Question Number: 24732

League Specific 3/26/2011

RE: Level 7 - Referee - Competive Rec Other

Marc Watson of Luton, Bedfordshire England asks...

Dear Panel,

I was wondering if you could assist me here please?

I've recently enrolled on a FUTSAL (small-sided soccer)course with my County to go alongside the current 11-a-side qualification I have.

I would like to ask a couple of questions if you can help:

1. For Fustal, I've read that a BLUE card is used in place of a yellow card, and a sin-bin is used. Is this correct?

2. I'm looking for whistle ideas to use. When I'm outdoors I use either a Tornado 2000, a Fox40 Classic or a Fox40 Sonik Blast.
I have got a feeling however these would be too powerful for inside, and was wondering if you had any ideas for a suitable ideas for an indoor whistle.

3. Can a State /Country badge be used by the referee, or should it be the designated badge for that type of soccer (identical to the Country badge, but a different color)?

If you can assist me with any of these I'd be grateful.

Thanks in advance!

Marc Watson

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Marc,

Futsal should be played as per the official FIFA Laws Of The Game, and only yellow and red cards are mentioned there. Officially, blue cards do not exist.

However, I've learnt that a number of centres tend to apply their own rules in this game, and some centres utilise a blue card for dissent, and this is typically in addition to the yellow and red cards already at our disposal.

So officially, there's no such thing as a blue card, but unofficially it may be a centre or area-specific rule, and I would imagine it would supplement the other two cards for certain offences. Speak to your coordinator about this.

2)I used to think the same thing, and I used a Fox 40 Cooper (aka Pearl) for a while, which gives a much lower tone. However, I've found that Futsal courts can be quite noisy places, and you still need to use a loud whistle.

If you're unfortunate enough to be in a centre when the one 'room' has several courts running simultaneously (or even a number of loud spectators on the side) then the sound will be bounced up and down between the hard floor and the ceiling, meaning a small groups of people can make an astounding amount of noise. This means that not only can it be very difficult to talk to the players, but also that your whistle may be drowned out.

Also, if you're refereeing adults then you'll still need the higher pitch and volume of the classic or Tornado to get through to them when they misbehave.

So I would use the classic as your primary whistle, but carry one of your louder ones (either the Tornado or your Sonik) in your pocket - if you find it's a noisy centre you may well need to switch (you should always carry at least one spare whistle anyway); I've refereed in centres where the players were unable to hear my classic. Not a problem I've ever had refereeing outdoors!

I can't give an answer to your third question, but perhaps one of my esteemed colleagues can assist.

I wish you all the best in your endeavours in the small game. You'll find it presents many particular challenges unique to this game, and it may take you a little while to adapt - not only to the laws, but even in foul recognition, positioning, and even the manner in which you deal with the players.

When I started refereeing Futsal, I assumed it would be just like refereeing outdoor soccer, just on a smaller pitch - but believe me, there are a lot of differences in how you approach the game.

I look forward to hearing from you in the future should you have any further queries.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Marc
FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game does not have a blue card nor does it have a sin bin.
1. In FA approved small sided underage games the use of blue cards can be part of the competition rules which is a temporary suspension of two minutes duration. It is akin to a 'sin bin'. This modification is only allowed for small sided games and it will never be used in official open age approved competitions such as Futsal.
2. Your usual whistle be fine and it is a good opportunity to work on varying the tone of the whistle to meet the particular circumstances. Many referees have a single tone blow yet they should vary it to quiet / louder / longer / shorter as the situation demands
3. As you know there is a designated seperate Futsal qualification. A separate Futsal badge is awarded on completion of a Futsal course. Clearly it will depend on the competition and its standing whether the referee will be assigned or not if he does not have that Futsal badge.
FA approved Futsal tournaments will require the use of properly certified officials yet local games may accept the regular badged referee as happens in the case of indoor football / small sided games . I have refereed Futsal games at a local level yet for national leagues my regular qualification would rule me out. That is a matter though for the assignor based on standing of the games, availability of officials etc