Question Number: 18878

Law 5 - The Referee 4/24/2008

Joyce of honokaa, hawaii usa asks...

This question is a follow up to question 18852

OK I'll frame this as a question, Why you guys have to be so harsh? I was hoping to send him to this web site for helpful instruction, but it might not help him improve his game by calling him a "heathen", Though I do like how you would handled the situation Chuck. Gene though has it totally correct, he is a Brazilian man in his late to mid 40's, and his ego has a hard time taking advice from me.
Richard, I did not wager, as I knew I was correct, except for the language I used. (I "cautioned" for "failing to respect the required distance") My goal is for him to improve his understanding of the laws of the game. (Me too always!) Cash would have been nice, but the $ is worthless anyway!
So my next "question" is, how do we help these new referees. In my rural island all referees start in AYSO, as I did, but the need is so great for officials that if an assignor can get its hooks in you, they fast track you on up. I was, but as woman in my 40's, I was an AR for 3 years working high school "games" before I was assigned as the ref. (This association was a good-old boy club, I might have been the first woman ref) I did not mind, I was working on my skills in AYSO matches, a safe place to make errors, and learn. The sad thing is that this ref has an AYSO "Basic" badge (of which he is a basic beginner), but last year he went to an USSF clinic and got his grade 8, doing many HYSA and mens league matches. In the same year he attend a NISOA clinic and receive his badge, and work as an AR in NCAA D2 matches. Followed by the high school clinic, with the assignor giving him a lot of the big matches.
He had ZERO assessments. This fast tracking, is the cause of the opinion that "refs suck" Is it his fault (the ego maybe) he is out there with out the knowledge he needs to do a good job? No one wants to be a muddled headed heathen really.
I have attended lots of clinics, (paid for those badges) had numerous assessments, but for the most part I have learned more from sitting in the ref tent at tournaments talking to other referees, rehashing ours or some other "muddled headed heathens" matches. (some from UTUBE and TV)
I think I'l stop, I could go on and on about the politics of assignors that put unqualified referees in just because that person has attended a clinic, and paid for a badge .
Thank you Keith, Chuck, Gary, Richard, and Gene for your insights.
Aloha!
Joyce

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

From time to time, we here are frustrated thinking that all our efforts are to no avail. We get opinions from people identified as referees, opinions that are totally off the wall and contrary to what is in the Laws. We try to educate and enlighten to the best of our ability, with some entertainment value added. And then we get another whopper of a tale. Sometimes harsh situations need to be handled harshly.

With the additional background you've given us here, this guy has no excuse for not knowing that his immediate responsibility when his team commits a foul is to back off 10 yards. If he allows play like this when he is a referee, he is mucking it up for the rest of us who try to do it right. Note that he is in ample company - watch some of the top US refs in MLS games for example. In addition this man has the added burden of being from Brazil, where this behavior is expected. In fact, failure to respect the distance is so rampant that Brazilian refs have taken to spraying lines on the field with temporary paint, to show where the wall can stand. You think there's ever an opportunity for a quick kick in those games?

This kind of situation occurs all to frequently, where a ref comes into the position thinking he knows what the Law is, and is not convinced to change his opinion when the instructor (hopefully) sets it out correctly. The other type of referee that frustrates us is the guy that hasn't opened a Law book in 10 years, and has no desire to keep up with changes in the game. Both do a disservice to the teams they ref and to their fellow referees. All to often referees make a correct call only to hear, "But the ref last week said ..."

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Joyce, with all due respect this is something we SHOULD be harsh about. It is absolutely inexcusable that any certified referee thinks it's ok for the team committing a foul to further disadvantage the opponent by standing in front of the ball and not allowing the opponent to put the ball into play. It's probably not your friend's fault. I would blame whomever his instructors were as they failed miserably. We expect such lack of knowledge from players and coaches but not from referees.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Joyce, if you will go to the current Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game and read paragraph 13.3. The words were said here well before being printed there, I know this because I wrote them here before writing a lot of what appeared there in the fall of last year. You did well to air out the yellow card when this player [referee?] did what he did. When more referees start punishing standing on the ball at a free kick for what it is players will stop harming the side they just engaged in foul play a second time. When more referees have the courage to enforce the Laws of the Game there will be less "heathens" out there masquerading as referees. Until that time I'm going to continue telling it like it is in the strongest terms I think I can get away with in polite company.

Bottom line, if anyone is moving toward the location of a free kick after it is ready to be returned to play and has an effect of the taking of that free kick he should be cautioned for failing to respect the required distance.

What follows is something I found a [long] while ago:

1. Referee is setting the wall, and while he is doing so, another defender walks towards the ball. Referee does not keep his eye on the area around the ball, and so does nothing. [Should be only one warning, then a caution]

2. The wall is set, but just as the referee is about to blow his whistle, a player from the defending side walks or slowly jogs from midfield right past the ball to join his other defenders. He effectively interrupts the taking of the kick.    [Should be only one warning, then a caution]

3. A defender picks up the ball after the whistle and walks away with it, finally tossing it to the referee, or to the area of the kick. Referee needs to see this early and shout for the ball, with a warning. [At least a chewing-out, then a caution]

4. After the whistle, a defender dribbles the ball a short distance away and then leaves it for his opponents to retrieve. Referee needs to react as in number 3.   
                  
5. Referee is at the site of the free kick, and a defender comes to him to argue the decision, thereby delaying the kick. A variation is for the player to bring the ball and hand it to the referee, but the effect is the same - delay. [At least a chewing-out to drive him away, then a caution]

6. Player who did the foul stays down at the site of the free kick, but gets up once enough defenders are back and there has been a delay.
[A chewing-out for feigning injury, or in an important tactical situation, a caution]

Basic points:

1. Referees have to be proactive, not just wait for the wall to form.

2. Referees have to look around the ball, as well as at the wall.

3. Referee has to see the attempts at delay early in the process and jump on it to make it clear what his attitude is about attempted delays. Too many referees are simply accepting the delays. They are not "enforcing the laws".

4. The warning given to one player is given loudly so that the whole team knows what you are about. After that, a caution to the next one.

Regards,