A&H

Time

Phonesurgeon

Phonesurgeon

Cook, Cleaner and Bottle Washer
Level 7 Referee
Simple question:
When players/managers ask how long, can a referee refuse to say?
 
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I often say “hold on” if the ball is in play but I’m not sure why you’d want to refuse? It’s no bother to tell them and refusing to is not going to do your match control any favours.
 
reason I ask is that, when 1 starts everyone else within seconds asks, including the managers. It does get tedious and annoying have to check watch every few seconds
 
If the balls in play I always just say "Hang on".
Then tell em when you're able.
Make it loud and then everyone hears it.
 
Phonesurgeon said:
reason I ask is that, when 1 starts everyone else within seconds asks, including the managers. It does get tedious and annoying have to check watch every few seconds
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Fair enough, as kes has mentioned say it nice and loud so more people can hear it. You’ll find they’ll start telling each other then.
 
As a referee we all have a feeling for how long time has gone and how long is left. Apart from recording events, I check my watch on a regular basis. This means when I am asked how long left, it is very unlikely that would have to check my watch. They wont know if I am off by a minute or two (if that) and frankly they don't care if you are not exact. A quick and loud response is a good one. Always starting with the word "About...".
 
Kes said:
If the balls in play I always just say "Hang on".
Then tell em when you're able.
Make it loud and then everyone hears it.
Click to expand...

Agree with this - especially if I'm on the line on the dugout side then I'm always going 'hang on'. But whatever role I'm in then nice and loud so everyone in the postcode knows and you can then follow up a next one with 'about three minutes less than when you last asked!"
 
True this, I was recording a caution towards the end of a game when a player asked how long left ref? I said one minute. He said wow you said ten minutes a few minutes ago has it gone that fast. I realised he took it literally when I meant I will let you know after I finish recording.
 
I always say how much time we've played, not how long is left. Save son any nonsense if you say that theres 5 minutes left to a manager and 6 minutes later they concede.

The worst in when you've sin binned someone. After 6 or 7 minutes they ask how long is left constantly.
 
Phonesurgeon said:
reason I ask is that, when 1 starts everyone else within seconds asks, including the managers. It does get tedious and annoying have to check watch every few seconds
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So If there are 10 minutes left. A few seconds later is going to be roughly the same.... Why would you need to look. At the watch again?
 
Phonesurgeon said:
reason I ask is that, when 1 starts everyone else within seconds asks, including the managers. It does get tedious and annoying have to check watch every few seconds
Click to expand...
Yeah, you don't need to be that precise. If you've just looked at your watch to answer one person and someone else asks a few seconds later, just repeat the same answer. You should always be answering that question fairly approximately anyway, so "'bout 5 minutes" will work as a good enough answer for everywhere between about 7 and 3 minutes left.

If you think they're doing it deliberately to annoy you, then my preferred response is just to point to the person who last asked a few seconds ago and say "ask him". And when you do answer, do so loudly so that most people around you can hear. But if a team genuinely wants to know, I don't see any reason not to answer.
 
"About 30 seconds since the last person asked."

Once upon a time, it was traditional for referees not to answer questions about how much time was left. The ex-FIFA who taught my first course suggested answers like "enough" or "plenty of time to score" and so forth. But the game has changed, and I think that the expectation now is that refs will answer reasonable questions about time--and why annoy players by fighting about this? I typically use "about" or "around" in answers, though towards the end I may just say "a few minutes."
 
In my first ever observation at level 7, the observer told me to never answer the question 'how longs left' as it's a disadvantage to about which can hear. I've not taken that to be honest but thought I'd throw that into the mix!
 
I'm pretty vocal and tend to tell everyone - I usually shout out "Last 5!" etc, so everyone hears. I can't see why it would be advised never to tell people if they want to know. We're trying to break down barriers, and if the only guy with a watch won't tell anyone else the time that's really not constructive. It sounds like an old-school thing.

The only thing I would advise is to be careful how you tell them. Many years ago I had a team who were attacking and and had a corner with a few seconds left. They asked how long and I answered "a few seconds. Long enough for this" They shouted for the keeper to come up but the kick was rubbish and they lost the ball straight away. The other team kicked it to a forward who then scored! This literally took ten seconds, so my comment was right but they didn't understand that and they certainly didn't see the funny side!
 
QuaverRef said:
In my first ever observation at level 7, the observer told me to never answer the question 'how longs left' as it's a disadvantage to about which can hear. I've not taken that to be honest but thought I'd throw that into the mix!
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I don't agree with that either. I can be a pain getting asked continuously but it's an easy question to answer and I don't feel I lose anything by doing so.
 
On the line, no electronic communication at my level, manager asks and I will answer '5 of the 90', what bugs me is when they ask 'How much will be added?"

I try to be helpful if there has been an obviously long stoppage for an injury, by reminding them of it, but otherwise what else can you say?
 
PinnerPaul said:
On the line, no electronic communication at my level, manager asks and I will answer '5 of the 90', what bugs me is when they ask 'How much will be added?"

I try to be helpful if there has been an obviously long stoppage for an injury, by reminding them of it, but otherwise what else can you say?
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Shrug, or point at the ref and say "S'up to him" have been my main go-to's so far!

Very occasionally you'll have a referee who will make a point of letting his bench-side AR know via hand gestures or coming over at a convenient stoppage, but it's not a high-priority thing for them to do. I did 3 matches as senior AR in quick succession with a referee who I know likes to do this, I still only got the signal at the end of 4 out 6 halves, because he had better things to worry about for the other two.
 
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