A&H

Seeing Everything

JBeil

JBeil

Active Member
Level 5 Referee
Like it says on the tin, how do you manage to see everything you need to during a game? Last sunday morning I had a bit of a mare - one foul tackle that in retrospect should have been a yellow card for reckless play that I totally failed to call for (completely misjudged it - my own mistake) but there were also two bizarre incidents that I'd appreciate your thoughts on:
  1. Corner kick. Ball comes in, I'm watching for fouls off the ball, positioned just next to the D. There's a scramble, a player takes a shot, and there's uproar as the attackers claim the ball was stopped on the goal line by a hand. I haven't seen it clearly, so I cannot award a penalty. Cue cries of 'you're a bottlejob'. As I'm on my own with club linesmen, I can't go to them to ask if they saw any different, and play continues.
  2. Player from the losing side starts moaning that I'm in his way. I explain that my job is to watch play, and I cannot watch the play AND him if he's right behind me. Naturally, he gives me 'advice' on my positioning. C'est la vie.
So, what could I have done differently to avoid those situations? I usually stick to running my left diagonal, and move a little closer when play is moving away from the middle of the park. I want to get this nailed down, because next season I'd like to apply for promotion (if the local FA ever give me a date for the LOTG exam!) and missing a hand ball on the goal line isn't going to help me out much!
 
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You cannot see everything. No human can. I often remind players who alert me to anything behind my back that same as them, I cant see behind me, and, on the very rare occasion I possibly miss an offside at the quickest of break aways, that no human being can possibly get from A to B in X seconds.

for point 1, at a corner, you have firstly, ball in and out of play, then pushes/pulls/fouls on gk, then possible shots on goal ( as this comes when the ball is struck goal ward), so, an element of luck is involved, as much as judgement.
If you have not seen it, then, as you rightly state, you cannot give it, and we move on. Folk who claim that the ref has bottled it don't appreciate it works the other way too, and its an equally strong decision not to give what you have not seen

2. Given the size of a pitch and the number of players on it, it should be rare for a collision between players and ref but not unheard of. Given also you stand out by wearing different colours from the team,, maybe its the player who was in your way and not the other way round !
If i find this happens to me, I normally come back with something like "sorry, I have to be somewhere on the pitch the same as you do", or something showing empathy like "sorry, was too close," then follow it up with something light hearted "you would moan if I was too far away though !! ", and hopefully its killed stone dead.

if you find yourself in the way most games, then maybe yes, something needs to change, but if it was a one off then its just how the cookie crumbled.
 
JBeil said:
Like it says on the tin, how do you manage to see everything you need to during a game? Last sunday morning I had a bit of a mare - one foul tackle that in retrospect should have been a yellow card for reckless play that I totally failed to call for (completely misjudged it - my own mistake) but there were also two bizarre incidents that I'd appreciate your thoughts on:
  1. Corner kick. Ball comes in, I'm watching for fouls off the ball, positioned just next to the D. There's a scramble, a player takes a shot, and there's uproar as the attackers claim the ball was stopped on the goal line by a hand. I haven't seen it clearly, so I cannot award a penalty. Cue cries of 'you're a bottlejob'. As I'm on my own with club linesmen, I can't go to them to ask if they saw any different, and play continues.
  2. Player from the losing side starts moaning that I'm in his way. I explain that my job is to watch play, and I cannot watch the play AND him if he's right behind me. Naturally, he gives me 'advice' on my positioning. C'est la vie.
So, what could I have done differently to avoid those situations? I usually stick to running my left diagonal, and move a little closer when play is moving away from the middle of the park. I want to get this nailed down, because next season I'd like to apply for promotion (if the local FA ever give me a date for the LOTG exam!) and missing a hand ball on the goal line isn't going to help me out much!
Click to expand...
I'd say the simple answer is, 'you can't see everything'
However, having been observed by a fellow RefChat colleague recently, I was given advice about positioning; along the lines of;
1) Vary your position at corners and don't stay static. Ball goes front post, move accordingly, ball goes deep, drop back deep etc. Maybe even start behind the goal line. Experiment with not standing still
2) Get side on and wide for dead ball situations, so you can see the 'in the back ref' stuff
3) Get wide in general, as wide as the touchline at times. The added benefit of being so wide, is you're not in the way
4) Anticipate when the direction of attack is likely to switch, so you're not left behind
So, it's probably not about foul recognition, it's probably about position. Trouble is, this advice can get knackering as it extends the length of your diagonal and overall demand on mobility
 
As above you can never see everything but you can minimise what you miss. Here are a few tips. There is probably more i can't think of.
  • Use your positioning well. This is a huge topic on its own
  • Know the hot spots. Know the key players. Know the nasty ones. Know the tricky ones. Understand how teams play (good passers, long balls, clumsy and loose the ball often, press high, etc) If you don't know the teams, learn as you go with the game. There are other ways of researching teams for important games (other refs etc).
  • Sometimes when a pass is made you need to immediately look at the target. Sometimes you need to keep looking at the person who made the pass. Knowing when is about reading the game and experience.
  • Learn how to use your "trailing eye". 'Multi-focus'.
  • Don't ball chase. No point looking at the ball if its kicked 30 yards in the air. If the ball is with a player and no one is challenging, there probably is better place to have you primary focus on.
  • Don't be predictable at set plays.
  • Use your NARs well if you have them

Your scenarios
  1. Points above should help.
  2. Its important you don't interfere with players. Sacrifice a bit of distance to play to get out of his way. Change your angle a bit if he blocks you. Angle is more important than distance.
Hope you at least had a stern warning for the bottlejob comment. possibly a caution. Your general diagonal approach is fine but adapt to play. There are times standard positioning or approach are not the best.
 
I had a manager not so much have a go at me but just asked me about an offside decision at HT yesterday, i explained as obvious as it sounds that i cant possibly look in two different places at the same time.

I made a joke and told him my assistant referees had not tuned up so i had to look at a) where the ball is played from and b) where the player you claim was offside was when the ball was played.

I also told him i forgot my watch that tells me if a ball has crossed the goal line as well as the VAR crew not turning up for an Under 13s game in Liverpool.

I think he was sorry he mentioned anything.
 
Things like handball on the line after a melee in the box happens so quickly, it's almost pot luck if you spot it but keep varying your position. My opinion as both a player and referee says the liklihood is, if anyone is going to be fouled it's likely to be the keeper (obstruction/holding etc from the striker marking them) and if anyone is going to handball it, it's likely to be the players on the post as they'll be the ones dropping onto the line. I always try and keep moving so they are visible
 
Before the corner comes across, try to get a mental note of the numbers of players on the line. As said previously you may well miss any handball anyway, but in case you see it and need to take action it's embarrassing to have to admit you've lost the player because he's handled the ball and then run into the crowd so you've lost him! If you can think "blue 4 near post, blue 3 far" then even when he tries to hide you can find him. If you start at the far post before moving to take up a position then the defenders should be looking away from you so you can see their numbers.
 
It comes from experience, you'll start to get a second sense as to areas when things are likely to happen. Positioning is also key, try and avoid the centre circle as that is a high traffic area and you are likely to get in the way. Side on views afford you a better chance of spotting pushing and pulling that looking from behind the challenge. These are just guidelines though, you will still be unlucky from time to time as no one can see everything.
 
Certain players attract attention and look for bother, either strikers trying to block a keeper or two players just exchanging shirts. You can’t see everything, if you sort of spot something one time then reposition on the second one to make sure,

Don’t always follow the ball, there’s some sneaky stuff that goes off away from the ball. A good way to stop it is to call a pen for a short pull or cancel one out, they hate surprises! It can spice up a **** game too!
 
1. Corners are the hardest situation to deal with as a ref... 16,17 players in close proximity... horrible!
Don't watch the ball at corners, watch the players. Their movement tells you enough about the flight of the ball.
And keep moving.

2. Sometimes it happens that the flow of the game, your diagonal and one player (inside left, oddly my first position, is the one that happens to me) gets in the way. It does happen sometimes, however much you are conscious of avoiding the centre. Just adapt a bit, go wider. And laugh it off.

Good stuff here... I like the point about noting the players on the goal line... nice
 
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