Practical Refereeing Questions

1. I didn’t Know That!Answers to Laws of the Gameand Practical Refereeing Questions(answers taken from Jim Allen)

2. Practical Refereeing Questions Should a referee give a coach their name after the game? • Many coaches will try to intimidate referees, particularly young referees, by being rude and by asking for their names. The request for the name is legitimate under any circumstances, but rudeness and poor sportsmanship are not. The referee may also request the name of the coach or other team official, and should note that this will go into the match report. • If the person asking for the information wants to know more than just your name, tell them to contact the referee assignor for the competition. • Full details (team, name, if available, and what happened) should be included in the match report.

3. Practical Refereeing Questions Is it permissible, after a game, for a coach to approach a referee for an explanation of a call during the game? It is certainly permissible, but the referee is not required to give the coach any explanation. A perceived "wrong" answer can only exacerbate some situations. Some referees, while normally very nice people - just like most coaches - tend to get a little edgy when questioned about calls by someone not a referee or an assessor. Surely coaches would not appreciate it if the referee were to come up after the game and ask why the coach had instructed the players to do something that allowed the opponents to score the winning goal.

4. Practical Refereeing Questions Abandoned or Terminated – Don’t hang around! If the referee determines that the game must be abandoned or terminated, then, s/he announces the fact, gets the crew together, and leaves as quickly as possible. Whenever the referee remains in the "area of the field," s/he continues to be responsible for the behavior of players, substitutes, and team officials who are also in the area of the field. There is no reason to remain where there is danger to the referee or other members of the officiating crew. The referee is obligated to file a full report with the competition authority

5. Practical Refereeing Questions When can a Goalkeeper be Charged? Charging the opposing goalkeeper is possible only if the charging player and the goalkeeper are both going for a ball that is within playing distance of both but is not in the possession of the goalkeeper. If the goalkeeper legally has hand control of the ball, then the 'keeper may NOT be charged, no matter where he or she is, and any attempt to do so could be punished with an indirect free kick or a direct free kick, depending on the circumstances. Any player who interferes with distribution by charging or otherwise interfering should be sanctioned.

6. Practical Refereeing Questions What does the Law say about Coaches? • Coaches receive little or no recognition under the Laws of the Game. They are mentioned three times: • Powers and Duties of the Referee in Law 5 • Law describing the Technical Area • In both places the Laws make the point that the coach must BEHAVE RESPONSIBLY and thus may not shout, curse, interfere, or otherwise make a nuisance of him - or herself. The coach's presence, or the presence of any other team official, is generally irrelevant to the game - under the Laws of the Game, but it may have some importance under the rules of youth competitions.

7. Practical Refereeing Questions Can you caution or even send off a coach? Can you abandon a match because of a "mean" coach? The referee's first line of defense is to warn the coach who is behaving irresponsibly. This is the equivalent of a caution, but no card is shown. Then, if the behavior persists, the coach is expelled from the field. Terminating the match generally should be reserved for situations in which the coach, though ordered from the field, refuses to leave (just as one would do in a similar case involving a player).

8. Practical Refereeing Questions Should the referee allow a player to wear a sling? As long as the provisions of Law 4 regarding player safety are observed, the referee has no authority to tell a player they cannot play with a sling on their shoulder. If the player uses the sling to control the ball or for other illegal purposes, the sling comes off or the player goes -after being cautioned and shown the yellow card for unsporting behavior. If the referee simply enforces Law 4, the players (and their parents) assume all responsibility for any further injury.

9. Practical Refereeing Questions After the end of the match - the referee observes that the Coach from Team A pushes a Player from Team B The obligation of the referee to act in this area ends at the same time as it ends regarding the players, at the conclusion of the match, except in very limited circumstances. The referee may decide to include information about the dispute in the match report but, otherwise, it should be up to the coaches to file complaints with their respective leagues or organizations if they feel another coach or team official has behaved incorrectly.

10. Practical Refereeing Questions Does Law 4 permit jewelry as long as it is safe? A player must not use equipment or wear anything which is dangerous to himself or another player (including any kind of jewelry).

11. Practical Refereeing Questions Are there any restrictions on referees wearing jewelry? Law 18 (common sense) tells us that if players are not permitted to wear jewelry, neither should referees or assistant referees or fourth officials wear unnecessary jewelry, including gold chains, lip rings, or any other items that could prove dangerous to either themselves or to other participants. The only exceptions would be wristwatches, a very necessary item of officiating equipment, and plain wedding bands (no stones or other protrusions). As with players, referees may also wear medic-alert bracelets that provide necessary information in case of sickness or accident.

12. Practical Refereeing Questions Can a Coach give tactical instructions while on the field for a player injury? When a team official is invited to enter the field to assess injury or treat it, that team official is expected to do only that and nothing more. However, if a bit of coaching does happen, there is little that can be done about it under most scenarios. A referee should not contemplate charging a team official with irresponsible behavior under these circumstances unless that team official (and only that team official) is giving tactical instructions INSTEAD of taking care of the injury or if the instructions were unduly delaying the restart of play.

13. Practical Refereeing Questions How to handle: entered from the bench area "inserted himself into the confrontation and began challenging players" The fact that the person who entered from the bench area "inserted himself into the confrontation and began challenging players" from the opposing team constitutes violent conduct in and of itself. There is no need for further action by this person. Referee decision: Send-off for violent conduct, show red card, restart in accordance with the reason for the stoppage, if there was one.

14. Practical Refereeing Questions Can a player move a flopped over Corner Flag? No, the player may not move the flag out of the way. It is possible that it would be legal for the player to hold the flag while he takes the kick, as long as it is not removed from the place where it has been planted. And, depending on the actual nature of the flag posts, if they bend to such a degree that they routinely become lower than the mandatory five-foot height required by Law 1, they constitute a safety hazard for all players who are near them.

15. Practical Refereeing Questions Does stepping on top of the ball or merely tapping the ball with the foot does constitute kicking? The ball is in play (able to be played by an attacker other than the kicker or by an opponent) when it has been kicked and moved. The distance to be moved is minimal and the "kick" need only be a touch of the ball with the foot in a kicking motion. Stepping on top of the ball or merely tapping the ball with the foot does not constitute kicking.

16. Practical Refereeing Questions GK and attacker come together as a result of both making a fair effort for the ball. While the GK is down he elbows the attacker who then knees the GK in the back. Both players are sent off as a result of their actions. My question is what is the proper restart procedure. I say a PK since the first foul was committed by the GK in the box, others have disagreed saying the attackers foul cancels out the other foul and an indirect kick is awarded to the GK's team. After sending off both players for violent conduct (not serious foul play, as they were no longer competing for the ball), the referee should restart with a penalty kick for the attacker's team

17. Practical Refereeing Questions What to do when one team, after taking the lead, resorts to when kicking the ball out, to blasting it out, far from the field of play. Kicking the ball out of play is not an infringement of the Laws of the Game. The only provision under the Laws regarding that sort of time wasting is that the time lost shall be added to the period of play.

18. Practical Refereeing Questions How do you handle a simultaneous foul situation? The Laws do not recognize a simultaneous foul situation! Law 5 recognizes a situation in which the SAME PLAYER commits two offenses simultaneously (i. e, the same act constitutes two different infractions of the Law -- e. g., the player who just did a throw-in rushing onto the field and directly handling the ball (second touch plus handling) or a player who dissents using abusive language (caution plus red card language).

19. Practical Refereeing Questions What is the restart if a player taking a penalty kick passes the ball backward to a teammate to then shoot on goal? Until USSF issues a memo clarifying the matter, referees are to continue applying the Law based on our current understanding.   The "current understanding" in this case is that the ball is not in play and therefore the correct restart is to have the PK taken properly.

20. Practical Refereeing Questions An AR gets spit at by someone on the bench, but has no idea who actually did the spitting. At the next stoppage, the AR raises the flag to the referee and informs them of the incident. The referee asks the coach who did it, but no name is forthcoming. If the officials are not able to identify a culprit definitely, then no individual player may be punished. The coach may certainly be expelled for not maintaining order on the bench. In any event, the referee and assistant referee must submit a full and detailed report on the incident to the competition authority.

21. Practical Refereeing Questions What is Careless, Reckless & Involving Excessive Force? "Careless" indicates that the player has not exercised due caution in making a play. (Simple foul) "Reckless" means that the player has made unnatural movements designed to intimidate an opponent or to gain an unfair advantage. (Caution) "Involving excessive force" means that the player has far exceeded the use of force necessary to make a fair play for the ball and has placed the opponent in considerable danger of bodily harm. (Send Off)

22. Practical Refereeing Questions How do you handle “Changing Jerseys to Deceive”? Whether it is in the rules of the competition or not, tradition dictates that players wear the same number throughout the match unless forced to change by circumstance (e. g., blood on the jersey or a torn jersey). Any other change of numbers could be regarded as an attempt to deceive the referee and be treated as unsporting behavior. If to “deceive” the referee should caution and show the yellow card to both players for unsporting behavior.

23. Practical Refereeing Questions Can the kicker feint while taking a Penalty Kick? The kicker may seek to misdirect (or feint) at the taking of a penalty kick. However there are four specific actions by the kicker that could constitute misconduct:- he delays unnecessarily after being signaled by the referee to proceed,- he runs past the ball and then backs up to take the kick,- he excessively changes direction during the run to the ball, or- he makes any motion of the hand or arm which is clearly intended to misdirect the attention of the goalkeeper.

24. Practical Refereeing Questions Where is the written requirement that players must have jerseys tucked in? This requirement was originally carried in the "Additional Instructions regarding the Laws of the Game" for the 1994 World Cup in the United States and in subsequent editions of the Laws of the Game (until the revision of the Laws in 1997): 23. Players' outfits (a) The referee shall ensure that each player wears his clothes properly and check that they conform with the requirements of Law IV. Players shall be made aware that their jersey remains tucked inside their shorts and that their socks remain pulled up.

25. Practical Refereeing Questions Corner kick situation. Attacking player shadows GK before kick is taken. It is an offense to stand in front of a goalkeeper on a corner kick, then take advantage of the position to impede the goalkeeper before the kick is taken and before the ball is in play. The referee may either (1) act before the kick and warn the player not to impede the goalkeeper or (2) wait until the kick has been taken and then stop play. If the referee stops play, the impeding player should be at least warned before the referee gives the restart, which is an indirect free kick for the goalkeeper's team from the place where the 'keeper was impeded.

26. Practical Refereeing Questions May a referee show cards to players after the game is over? Yes, the referee may display the cards after the game is over but the referee is still in the immediate vicinity of the field. Even if no cards are to be shown after the game, the referee must still submit a full report of such events to the proper authorities. That is all a disciplinary panel needs to make a decision. What counts in punishment for players is what the referee says in the report, not whether the referee showed a card.