than a spur of the moment, under pressure, decision that has baffled some on here
 
Very interesting thread this one with differing opinions, one thing I cant get my head around is any view that would not apply the lotg in this situation, a mistake is one thing, not being sure about the law is another but ignoring it completely is surely wrong. If you know the laws then apply them regardless of the backlash from players, supporters, managers or anyone else for that matter!
 
i do agree with those saying that the application of Law can be deliberately overlooked at times. i think it's dependent on the level you're officiating at and therefore the expectations of the players. as i've mentioned before, i ref at such a low level that enforcing thingsa like the colour of tape on players' socks just seems petty and overly officious. however, there are certain things we shouldn't meddle with and the scoring of a goal is certainly one of them!
 
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