Question Number: 25893

Character, Attitude and Control 1/15/2012

RE: Select Under 15

Brian B. of Bakersfiled, Ca USA asks...

I would like to get your opinion on the idea of stopping a serious foul or misconduct BEFORE it actually happens. Doesnt seem right but in trying to keep the game under control and maintain the safety of players, maybe I should have.
U14 boys. Evenly matched teams. Two opposing players at midfield. Red player is clearly the faster and better skilled player than the blue player. Red player is pretty much imposing his will on the blue player. This was clearly becoming very frustrating for the blue player. He had not fouled the red player yet but it was very clear that he was becoming very upset. After the about the sixth time he got beat he went after the red player. I could see what was going to happen. He ran up behind the red player and with both hands plowed the red in the back knocking him to the ground. The red player, while not seriously, was injured on the play. Everybody knew, including the blue coach, that he was going to be sent off. I did in fact send him off. Of course the red team players, coaches and parents had a lot to voice about blue players actions. Fortunately it did not get out of hand.
So my question is should I have blown the whistle BEFORE this happened? Again, I knew what was coming. I could see it his eyes. I could see other potentially serious outcomes by just letting it happen. Red player could have been seriously hurt. A brawl could have started and so on.
What are your thoughts?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Brian
Referees should attempt to officiate realistically rather than follow the Laws slavishly at all times. Referees must be very much aware of player protection and player safety and they must also be aware of the effect that not making / making a call has on the offending team's opponents.
Within the Laws there is nothing the referee can do in your situation. The referee has to deal with the game incidents as they happen. What the referee can do is speak to the player and have a 'word' with him telling him to calm down, not to get involved and that he is being watched closely. The referee can advise him what will happen should anything untoward happen. Also perhaps the slightest misdemeanor by the player results in a caution. Having said that if the call was made without a foul to prevent an injury happening to a player that has to be beneficial.
It has been said that "To anticipate something, is for it to never happen"??. Now for that to happen the referee may have to step outside the Law
There are many examples that could be used to illustrate outside the Law preventative refereeing
I recounts an interesting story about a player that was 'nutmeged' with a laugh as he went past and how the player went after the opponent in a rage. Before the player got to the player to exact his 'revenge' the referee chased after the pair and stopped the game just before the irate defender got to make his challenge. The 'irate' player actually agreed with the ref telling him that he did intend to hurt the opponent.The referee restarted with a dropped ball.
Another one I have seen is where the referee to deal with dissent stops play, makes big deal about it, gives a verbal roasting to the dissenter and restarts with an IDFK with no caution. Its not in laws yet used sparingly in the right circumstances it can have the desired effect.
Now those are not in the Law Book yet it showed both preventative refereeing and stepping outside the Laws. It also brought a human dimension to the game and also a touch of humour in the exchange between the player and the referee. They don't teach that at referee training days but it does happen. Are you brave enough to break / not follow the Laws when it is needed for the game and the players' benefit?
Some advice here from USSF
http://www.ussoccer.com/news/referee-programs/2010/10/2010-referee-week-in-review-28.aspx

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

A chance for one of my favorite stories. Note: this is advanced magic. It doesn't work for new referees or small children.


English referee Gordon Hill wrote of a match where an attacker nutmegged his opponent and as he ran past added 'a really loud evil laugh.' The opponent gave chase and so did Hill. Hill realized he had no chance of getting there in time. So, he blew his whistle. Hill reached the opponent and said: 'You were going to 'do him' weren't you, Willie.' Willie replied 'I'd have f#$%^&ng killed him.' Hill added:

" Had I not stopped the game, I am convinced Carlin would have kicked Gibson off the park. I suppose correct refereeing would have been to wait for it to happen, and then send him off the field. But that would have ruined a game of football."

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If you see a player who you think is about to assault another player, yell out, 'Red, Don't do it!' That will prevent some misconduct-worthy fouls and possible injuries. The players won't always listen to you, but some will.

It is the rare match, as noted above, where you can stop play before the offense actually happens.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Since the action (pushing, striking, etc.) has to happen for it to be a foul, we can't punish a foul that hasn't happened yet, even when we can see it coming. However, the referee always has the power and sometimes the duty to stop the match whenever it is needed, and needed is in the opinion of the referee.

We most often think of that kind of stoppage in terms of injuries, or extra persons on the field, or other similar occurrences, but I've been known to, and have worked with other referees who also will stop a match to deal with players who are escalating matters, for example. In your case, one player is clearly losing control and mayhem is about to happen. If you have exercised preventative refereeing - have had a private word with the player previously about what is going on, have called out to him to control himself, have perhaps visited with the coach in hopes that he will pull him off to cool down (be careful with this one), let him know he's being watched, tried to take any given opportunities to call things his way, or any one of a dozen other approaches, but if you can see he is not cooperating, as a last resort, you could stop play to deal with him one on one. We often refer to it as a chewing out, but I would privately tell him that you know this is a frustrating game for him, but if he continues with was clearly on his mind, he'll be out for this game, the next and his teammates will be playing short, and please don't make me go there. The referee will optimally choose to stop the game for this in the midfield, since the restart is a dropped ball (see Law 8)

What the referee cannot and should not do, is to use this power to stop play unwisely. If we stopped play every time we thought about it, the flow, beauty, symmetry and integrity of the game would suffer mightily. It must remain a tool of last resort, when there is no other prescribed reason to stop play and deal with an issue, when nothing else we have tried is working, and when not to deal with an issue will - not maybe, not probably, not most likely, not might happen - but will happen and there is real danger if we don't stop play now.

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