First game this Saturday

Hi All

I've been browsing this site for a while and must say it is excellent!

I've recently passed the referee training course and am now a level 9 referee. I used to do a little bit of reffing in Uni but I wasn't properly qualified to be honest and they were just local 'DIGS' games but I loved it!

I've now arranged for my first game on Saturday afternoon in a 2 divisional league of adults. I know this isn't the best idea and the general advice is to start with youth football, however I am really keen to get going and want to start on Saturday now that I've got all the kit and equipment I need!

Does anyone have any advice for a first game in the adult leagues on Saturday?

For a first games I think it's all about basics. You have to at least look like you are comfortable and confident. It's probably not the best idea to let people know it is your first match - it may attract some sympathy but don't bet on it. Make sure you know where you're going and when you need to be there. Double check your equipment and make yourself aware of the necessary administration procedures. For the game itself I always say concentrate, concentrate and then concentrate some more. Be decisive and blow your whistle loudly.

Brave boy going straight in the deep end, I applaud you for that... Be honest, tell them before the game and im sure they'll be gentle(r) on you (hopefully)... Dont be scared of messing up, it happens to the best refs too!!!

I don't get the advice around "start with youth football and work up to adult" I went straight to adult football when. I qualified and it wasn't a problem.

You'll hear loads of people on forums and referee events talking about all sorts of things, like credibility, match control and the like. For your first games try and focus on a small number of things

1) be right in law - regardless of whether it's a bad decision or you are in the wrong position, or whatever else could happen, know your law and get your restarts right - this is the basis for every referee at every level.
2) concentrate - know that any little incident can change the course of a game so don't let your mind wander especially if it's a game where one team is winning easily
3) be confident - even if you are really nervous or worried about the reaction to your decision, puff your chest out and make it look like you are confident.
4) most importantly, enjoy it. The first time you pull on your shirt and walk onto the FOP as an officially appointed referee, you join one of the best and most special clubs on the planet, so enjoy being a part of that and the game itself. Even if the players want to moan, complain and kick the crap out of each other, that's on them, not on you!

The final thing, after the game is finished, when you've got some time to reflect objectively, write down 3 things you thought you did well, then 3 things you would do differently if you had the chance (could be I'd made sure I was in a better position to see the penalty shout, or I'd have cautioned x player for what he said). Then take the good and the learning points forward into your next game.

Good luck, and remember, even though it's your first game, you'll know more about the LOTG than everyone else on the pitch!

I echo what others have said, be brave, be confident. But most of it all, enjoy it. Don't dwell too much on ur decisions, your best decision is your next one. You made a bad call, let it go (as hard as that may sound), don't don't don't reflect on it during the game or at half time. Afterwards yes by all means go back and analyse what you, but remember what you did well not just the bad calls. Welcome to the madhouse!

I had 2 reds and 5 yellows in my first adult game, I thought they were all 'basturds' for the first few games... So I became a bigger one!!!

Sheffields Finest said:

I had 2 reds and 5 yellows in my first adult game, I thought they were all 'basturds' for the first few games... So I became a bigger one!!!

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You big bad boy you

Once I set a certain level of not accepting crap I had a line in the sand. Sadly, I got ALL the bad teams, some scarily bad behaviour wise and it was a clash that there was only one winner.... The County FA!!! Took a few years before they got the message and they mellowed with me... Thats the experience though shining through. The OP has a large mountain to climb, and there will be bumps!!! Best of luck!!

dont forget to start your watches, its amazing how many referees who do that in the first few games

Some good advice here. Some additional advice on confidence. Its one of your biggest tools/skills. Without it, its impossible to control the match but make sure you don't cross the line from confidence to arrogance or it may backfire. No one likes an arrogant b@$t@rd. Trust me. I am speaking from experience .
The other thing I often see causing issues for new referees is ignoring dissent and obvious/loud disagreements with your decisions. If you ignore it, it could escalate and get out of hand very quickly. But if you address the first few (not necessarily with cards) then they can see you will not put up with it. Be as calm as you can be when dealing with it.

Review the law. In my first season I reviewed a different Law each game day. Get Law 11 and 12 right first, they're your bread and butter. You don't want to be on the field thinking 'oh, crap, keeper handled it outside the PA, what restart is that?'

Anything comes up in a game where you are a little uncertain about the law? That tells you to review that entire law that evening.

First game .........just enjoy it!

CapnBloodbeard said:

Review the law. In my first season I reviewed a different Law each game day. Get Law 11 and 12 right first, they're your bread and butter. You don't want to be on the field thinking 'oh, crap, keeper handled it outside the PA, what restart is that?'

Anything comes up in a game where you are a little uncertain about the law? That tells you to review that entire law that evening.

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I still do it till now, keeps things fresh in your mind and I believe helps.

...what they said... and come back and tell us about it!

Nalbi said:

I still do it till now, keeps things fresh in your mind and I believe helps.

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And then i come on here and get all tied up in knots over the oxford dictionary meaning of every last word.

Good luck tomorrow @Jono333

My advice will be, in scout fashion, be prepared.

By that I mean get all your kit ready tonight. Make sure you know where you are going, name of club contact etc. Anything little that can be done today will just make everything all that bit more simpler tomorrow.

If there are games before yours you may wish to turn up even earlier and watch a game or two. I like to try to catch the game beforehand - I find it helps put me into 'refereeing mode' and helps calm the nerves.
If you don't do that, I'd suggest aim to arrive 45-60min before your match. 60min allows for a decent warmup and means you're not rushing if there are traffic problems and you're running late.

https://media.giphy.com/media/qeBWqDiSh9d3a/giphy.gif

Good Luck for today!!

Hi all

My god where do I start with this game! It was one of the most challenging things I have ever had to do in my life I will try and go through it in order and would welcome any advice!

Game was due to KO 1:30 and I arrived at 12:00pm which was a bit early I know. My referee tutor phoned me at about 12:10pm with some words of encouragement and that he was coming to the game. He did however state I couldn't have picked a worse game to start on for any game in the North East! They were two pub teams from very rough estates and it was going to be a very very difficult game to ref and boy was it! I will list below the match incidents and then some positives and negative comments on them without trying to bore everyone.

Match incidents:

To start this game should have finished with about 10 yellows and 2 reds!

Firstly, both CBs for the blue team were absolutely awful and literally challenged nearly every offside and free kick decision I made all game. They were swearing at me, calling me ****, terible etc, trying to bully and intimidate me ALL game and challenged everything in a violent manner. I warned them throughout the match but only booked one of them for dissent (I will get onto this later as it should have been red) but I really wish I did as they would have made it easier to manage the match. Match started off without much incident however that soon changed when I gave my first out of three penalties in the match. The first penalty was a blatant foul however the blue team felt he was offside which I didn't agree with. I SHOULD have yellow carded here for DOGSO with an attempt to tackle the ball however I didn't do this (feedback point). Penalty was missed and game restarted with a corner.

Straight after this incident one of the red team's players was clearly fuming at the decision and as him and another blue player were running after the ball he lashed out at the blue team player and kicked him in the shin. Now I know this should have been RED for violent conduct but I felt I was losing control of the game already (15 mins in) and I just gave a yellow for a reckless challenge. The game continues and then I award a penalty for the red team, cue all the blue team players going ballistic and surrounding me. Again I keep my cards in my pocked when I should have booked for dissent. Despite all of this I still felt in control of the game and got the majority of decisions correct especially the throw ins/corners/goal kicks/free kicks.

Second half and this is where it really goes downhill as I lose confidence / match control.

I mistakenly gave a thrown in to the red team when I couldn't see it fully go out (I know I shouldn't have but the guy I gave the flag to was just dreadful and didn't make any decisions) it looked out so I gave it. Cue the CB who I spoke about previously going ballsitc, calling me a f**cking idiot, terrible etc. I should have obviously booked him now but I just gave him a warning. Then I gave my third penalty of the game and this time, i admit that this was more contentious and i was probably too far away to award the penalty as i didn't see it properly but it was a last ditch challenge where i felt he didn't get the ball. it was met with even more dissent by the yellow team, I honestly thought the CB was going to hit me he was that angry.I brought him over and told him to calm down. Whilst getting my yellow out he called me a cheat which again I should have Red carded but felt I would have completely lost the game so just booked him. Red team scored and I get surrounded.

By this point I just wanted to get off the field as the abuse was getting out of hand. I was arguing with their players over the offside rule which I would like to explain and hopefully get an answer on.

Player is in an offside position just after half way line, CB boots it towards the penalty box and he chases it, I don't give the offside until he interferes with play I.E touches the ball which meant the free kick was to be taken from the penalty box (where the incident happened) rather than just after the halfway line. I get a load of abuse for this again and my mentor said I should have given the free kick at the halfway line but Im still unsure about that.

Anyway, play continues and the final major incident happens. Player is in an offside positions runs towards the ball BUT moves away from it when a player on his team in an onside position comes and takes over. However, the original offside player bumped into the Left Back and they score from the incident. Thinking about it now it is an offside as he has interfered with an opponent but I gave a goal. Cue all their players and the goalkeeper storming out and giving me absolute hell - I book three players in this one incident for dissent as I had enough at this point. Game finishes and I get some hand shakes but some players sarcastically stated "good game ref" etc.

Looking back it was one of the hardest things ive ever done and I have learnt so much from it. There are positives such as I hardly got challenged on goal kicks, corners or throw ins so got the majority of decisions correct In law, but it was one of those games full of incidents with all the players on each team violently challenging each decision. I know what to do next time (more cards for dissent for a start) and to make sure im 100% sure for penalties and to keep an eye on offside (very difficult with no AR) but it really was a horrible game to manage.

I have an u15s game Saturday which im hoping is easier. I have attached my mentors comment to this post.

Thanks
Jonathan

Sounds like hell of game. It can only get better from there.

Jono333 said:

Player is in an offside position just after half way line, CB boots it towards the penalty box and he chases it, I don't give the offside until he interferes with play I.E touches the ball which meant the free kick was to be taken from the penalty box (where the incident happened) rather than just after the halfway line. I get a load of abuse for this again and my mentor said I should have given the free kick at the halfway line but Im still unsure about that.

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You were correct. Your mentor would have been correct two years ago but the law was changed to take the free kick from where the actual offside offence occurred to make it consistent with all other free kicks.

Jono333 said:

Looking back it was one of the hardest things ive ever done and I have learnt so much from it.

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Hi @Jono333 - gpod post of the facts. Undoubtably there will be lots of comment. Dealing with the query on offside.

Jono333 said:

Player is in an offside position just after half way line, CB boots it towards the penalty box and he chases it, I don't give the offside until he interferes with play I.E touches the ball which meant the free kick was to be taken from the penalty box (where the incident happened) rather than just after the halfway line. I get a load of abuse for this again and my mentor said I should have given the free kick at the halfway line but Im still unsure about that.

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From Law 11

A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by:

• interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate or...

If an offside offence occurs, the referee awards an indirect free kick where the offence occurred, including if it is in the player’s own half of the field of play.

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Your positioning the free-kick was correct, with the changes that happened in the 16/17 season. Your mentor was using the previous interpretation, but the new one is the "free-kick is where the offence occurs, and that is when he plays the ball (or the other situations). No longer being in an offside is the offence.