"He's all over 'im Ref"

[Viridis1886]

After some views on people's threshold for holding etc.

Typical scenario would be a player taking a pass with their back to a defender, the player holding off the defender. The defender trying to gain possession with arms going around player, over shoulders etc. You can picture scene quite well I imagine. Similar may happen from throw ins.

I'm quite happy with where I see my threshold for pushing, pulling etc, but I'd be interested to know what is flipping it from normal contact and over into a foul.

 

[one]

Impacting the ability to play the ball with reasonable control, or if the impact causes losing possession of the ball. Not a hard and fast rule but very likely to flip the decision.

Also, needless to say, the temperature of the game has a big say in where I draw the line for normal contact.

 

[JamesL]

For me, I'm looking for impact or consequence.

I agree with one, these are some areas where my tolerance may be flexible throughout the game depending on temperature etc.

 

[Dan56]

The Laws define Holding as:

Holding offence
A holding offence occurs only when a player’s contact with an opponent’s body or equipment impedes the opponent’s movement.

So the question is, how much did it actually impede the player? Leaves you a lot of leeway. This is why at elite levels they can allow a great deal of holding before it becomes a free kick.

 

[Kes]

More or less the same as @one and @JamesL have stated for me.
Rightly or wrongly, I have to say I'm often compelled to blow when the player in possession simply gives up and throws their arms up in the air in exasperation which more often than not (in my experience) is a fair indicator of whether or not they're being impeded although not every time and certainly not inside the penalty area of course.
Being consistent with these challenges for both teams is key to maintaining match control and avoiding player frustration which can simmer and then boil over later.