I was watching an isthmian game earlier and there was an offside which was given and that player passed it and then the other player shot over the bar. No caution and not even a word. Are we still clamping down on kicking the ball away, etc ?
Clampdown?
- Thread starter dylanbailey4444
- Start date
What was the circumstances of the game. Was it impactful?
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
Did it delay the restart?
That isn't really to do with the clampdown though.
"Football stakeholders are aligned in their views in wanting referees to take strong actions against players where we deduce their actions are clear, deliberate and impactful on delaying the restart of the game and wasting time for tactical advantage"
Which is why I asked about the impact and circumstances... There are still scenarios where this doesn't have to be a caution because the game does not need/want it.
If this happens at minute 95, and the game is dead in the water, then no one really cares about that, nor does it demand strong actions.
The answer to the OP is yes we should still be clamping down on this behaviour when "their actions are clear, deliberate and impactful on delaying the restart of the game and wasting time for tactical advantage"
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
Your last two or three lines include the reason I asked my question, James . . .
We were sent an email from Dan Meeson, copied relevant extract from above, this was a top down clampdown as far as I am aware.
There were some bits that were PGMOL specific like the 30 seconds before a player could return but we should be taking a stricter approach to DRPs
In my opinion it was. The home team were loosing by one goal and chasing the game. It just felt like it should have been a yellow.
I thought it was for everyone. (Expect some things like the 30 seconds thing) I thought dissent, kicking the ball away, etc were being clamped down on
Sent to all officials or just ones at specific levels? I don't recall seeing anything.
Absolutely right Mr James
Level 4's were told via email to focus on C4/C5's. Worrying that communications don't reach everyone, but quite common in my experience for refs and observers to be on a different page. Twice from my seven observations have I come across an observer not aware of the specific guidance we get
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I'm not active as an observer at supply league at the moment, just doing grass roots.
OK, I thought you were still active at Supply League Level. Apologies. Even so, annoying they don't send this to everyone in the game
Here's the full communication I got FWIW
To: All FA match officials step 2 – 6, FA Observers, County FA RDO’s
2023/24 season
Colleagues,
Ahead of the big kick off I thought I would provide you all with a short overview of the areas of technical focus in time for the new season. The below should come as no surprise to any of you as we ask you to focus your minds ready for the new season and for us to keep pace with the growth and evolve of the modern day game that our officials work within. We are also in the process of sharing the below with the clubs, leagues and competitions from step 2 – 6 to ensure that everybody is aware.
Laws of the Game amendments
Whilst largely minor, small and cosmetic in detail please make sure that you have taken the time to read, digest and fully understand the IFAB law amendments for the season. These have been delivered (and are being delivered) to all referees at step 2 – 6, step 2 Observers, FA CORE referees. The link can be found here. https://www.theifab.com/law-changes/latest/
Physical threshold on foul challenges
Player safety will always remain our number one priority. Whilst there can be occasions where our actions as referees prevents misconduct sometimes we acknowledge that this is not always possible. We therefore must strive to ensure that our decision making accuracy and appropriate issue of sanction to be of a really high standard. During the 2022/23 season we saw examples of where our sanctions were sometimes too severe and equally some occasions where our disciplinary sanction was not accurate and severe enough. To aid and assist your learning, understanding and provide clarity of view we are sharing a number of foul challenge and expected outcome clips via the FA Refereeing community.
Time delay and time consumption tactics
From the top of the game downwards there is a real drive and focus on the address of players who commit clear and deliberate tactics to consume/waste time. Football stakeholders are aligned in their views in wanting referees to take strong actions against players where we deduce their actions are clear, deliberate and impactful on delaying the restart of the game and wasting time for tactical advantage. Clips and expected outcomes will be loaded onto the FA community to aid and develop understanding.
Participant behaviour
We are at a point in time in the game where everybody is aligned with their view that it is no longer acceptable to accept the unacceptable. For far too long we have normalised the poor behaviour towards match officials from some of the games participants. Whilst there is still a strong need for pro-active communication and preventative management, there is need for match officials to be stronger generally in their address of players and coaches who are confronting them in an angry, aggressive and confrontational manner. Players and coaches who make a conscious choice to run at match officials at speed to question, challenge and be critical of decisions and or performance should be dealt with accordingly. Clips and expected outcomes will be loaded onto the FA community to aid and develop understanding.
Stricter calculation of added time
You will perhaps be aware that there is a strong push from the top level of the game for match officials to take a more accurate and stricter calculation of added time. Whilst at step 2 – 6 we are perhaps not anticipating a total replication of what we will see in the Premier league/Women’s super league and international competition we must work hard to be aligned with the ethos and principle that guess work from officials on the time needed to be added needs to stop. Where possible please be more accurate with the time added on at this level of the game. With pro-active player management and the address of time consumption tactics the need to add additional time should naturally reduce but we do anticipate to see a slight increase at least for a short term period whilst players and coaches adjust their behaviour. We will continue to monitor this through the review of observation/club reports, matchday coaching and development visits from our professional workforce.
Caution and send off procedure
The old process of taking each caution/send-off procedure as an opportunity to slow the game unnecessarily is obsolete, outdated, unhelpful and no longer recommended. The laws of the game provide no prescriptive way of which a referee should follow when cautioning and sending off players and we therefore remind everybody to be aware that the emphasis should be on identification (be clear who is being cautioned), the disciplinary sanction being issued and the relevant and accurate note being taken. Other than in the exceptional need of where a referee may need to calm the temperate of the game down – the routine procedure of cautioning and send off of any player should take a matter of seconds. This does not compromise the administration of denoting name/number etc which is still required to be completed before the game is restarted. The issue of quick and efficient sanction to a player with minimal communication is often more powerful, sends a stronger message to other participants as well as defusing the incident and potentially guarding against the escalation of the situation and further misconduct developing.
I hope that you find the above helpful as a guide and steer for the new season. Things will always change and evolve over time and it’s important that we as match officials keep pace with that arc of change in focus and priority. We considered that it was very important to try and make sure everybody is on the same page of understanding and that we put the referee at the heart of all that we do.
The close season always seems to go so fast but where it has been possible I hope that you have all had the opportunity to take a break, rest, recharge your batteries and be ready for the new season.
Thank you so much for your continued service towards refereeing and the very best of luck for the season ahead.
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
This guidance was sent to all Observers who operate with Level 2/3/4 referees, although not always the case. Communication is improving.
