A&H

2nd game

J

josh91

New Member
Level 9 Referee
So I had my second game today. Some people from another thread said they'd like to hear about it so here it is!

Only KMI was a penalty after 40s of the first half - an interesting start. Fortunately it was clear enough for there to be no question, but it hammered home how important it is to be concentrating the whole time - I wasn't expecting that.

I also blew up for an FK that was passed to a teammate inside the box for a retake. This prompted mass confusion but I took the time to explain the law. Is it common to find teams where no one knows the laws (literally no one understood the decision until I explained)?

Other than that, it went quite well. My positioning was infinitely better than my last game, and my decisions were not only more credible to the players, but I was much more confident in making them.

A few players after the game said to me they really appreciated me taking the time to explain my decisions where it wasn't necessarily obvious to them why I'd made them. I was pleased with that as feedback - but am interested as to what others think is an appropriate level of explanation.

The biggest takeaway from this game was that I really enjoyed it. I took some lessons from my last game and know I improved. I've come away confident that I gave a good account of myself.
 
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Nice one. I'm personally pretty cautious on explaining too much. Disagreeing with a foul against your team is part of football; we won't win a debate. If it's a rare law issue I will probably explain it, if it is/isn't a foul I won't get into too much detail.
 
Well done!
Just try and avoid long explanations and pandering to specific mouthy players. A few words is perfect. Players appreciate it.
 
It is very common to find teams where none of the players have any understanding of the laws of the game, outside what they see/hear on match of the day.

Sounds like you had a good one, well done.
 
Well done and a belated welcome to the forum!

Surprising how many people don't know that the ball must leave the area applies to free kicks as well as goal kicks. Another that causes confusion is a penalty hitting the post and rebounding straight back to the taker before anyone else touches the ball as I found out last season! :D
 
Sounds like things went well - explaining decisions is always a useful tool to build bridges with players & coaches, just make sure that it doesn't develop into a "discussion" between you and the players. Make your explanation and get out of there!

josh91 said:
Is it common to find teams where no one knows the laws (literally no one understood the decision until I explained)?
Click to expand...

Oh yes. Saturday I had a player (a very experienced player at a decent level) try and tell me that in order for a DFK to be taken 'on the whistle' the attacking team must have requested it - as in the referee couldn't do it of his own initiative. He then explained to me how the rules state if a team takes a quick DFK and it is intercepted by a defender less than 10 yds away, its an automatic YC and retake 10 yds closer to goal...:rolleyes:
 
Had a few captains who think they have special privileges when it comes to dissent... they assume they are immune from prosecution.... didn't normally take long to raise the card ears radar!
 
Eh hello are we there to apply the LOTG or educate players? They want an explanation read the LOTG :facepalm::punch:

Ps well done on your second game.
 
if ive got time and its not going to be a lengthy discussion then i really dont mind talking to players in the slightest.... by nature i'm the sort of person that thinks if i explain it to them this week then its doing next weeks ref a favour as they'll be better informed... glass half full and all that ! :)
 
richard ramjane said:
if ive got time and its not going to be a lengthy discussion then i really dont mind talking to players in the slightest.... by nature i'm the sort of person that thinks if i explain it to them this week then its doing next weeks ref a favour as they'll be better informed... glass half full and all that ! :)
Click to expand...
Think this debate happened previously and if you have time to chat to players then you either aren't focussing on what you should be doing or getting into position to get play going again. My only explanation to players are usually two footed challenge, no control...red card!
 
Certainly at grass roots there can be time for a quick explanation for example, when waiting for the ball to be retrieved from the bushes etc.

However, when the ball is in play, or there's going to be a quick restart I'll tell players to speak to me at half time or at the end of the match if they want to.

Never been taken up on the offer though
 
Exactly they don't want or need an explanation and know it is explicit in law for them to respect decisions there is no need for further explanation accept it and get on with it!
 
Normally if I give a FK and I get the " what for ref " I say it out loud so everyone can hear it . .... hand ball , push , foul etc
If they question me again I give just say "free kick " in a sterner voice and wave them away and it seems to do the trick .
 
Building a rapport with players is healthy. If they ask reasonably politely it's pretty arrogant not to respond - talking to players will help your match control as you move onwards and upwards. As others have said, the key is that it doesn't become a debate. It should ideally be question > answer > move on. Some go-to phrases can be helpful to shut down that further questioning. I often say something like "you've asked the question, I've answered, it's not going to change the more you ask so let's get on with the game". Answering and then running away also works.
 
Explain to the player once, but don't get into a debate. Sometimes people genuinely won't know why you have given a decision, so if you refuse to explain it that can make it look as though you don't have confidence in the decision and therefore are refusing to talk about it.
 
Referees should be able to explain, but do not get into discussions. Then your concernation will decrease. The moment the player won't take the explanation and continues to question, you are getting into the realms of dissent.
 
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