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I would just like to point out that this is a fallacy that people continually spout about football: as if the game went unchanged for 100 odd years and now people are suddenly messing around with it. In point of fact if someone woke up after a 20 year coma (from 1999) and saw today's game...

Well, if you come to Perth (Western Australia) you could do it easily. The course here lasts a single day and you will then be appointed two games every Sunday: you don't have to do any organising of this, the appointments are all arranged centrally, and you get informed by email each week...

I referee in Australia, and we have a one handed guy who plays in one of our leagues. It was handled extremely well in my opinion. The league sent someone to watch his throwing technique, adjudged it acceptable, and a directive was sent to all referees telling them this fact. At least the...

You really shouldn't have apologised, it makes it look as though you have done something wrong, which you haven't. They were in the wrong for subbing without permission and I fully agree that either cards need to be given or very strong words about substitution procedures to coach. Here in...

Wow, usually when we see a video of some officiating error, it is clear at least WHY the mistake was made. This has no redeeming way to excuse it. Rank bad.

If he had any contact it cannot be PIADM but becomes a direct free kick foul.

I once had a goalkeeper rush out to challenge a forward for the ball screaming "aaaaaaagh!!" at the top of her voice. The forward visibly flinched and the ball ran on to keeper. I don't think it was a deliberate attempt to distract, more an instinctive thing. I stopped play, cautioned her...

Actually it does not. It would end up with constant blasting of balls into the PA in hopes of the merest accidental flick off a defender's arm. The phrase deliberate has hung around the Laws for a very long time for a good reason. What we have is not perfect but a blanket "hits an arm it's a...

I have been reffing women's football here in Australia for seven years now. Fully agree with the comments above, but will add one extra: watch out for players owning up to things that men would never do. Ball goes out over goal line from a close clash - I gave a goal kick. "Corner ref! It...

Things seem to work very differently here in Western Australia. Everything is centralised: all fixtures are given out through a Referees' Secretary who works for FootballWest. We are given a number of fixtures each weekend, and are then sent a comprehensive list of all unallocated games. If...

You did exactly right. You really don't play advantage in the PA, you play "wait and see". Given the situation as you described it, as no real advantage accrued within a few seconds (and the only real advantage over a penalty would be an open goal) then calling it back for the penalty kick was...

Thanks for that, I hadn't seen this document. Some excellent ideas here (ending game when ball out of play; red card for a deliberate handled goal). Go IFAB I say!

But wouldn't penalty kicks work better if we ran them in a similar fashion to KFTPM? In other words a single kick: score and we go to kick off; miss or save and we go to goal kick. All other players except taker and goalkeeper to wait in centre circle. No worries about player encroachment; ref...

You can certainly give a yellow card ("verbally distracts an opponent during play or at a restart"), and therefore an IFK, but you cannot give a free kick for unsporting behaviour with no card.

When I was a lot younger, and working as a CAR, our team took a goal kick. The ball went straight to the opposition who played it forward to an attacker standing completely unmarked just outside the PA, and clearly in an offside position (or so it seemed to me). I raised the flag, and the ref...

Wow, red faces all round. I'd be embarrassed to see that on a Sunday park game. Of course I am guessing that it's probably the AR (out of shot) who made the first goof, raised the flag and the ref blew up without thinking. Still comes back to his error though. This happened to me with a CAr and...

By the way, did everyone notice in the 17th minute England had a free kick for offside in their own penalty area. The ball was played laterally and touched again before it had left the area. The ref rightly whistled and signaled a retake, to the apparent surprise of the players.

Twenty years or so ago, it used to be the accepted AR positioning for far side corners. In fact not only in front of flag but to come 5 yards or so along goal line towards the goal. Because of worries about ARs getting caught out of position for offside decisions it was dropped and the behind...

Well this is the obvious outcome of about 30 years of defenders using offside as a way to trap forwards, which it was never meant to be. I can remember flagging (as club AR in 80's) about twenty or more offsides every game. Cross, defenders step up, any player the slightest fraction ahead of...

Well, it was not a clear case of DOGSO: there were defenders back and it was not certain the attacker would reach the ball: so it can only be a caution for SPA. Personally not even sure about that in this case, but it's probably what the game would expect...