[ayso45-refs] Fwd: The Most Difficult Part of Refereeing

[Beau James]

Tom Rudkin passed along this article, from the CNRA (USSF's Calif. North 
Referee Administration) mailing list.

It's not new, but it does make for some interesting reading for both 
referees (and coaches? parents? players?)

Beau


          THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF REFEREEING


          Robert Evans


          FIFA Referee (1979-88); FIFA Referee Instructor (1990-92)

<>

<>Many people who go to watch a soccer game - youth, adult, professional 
- wonder why a lot of physical contact between players is not punished 
by the referee. If they are new to the game, they may be no more than 
puzzled by the apparent lack of understanding (or eyesight) by the 
official. If they've been around the game a bit, or if their little 
darling is playing and perhaps gets knocked over, they may become irate 
at the irresponsibility of the referee. And of course, if they have the 
authority of a coach's jacket or hat, they not only become irate, but 
they may even take it upon themselves to let the official know exactly 
what they think of him (or her). After all, everyone knows that the 
official is supposed to call fouls and other infringements of the laws, 
and if he doesn't do that, he must be incompetent, right?

<>

<>

<><><>Well, actually, no! By allowing some infractions to go unpunished 
he may in fact be doing his job just the way that the laws tell him to. 
(Pause to wait for the muttering ...) Oh, I can here it now: "What is 
this idiot talking about? He says that a referee misses the calls and 
yet is still doing his job? He lets fouls go unpunished, and we are 
supposed to compliment him for doing things right?" And those comments 
are the mild ones ...!

<><><>

<><><><>After being involved in refereeing since 1964, through thousands 
of games refereed, watched and assessed, and through countless classes 
instructed, I have to say that the most difficult part of refereeing is 
knowing what infractions to call, and what ones to let go. The reason 
for the difficulty is simple: For more than one hundred years, the laws 
of the game have INSTRUCTED REFEREES NOT to call everything, but to call 
only the infractions that affect the game adversely.

<><><>

<><><>

<><><>IT COMES DOWN TO THIS: THE ART OF REFEREEING IS THE ART OF 
PENALIZING ONLY THOSE BREACHES OF THE LAW THAT AFFECT THE GAME.

<>But the problem with that statement is that at each level of the game, 
from little wobbly kids to U-8s, U-10s, U-12s through the early 
teenagers up to full youth competitions, into the adult games, to the 
top amateur level into the semi-professionals and full professionals, 
then into international club competitions all the way to full "A" class 
internationals and on to the World Cup, the infractions that affect the 
game are different!

<>So youth players and their parents go to a professional match or watch 
one on television, and they see all that goes on - ferocious tackling; 
seemingly endless comments to the referee - and wonder about the 
competence of the official. They see players with their hands all over 
their opponent; they wince as a player is challenged hard and goes down 
in a heap with his challenger; they see a blatant offside, and the 
referee allows play to go on! It seems so obviously unfair-unless of 
course, you know what is going on.

Experienced referees change their decision-making to suit the game they 
are refereeing. A simple push in a U-12 game can throw a player off 
balance and most times should be penalized. That same push in an adult 
game would be meaningless, and in a professional match might be taken 
merely as a gesture of affection! An offside call when the flag goes up 
and the whole of the audience in the stands can see the player offside, 
should not be called if it is clear that the goalkeeper or other 
defender is going to safely clear the ball. The infraction has become 
meaningless and does not affect the game. Until the recent rewriting of 
the Laws of the Game, this philosophy of refereeing was written as 64 
words in the International Board Decision number 8 of Law 5:

    "The Laws of the Game are intended to provide that games should be
    played with as little interference as possible, and in this view it
    is the duty of Referees to penalise only deliberate breaches of the
    Law. Constant whistling for trifling and doubtful breaches produces
    bad feeling and loss of temper on the part of the players and spoils
    the pleasure of spectators."


That's the art of refereeing!

So next time you go to a game and see fouls going unpunished, take a 
look at the players, and listen to what they are saying. If they are not 
complaining, but are just getting on with the game, then they obviously 
are happy with the way that things are being called. In which case, so 
should you. But if you go to a match and here players saying: "For 
heaven's sake, ref! Let us play!" then you know that the players want 
more freedom, they don't want the referee to call everything and choke 
the game to death.

It's a difficult art, this refereeing. And doubly difficult when you do 
the job right, but still have to contend with spectators who don't 
understand. That explains the big money we make doing it!


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