THE REFEREE SEPTEMBER 2017

Volume 5 Issue 9 Newsletter of the NSW State League Football Referees September 2017

Welcome to this forty seventh edition of “The Referee”, the newsletter for all NSW State

League Football Referees. This newsletter will enable our branch to communicate directly

with our members and will cover issues and areas of interest to all referees.

We wish to ensure that all information, educational resources and opportunities that our

branch provides for referees finds its way to those who are likely to benefit most – and

that’s you!

47

“Tensions” are primarily caused by players (but occasionally those watching). Look out for the personal

battles that can develop, which will lead to one deliberately fouling another or players trying to wind

each other up with snide remarks. There can be various reasons for these – such as conflict carried over

from a previous game or the feeling one player has “got away with something”. Whatever the reason,

you need to be aware of both the verbal and non-verbal clues. This allows you to manage the players by

adopting the appropriate player management technique. – i.e. don’t give the feud a chance to develop.

THE REFEREE SEPTEMBER 2017

Law 18 – Common Sense And Spirit Of The Game

There is no Law 18, of course, but just the same you will sometimes hear referees refer to it as the most

important of all the LAWS, because it overrides all the others. It is simply the application of common sense in

interpreting and applying the Laws of the Game to ensure that a referee’s decisions don’t go against the spirit of

the game. Law 18 provides that common sense and the spirit of the game are always more important than the

letter of the law, and on most occasions, experienced referees will apply Law 18 conscientiously.

In 1978, Stanley Lover identified the Spirit of the Laws as having three components:

Equality - all players have an equal opportunity under the Laws to display their skills

Enjoyment - the game is meant to be played for fun

Safety - the game is meant to be safe to play

These criteria are as applicable today as they were nearly 40 years ago."

When applying these criteria, referees should also consider":

(a) Natural Justice – It’s important not to penalise players unfairly by applying the letter of the law when that would contravene the spirit or the intention of the law.

(b) Flow of the Game – A good referee lets the players play with the minimum number of interruptions but without losing control of the match.

(c) Letting the players determine the outcome of the match.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that serious breaches of the LOTG, such as mandatory cautions or players

deliberately infringing the LOTG, should be let go in order to let the game flow. Referees still need to be in

control of the game and deal with blatant infringements.

Two factors in particular need to be stressed, because they help distinguish football from other common team

sports:

1. Tradition – Football has evolved a free flowing game. The Laws were intended to provide referees with a basis to mediate disputes and deal with incidents. A basic difference between football and other sports is that the referee is a "judge" who interprets the LOTG and applies them to settle disputes. He is not a policeman who applies every Law exactly as it is written.

2. Intent of the Law – Many football laws are intended to control certain things (time wasting for instance) but could be wrongly applied to other things. It is important for every coach, player and referee to understand the history and intent of each LOTG to understand the true “spirit of the game”

What this means in practice is that in the service of the spirit of the game, referees are frequently called on to

temper their judgements with simple common sense. For example, if a referee blew his whistle every time an

offence of any kind was committed, most games would be nothing more than a protracted and frustrating series

of restarts. This occurs at all levels of football – very young players sometimes commit minor fouls inadvertently

through clumsiness or lack of skill and older players use gamesmanship to see how much they can get away with.

All referees allow some offences to go. Just how many and how serious these offences are, before they are

penalised, is a result of the individual referee's personality and understanding of the Laws.

A typical example of common sense and the spirit of the game would be that good referees will often have what

is called a “quiet word” with a player who has committed several “niggling” fouls, just to tell him that any more

similar behaviour will result in a caution. In this way, they try to keep the game moving while letting the offender

know that they are aware of what he is doing.

THE REFEREE SEPTEMBER 2017

Extra Persons On The Field Of Play

The coach and other officials, named on the team sheet (with the exception of players or substitutes) are team

officials. Anyone not named on the team sheet as a player, substitute or team official is an outside agent. If a

team official, substitute, substituted or sent off player or outside agent enters the field of play the referee must:

Only stop play if they interfere with play

Have the person removed when play stops

Take appropriate disciplinary action

If play is stopped and the interference was by:

A team official, substitute, substituted or sent off player, play restarts with a direct free kick or penalty kick.

An outside agent, play restarts with a dropped ball.

If a ball is going into the goal and the interference does not prevent a defending player playing the ball, the goal is

awarded if the ball enters the goal (even if contact was made with the ball) unless the ball enters the opponent’s

goal.

Adapted from the Laws of the Game 2016/2017 Australian Edition.

Stopping A Promising Attack

Law 12 – Fouls and Misconduct under Cautions For Unsporting Behaviour on Page 36 of the Laws of the Game

2016/2017 Australian Edition state “There are different circumstances when a player must be cautioned for

unsporting behaviour including if a player: commits a foul or handles the ball to interfere with or stop a promising

attack”

Determining Stopping A Promising Attack (SPA). In order to caution a player for SPA you need to consider the

following:

Direction – What is the direction of play?

Distance – What is the distance between the offence and the goal?

Defenders – The location and number of defenders. The smaller the number of defenders and the further away

they are, the more promising the attack.

Control – The likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball. When considering SPA we look at control to

attack as opposed to DOGSO where we look at control to shoot.

Attackers – The location and number of attackers. The more attackers there are and the more promising their

position, the more promising the attack.

Passing Options – How many options to pass the ball did the player have when he was fouled? Which side will be

advantaged in the next phase of play?

Not all of these conditions must be met for SPA to be considered and given. The FIFA considerations for stopping

a promising attack are on indicated on Page 108 (additional Information for Australian Match Officials) of the

Laws of the Game 2016/2017 Australian Edition.

Modified and adapted from the Additional Information for Australian Match Officials in the Laws of the Game

2016/2017 Edition.

THE REFEREE SEPTEMBER 2017

Quick Quiz

A thorough understanding of the Laws of the Game is an essential quality of a good referee. All referees should

regularly review their Laws of the Game to ensure they are correctly interpreting and applying the LOTG.

Following are some questions to test yourself on how well you know the laws. Choose the CORRECT answer.

Answers are at the end of the newsletter.

1. Can an injured player who is off the field of play for treatment at the final whistle take part in “kicks from the penalty mark”?

A. No, only players on the field of play at the final whistle can take part in “kicks from the penalty mark”. B. Yes provided he/she leaves the field of play with permission from the referee. C. Yes – any player who is temporarily off the field of play for a valid reason (injury, changing equipment, etc.) is

allowed to take part in “kicks from the penalty mark”. D. Yes, but he/she should come back onto the field of play before “kicks from the penalty mark” start.

2. When may the referee not change his decision? A. If play has restarted or he has signalled the end of the first or second half (including any additional time

played) and has left the field of play or terminated the match. B. If he realises that it is incorrect or on the advice of an assistant referee or fourth official, providing play has

not restarted or the match has not finished. C. It depends on the seriousness of the offence. D. No, never. 3. A player leaves the field of play to correct their equipment. Can the referee give them permission to return

while the ball is in play? A. Yes but only if the referee checks the equipment. B. Yes, provided his/her equipment is checked by a match official before allowing him/her to re-enter the field

of play. C. Yes, nut he/she can only re-enter the field of play from one of the sidelines. D. No. 4. At a quickly taken free kick, an opponent, who is six metres away, deliberately intercepts the ball. What

decision should the referee make? A. He orders the free kick to be retaken because the opponent was less than 9.15 metres from the ball. B. He allows play to continue. C. He cautions the opponent and orders the free kick to be retaken. D. He cautions the opponent for not respecting the required distance. 5. A defender takes a goal kick and an attacker, who is inside the penalty area when the goal kick is taken,

touches the ball outside the penalty area before another player touches it. What decision should the referee make?

A. Award an indirect free kick against the attacker from the place where he touched the ball. B. Play continues as the ball is in play after leaving the penalty area. C. Caution the player for unsporting behaviour and order the goal kick be retaken. D. The goal kick is retaken.

THE REFEREE SEPTEMBER 2017

Important Dates

Friday 1st December 2017 – Annual General Meeting at Bankstown Sports Club, 8 Greenfield Parade, Bankstown

NSW 2200, starts at 7.30 pm.

September General Meeting

Our eighth and final General Meeting of the year and once again we had a fairly good turn up of members. Again

due to circumstances beyond his control your Newsletter Editor was unable to attend the meeting so

unfortunately there is no report this month.

September Member of the Month

Denying An Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity (DOGSO)

In this month’s video analysis - https://youtu.be/7jsy5aOsfb4, we again are discussing the subject of DOGSO and

reinforcing the implications of the Law changes that took place for this season. The game is between Portland

Timbers and New York Red Bulls played on the 18th August 2017 and the incident occurs in the 79th minute. As

Red Bulls’ Gonzalo Veron is moving towards the ball, he is brought down by Timbers’ Larry Mabiala. At this point,

referee Allen Chapman has five decisions to make:

– Has Mabiala committed a foul?

– If so, did it take place inside or outside of the penalty area?

– Is this DOGSO?

– Has Mabiala made an attempt for the ball, or is there no opportunity for him to play the ball?

– Therefore, under the new Law change, is this a red card?

Well known “A League” Assistant Referee Kearney

Robinson is the Member of the Month for September.

Kearney was nominated due to his contribution in helping

to run the AR technical session. On numerous occasions he

has also assisted James Tesoriero in the coordination of the

communications gear and ensuring it gets to where it needs

to be on weekends. Unfortunately Kearney was unable to

attend the meeting to collect his $100 Legea voucher kindly

donated by Legea Australia; it will be posted to him in the

near future.

THE REFEREE SEPTEMBER 2017

On these first two decisions, Chapman immediately blows his whistle and awards a free-kick from just outside the

penalty area. When you look at the play, Mabiala definitely makes contact with Veron, who goes down, and the

contact is outside the penalty area. This is confirmed by assistant referee Apolinar Mariscal who moves towards

the front edge of the penalty area.

The following Law considerations must be examined:

– Distance between the offence and goal

– General direction of the play

– Likelihood of Veron keeping or gaining control of the ball

– Location and number of defenders

It is clear that the first three criteria occur here. Veron is outside the penalty area, moving towards goal, and he

would have kept possession of the ball had the foul not occurred. The only question is whether any defender

could have intercepted the ball. If you look at the exact moment when the foul occurs, all the other defenders

are behind Veron and he would have had an empty goal in which to take a clear and uninterrupted shot.

We have established that all the considerations in Law are covered and, under the old Law, this would absolutely

be a red card. However, under the new Law criteria, it might not necessarily a red card had the offence occurred

inside of the penalty area.

As a reminder, the Law states - Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty

area which denies an opponent an obvious goal scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the

offending player is cautioned unless:

– The offence is holding, pulling or pushing

– The offending player does not attempt to play the ball, or there is no possibility for the player making the

challenge to play the ball

– The offence is one which is punishable by a red card wherever it occurs on the field of play (e.g. serious foul

play, violent conduct etc.)

However, once Chapman decides that the offence occurs outside of the penalty area none of the above criteria

apply. Therefore the Law is applied exactly as before the new Law changes, and he has no hesitation in sending

off Mabiala, who accepts his fate without any protest.

We have previously discussed on numerous occasions about the role of the AR in incidents on the front edge of

the penalty area. This is where ARs are always in a superior position to the referee and must assist the referee

effectively. AR Mariscal confirms that the foul took place outside the penalty both verbally and visually.

Despite the contact being clearly outside the penalty area when analysed, by the time Veron falls he is on the

penalty spot. When deciding whether the offence takes place inside or outside the penalty area, referees have to

take into account the distance of the fall as it can appear in real time to have occurred inside, when in fact it was

outside. In this play, if you look at Red Bulls’ Head Coach, Jesse Marsch, he is seeking guidance about whether the

offence was in fact outside the penalty area or not. Chapman and Mariscal between them made the correct call

first time without the assistance of the VAR.

As further education I would like to clarify a decision from the game between Houston Dynamo and San Jose

Earthquakes on 12th August 2017 in the 46th minute, when Earthquakes’ Andres Imperiale brings down Dynamo’s

Erick Torres as he is moving towards goal. https://youtu.be/JW2VUkQFv54. Initially referee Ricardo Salazar

brandishes the red card to Imperiale as he believes there was not an attempt to play the ball but, after

consultation with AR Jeffrey Greeson, decides to overturn the decision and issue a yellow card.

THE REFEREE SEPTEMBER 2017

David Elleray, Technical Director of The IFAB says: “It could be either way but within the spirit of the change to the

DOGSO Law it is a yellow card as there was a general attempt to play the ball/challenge for the ball – albeit a not

very good one!”

The general philosophy on this Law is that if the referee is unsure whether the player has made an attempt, or if

there is a possibility of the defender playing the ball, the referee should err on the side of a yellow card rather

than red card. So, any movement in the general direction of the ball can be interpreted as an attempt. The

default setting of the referee in such a scenario is to issue a yellow card.

If the player unsuccessfully attempts to play the ball or challenge the opponent for the ball and a penalty kick is

awarded, the correct sanction is a caution (yellow card). The player’s movement towards the ball/opponent is a

good indication of whether or not the player was attempting to play the ball or challenge the opponent for the

ball.

THE REFEREE SEPTEMBER 2017

Quiz Answers

1 - C; 2 - A; 3 - B; 4 - B; 5 - D.

Richard Baker - NSWSLFR TSC Member and Newsletter Editor