The Ref Stop

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The Ref Stop
One thing that i have called a few times is when they run out of the box to do a quick fly kick and are quite clearly still holding it outside the box starting the action. They normally end up 3-4 metres outside the box at the end of the action. Hard to spot front on (without linos) but if you are still around the edge of the box its an easy spot. If i've suspected him doing it I've sometimes lagged behind to confirm my suspicion.. This really pisses of goalkeepers as they are all a bit mad....

In lower level boys games I always remind the NARs to warn verbally the first time, if the keeper carries a fly kick just outside. High levels and mens' it's different and I am happy to be stricter but with less skilled, less aware youth, I think a quiet reminder is appropriate. If the GK is standing with outstretched arms holding the ball outside the area then that's different...
 
It gets fun in Futsal - there, you're more likely to have the scenario where the keeper carefully keeps his feet just inside the arc and punches the ball just outside. They tend to not like being penalised for that. Although Futsal players tend to not like much.....
 
Why don't we just let keepers run around with the ball so long as they bounce it every four steps, and allow opposition players to nick when it bounces, or shoulder charge them while they're holding it?
 
Some of you may recall a match in the Olympics wherein a goalkeeper had been taking 12-15 seconds. The referee and her assistants gave the GK several shouts throughout the first and second half to speed things up and then spoke to her about it in the tunnel at after 90. By now, everyone on the pitch had heard these warnings, and the GK had been personally warned face-to-face. Nevertheless, the GK decided to take well more than 6 seconds during extra time (of a 1-1 semi-final match) and the referee awarded the IFK to the opposing team. These sorts of infractions deserve that kind of prudence and the referee did well to "build up" to the call and to have the lady-balls to make the decision in the context.

 
It's just silly. "Several shouts"?
"You've broken the rules. I'm not penalising it this time." What would you shout next?
 
I've never given an ifk for this however a quick shout of "let's go keeper" normally gets them moving.

I work on 2 verbal warnings, unless they're holding onto it for a stupid amount of time, or refuse to release it after the first warning.

I start my count of six once the keeper is standing up I.e makes a save and goes to ground, once they're on their feet the count starts.

Whilst not sticking to the laws strictly I think allowing a keeper a bit of leeway to get up after a save could be within the spirit of the game
 
Some of you may recall a match in the Olympics wherein a goalkeeper had been taking 12-15 seconds. The referee and her assistants gave the GK several shouts throughout the first and second half to speed things up and then spoke to her about it in the tunnel at after 90. By now, everyone on the pitch had heard these warnings, and the GK had been personally warned face-to-face. Nevertheless, the GK decided to take well more than 6 seconds during extra time (of a 1-1 semi-final match) and the referee awarded the IFK to the opposing team.
I do recall the game and I'm not saying the referee was techically incorrect to award the free kick but I think you've slightly misrepresented it. The incident in question took place in the 77th minute so there's no way the ref had spoken to the keeper about it "after 90." And while she had held on to the ball for way too long on several occasions (I timed one example at 15 seconds) I don't recall her getting any previous warnings and on a quick scan of the video I did not detect any obvious warnings although it is always possible that the ref had given her a quiet verbal warning that was not noticeable on the video. There was certainly nothing that would lead me to believe that "everyone on the pitch had heard these warnings..."

Not that it matters of course, but this was a 4-3 game overall that was one of the best games of football I watched all year (men's or women's) and the score at the time of the incident in question was 3-2.
 
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In the past I have also had a word with one of the offending keepers defenders.

A tip I got from the art of refereeing book. I quiet "your keeper held on to the ball a bit too long there, they need to hurry it up or I'll have to award an IDFK"

Might work better if you say it to the captain. Then hopefully their own players will be hurrying them up
 
I find it be a very random length in time. My opinion would be to for ifab to scrap that as a law. However say something to give referee discretion if he feels its deliberate time wasting.
 
I find it be a very random length in time. My opinion would be to for ifab to scrap that as a law. However say something to give referee discretion if he feels its deliberate time wasting.
Why scrap it as a Law, when it actually works just as you are suggesting? It's really a sensible compromise. OK, so no-one rigidly sticks to it as 6 seconds, but if a keeper starts clearly wasting time, then you can enforce it as written. It has to be a reasonably short amount of time, if the Laws said 10 seconds, or fifteen, then keepers would push that to the limits. If, as you suggest, it was just left to the referee's discretion, then everyone would moan about needing some kind of uniform idea of how long constituted "too long". The Laws used to say a keeper could only take four steps, but there was nothing to indicate how long he could simply stand still holding the ball and waste time. What we have now is a workable fudge, generally to be treated with a wide leniency, but if needed (because of clear time wasting) it can taken very strictly.
 
Hi
The law is there to encourage the GK to put the ball back into play where it can be challenged for without significant delay. If a ref chooses to ignore it as trifling then so be it. My experience is that once the opposition gets on the GKs case he normally gets on with releasing it. Without the law or a set time GKs would abuse the allowance that has been afforded to them.
I believe it works and I do not get hung up if it over the 6 seconds. Opponent keep the GKs honest or close thereto to putting it back into play a reasonable time. It does though require to be called from time to time to remind GKs that it is there!!
 
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