Question Number: 20292

Character, Attitude and Control 10/18/2008

RE: Competive Under 15

Jim Borman of Georgetown, KY Scott asks...

Why do refs not call the game the same in the box as opposed to out of the box, on the defense, but they do on the offence. They seem to be afraid to give a PK. I only ask because it is so widespread. Is this an edict that has been given out. It almopst appears that the defence is daring the ref to make a call.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Sigh. There is no edict. One of the more oft repeated slogans you'll hear from referees says 'A call in the penalty area is the same anywhere else on the field.'

What that means is if an offense will be called in the penalty area, it should also be called anywhere else on the field. But not always...

The converse is definitely not true. What might be called at midfield won't necessarily be called in the penalty area. What most folks don't understand is a referee cannot call every offense that occurs in a game. If we did, there would never be any flow or build-up or excitement or real playing time.

A referee has to learn which offenses must be punished, which could be punished and which are so trifling as to be easily ignored. What makes it even harder is what needs to be called changes from game to game, sometimes (rarely) from half to half, even with the same teams.

Sometimes a referee will make a call in the defensive third or in the middle third which helps set the bar for what will not be tolerated in the game. That helps both teams understand where the limits are for this game.

The problem arises when referees don't have the experience to know which calls need to be made where, or when they don't have the experience or knowledge to see what is happening. There is a slide in the entry level clinic which says referee are created perfect and expected to improve from there. Which is of course ridiculous, because they have the same learning curve anyone does when trying a new venture.

The expectations of the teams and the fans don't take into account this universal principle. Each team wants the best, most experienced referee there is. And assignors do their best to provide the best referees available. But you cannot unwrap referees off a shelf and put them to work like a piece of machinery. It takes time, blood, sweat and tears, and a lot of potentially excellent referees quit early because the pressure and expectations are so unreasonable for the return they get.

Trust me, we're all doing the best we can, and the best are always trying to learn to do even better. Cut us a tiny bit of slack, and thank you!

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

While I agree with what Ref Mahoney has to say I also acknowledge what you observe to often be true. I had a fellow referee once tell me that if inside the penalty area if there's no bones broken he would not call a foul. There are some referees that simply do not want to award a penalty kick when one is called for. Of course those same referees will immediately award a pk if the ball touches the hand of a defender in the penalty area even if it's clearly not deliberate

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Match control fouls in the midfield to prove a point or perhaps to settle players aggressive tendencies are never going to be called inside the PK area simply because it means all trifling infractions require the same consideration.

In many cases, experienced or not, referee's sphincter muscles spasm inside the PA because of the consequences. The tit for tat aspect where a possible foul at one end was overlooked cause the even up circumstances to reign supreme at the other end if there is wiggle room to do so. Those who see indfks because a DFK is too impacting are indeed out there.

You have to have integrity and strength of convictions to call what it is you see. You also must understand what it is you are looking at.

In a recent seminar we showed a foul where an attacker tripped just outside the area the stumbling attacker was trying to recover his balance while inside the area a defender placed an arm on his shoulder as the attacker went to ground.

Part of the class wanted the DFK outside!

Others thought the arm on the shoulder was a hold or push and wanted a PK as it was of greater advantage.

Some thought there was a foul but the attacker dived

Some suggested there was nothing there and to play on. They were correct

The attacker tripped outside because as he sought to dodge the initial challenge outside, his right foot as it crossed over caught the back of his left ankle. The arm on the shoulder was simply to keep them apart as the stumbling attacker was cutting across the path of the defender.

It is always interesting to show a controversial clip at full speed.

The referee at the match, his angle of view and positioning spot on,
he was correct to see no foul but that was not the feeling of others there watching or much of the class in the arm chairs passing judgment.
Slow speed video on controversial situations either you go
Wow how is that not a red card!
Wow how is that a foul or NOT a foul!
Clarity is so much easier at a frame second is it not?
Cheers