Hi Josh,

IF this was a normal free kick without cards the referee should NOT get involved in what either team is doing!
If the attackers want to go he should let them, if the attackers REQUEST 10 yards he should then signal we NOW restart with a whistle to both teams. Given this was a cardable situation the referee has created an unnecessary mess!

The situation is unfortunate in that although the principle of a FREE kick is the FREE part, a referee is NOT to interfere with either team, unless the attackers request ten yards, or the defenders have infringed in such a way the kick is to be ceremonial. In my opinion if a referee is stopping play to caution and SHOW a yellow card he can not FAIRLY allow the free kick to occur if he is addressing the defending team or players involved. The additional guidance within the LOTG tells us that whistle is to be used restart play after it has been stopped due to:
– the issue of a yellow or red card for misconduct
– injury
– substitution


I am uncertain

(1) as to how or if the referee instructed the teams to wait for a whistle?
The referee who does this at the start saves a lot of grief and in actuality, is following the LOTG standard whistle protocols that state a carding event requires a whistle! The referee could actually caution the attacking kicker for going ahead and restarting without the whistle as a form of dissent, USB or delaying the restart gesture

(2) So the referee did not rescinded the goal and awarded an INDFK to the defenders??
If the referee was unhappy at the attacking team failing to adhere to his instructions to wait or even if he realizes his actions directly affected the fairness of the restart because he forgot to tell the team to wait while holding the defending team's attention , then he should restart with the original DFK after possibly cautioning the kicker.

(3) If the referee allows the goal there is little the defenders can do but complain as the results of a match and whether a goal is legally scored is at his sole discretion. Terrible mechanics in my opinion to allow the goal if embroiled in a discussion with the defenders while showing a card . Yet I am not adverse in non cardable free kicks to a simple, 'TEN YARDS NOW!' now command to warn off impeding delaying restart or failing to respect ten yards by encroaching defenders , To be blunt, I very much DISLIKE the FIFA choice to go with foam! It has created a FALSE mindset that ten yards is not a responsibility of the defenders to KNOW it is the minimum they MUST in law comply with and withdraw to allow a free kick to be taken but one of the referee's official duties.

Cheers

Hi Josh
The referee awarded a direct free kick here for the foul. As he also decided to caution the offender for unsporting behaviour the game should have restarted on the whistle given that he engaged an opponent in discussion.

When a card is shown, a whistle is always required before play can restart. If the kicking team kicks the ball before the whistle, the kick must be retaken.

The referee has a difficult choice when play is stopped for a foul that is cautionable and the kicking team might want a quick free kick. If the referee allows the quick free kick, the referee cannot later go back and caution the player. So, most referees will decide that the need to show the card for game management is more important than a quick kick.

You are asking for advice about how to get out of situations where the spirit and the laws of the game create a conflict? If so, it's really based on your personality, wit and ultimately knowledge of the Laws. As Ref Fleischer previously mentioned, you must absolutely KNOW the LOTG inside and out in order to be confident with what you are doing. If, in the instance you initially wrote about, you think the coach is trying to eat up time by making substitutions, you can continue with the match and pretend not to see or hear him for a moment while the ball is put back into play. Telling the coach that there's only a minute to go in the game isn't nearly as credible (albeit for this particular tournament you had some written support) as saying, "sorry coach, your sub(s) wasn't up and ready to go prior to the ball leaving the field of play." Of course, for this to have credibility, you will have had to employ this consistently throughout the game. Very few, actually do! The Laws DO support "creative" refereeing, you just need to know EXACTLY what the laws allow.

By the way, if you were at last year's inservice clinic in Portland over Thanksgiving weekend, we may have met, as Nathan Lacy and I were your clinicians. The Portland referee association was very impressive. Very wonderful referees and staff.

Cheers,

The Spirit of the Game is something very important for a referee to develop within. That way, if you don't know exactly what to do by the Law, you will be able to fall back on the Spirit to generate a fair result.

An example - many years ago my daughter was reffing a U8 game. Free kicks in the league were all indirect. One of the players shot a free kick directly into the goal. She knew the goal didn't stand. But she didn't remember the remedy - so she thought out a good possibility. Make them retake the IFK. Not correct in Law - it should have been a goal kick - but a plausible decision. Sometimes that's the best we can do.

(1) In this specific situation, you have to ask yourself what happened first? There is some disagreement on this. The target was in an offside position, so we deem offside to have occurred at the time the ball is kicked - even if the offside call cannot be made until a later time when involvement is seen. Therefore the restart should have been an IFK coming out. The kick by the white player can only be sanctioned as misconduct. This is confirmed by FIFA Q&A (2006) 12.34. Unfortunately this document is out of date, and is not being reissued by FIFA. I cannot find this specific incident addressed in the new extended version of the Laws of the Game.

34. A player is in an offside position and an assistant referee raises his flag. The referee does not see the signal and a defending player violently punches an opponent. The referee stops play and only then sees the signal of the assistant referee. What action does the referee take?
a. If he accepts the signal for offside from the assistant referee, he sends off the defender for violent conduct and restarts play with an indirect free kick for the defending team *.
b. If he does not accept that an offside offence has occurred, the defending player is sent off for violent conduct and play is restarted with a penalty kick or a direct free kick for the attacking team.

(2) Sounds like you acted correctly. We can't "just leave it" because, as you state, it will just encourage poor behavior later on. In the leagues I work, the gamesheet is the official record of the match. We indicate who scored goals and put in a code number for misconduct. We are expected to write a description of the misconduct, either on the back of the form or in a separate document. Usually I wait until I get home and type it on the computer, and then attach the report to the gamesheet before mailing it in. I also forward the misconduct report to my referee association.

1)Like Referee Voshol, I agree it is a case of what happened first? In the scenario you describe, I'm a little confused. If the kick by the red player went to a teammate who was breaking through defenders, that sounds like it went to an onside player. Did you ask your AR later about the offside call and what he saw that caused him to flag for offside? Was this a situation where an onside player and an offside player were both going for a ball? That is a slightly different kettle of fish. Nonetheless, if the kick by the white player for which you allowed advantage occurred after the ball was kicked by red, and you accept that the call by your AR was for an offside offense from that kicked ball, then offside is the correct call. If you feel your AR made an error in judging the offside, then you go with the foul.
2) Paperwork is such a hassle! No wonder referees shirk this responsibility. However, they don't seem to mind getting paid or the responsibility of showing up on time, or conducting the game according to the Laws. Oops. Wait. The Laws (Law 5) require the referee to make a full report. So, many kudos to you for filing a supplemental report stating the facts of what happened - that is exactly what should have been done. Ignoring or leaving it is like failing to call a violent foul because it means you have to go to the trouble of reaching into your back pocket (or wherever you keep that red card), showing it and making the miscreant leave the field. So much work, so little time. A report doesn't have to be long and wordy (like my answer here) - in fact, short, factual and succinct is the favorite of every review board I've ever been on, dealt with or talked to. I hope your example is followed.

Agree that you have to decide what occurs first. Here, the offside is judged at the moment tha ball is played by a teammate which occurred BEFORE the carelss foul so I would give offside with appropriate IFK restart for defenders. You may punish the kick as misconduct but not as a foul as play was dead due to the offside. 2. It's a shame that many referees do not want to bother punishing bad behavior just because the match is over. If the players have left the field you do not show a card but you DO inform them they have been sent off and a proper report is being filed with the appropriate authorites. This means the player will be sitting out at least the next match

Agree with my colleagues. It is offside since the offside is evaluated at moment ball touches teammate. Since you stated the after the fact kick was careless, a caution most likely would need not be administered. For the second incident, report all action to the league. The red card CAN INDEED be shown.

Not in Laws of the Game. Players can go where they want. Perhaps this was a team policy or a parent coaching on positioning.

This all sounds rather rediculous. This is football, not lacrosse. Players can go where they like, so long as they remain on the field of play.

Perhaps it was the coach's own rule for his team...

Simply a myth, probably something he remembers from one of his youth coaches.

Coaches will often tell certain kids that mid line is a no fly zone to make then concious of their duties to defend! While contary to the notion a player can roam the field it is a choice, a poor one at that and certainly not a law of any sort !
Cheers