Question Number: 32056

Law 5 - The Referee 11/26/2017

RE: Rec Adult

russell of Sydney, VAR trial country – Australia asks...

This question is a follow up to question 32044

Ref Dawson has indicated that he said to the player 'give it a go'.

I would have thought this advise is not something a referee should be doing.

If we are told that we cannot influence, or advise in a benign drop ball situation, then surely we should not be advising or indicating what a player should do in live play.

His call, his decision, his reputation (tongue in cheek Richard - you know I think highly of you).
I'll cut you some slack, as you indicated a 'young' defender.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Russell
I see no problem with a referee communicating with players such as No Foul, Play on, Leave it out, Get on with it, Hands down or what ever. Quite obviously a referee should not coach players. Perhaps words gets lost in context.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Well I must point out I try to be fair not perfect ! lol The deer in the headlight syndrome that affects youth is always irritating to me as the loud screams from the touchlines freeze the youth into indecision as they try desperately to decipherer what those who are not playing want them to do rather than just continue playing!

AS noted youth is often a teaching mode as much as it is a refereeing experience And offering a solution is not the same as demanding they follow instructions!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Russell,
Actually, what ref Dawson said was, ''I said give it a go & signalled advantage,', followed by: ''I said to her 'There has been no whistle play!''

So it could be taken to mean that the words he actually used were the ones in quotation marks and 'give it a go' may have been just what he was saying to himself (unless he meant that he said two different things to her).

In any event, whatever the actual words used and as he says, this was a youth match with a young player being confused by conflicting advice from the coach so I think it would be not the greatest refereeing mis-step ever, to make the situation even clearer to a young, inexperienced player that she is allowed to continue, even by using slightly non-standard wording.