Small Addition Needed to “Pass Back” Rule

It would be a far stretch to argue that the LOTG are 100% complete, and without gray areas or debatable topics; just look at the changes about to come into effect and what a huge Pandora’s box of protest and dissent is going to follow.  However, that’s an entirely different topic, and separate post that I will save for another day.  Alas, there are certainly some areas where the LOTG could use a little clarification and possible the odd added word or two just to make things solid and clear for all parties concerned.

One such instance is regarding a deliberate pass from a player to his own goal keeper.  In this clip, white is the defender and plays the ball to his own goal keeper.

Impeding or Holding…or Does it Even Matter?

My fellow referees…first, allow me to apologize for being away for so long;  more precisely, for not posting any topics for a few months.  Things have been quite chaotic for me with football, futsal and being on the board of the director for my local referees’ association.

In case you don’t know, the UEFA Futsal Euro is currently underway (2nd leg of quarter final matches happening today) and there was one particular incident in the group stage match between Portugal and Serbia this past weekend that was particularly interesting to me and burning a hole in my head.  I knew that I had to figure it out for myself and write a post about it as I’m sure it will stir up some conversations within the referee community worldwide.

The incident took place in the last minute of the game and although this is an example for a futsal match, the same rules apply for a football match, as well.

Red #10 has possession of the ball and is attacking the White goal.  A White defender is 2 – 3 yards away, applying pressure and waiting for Red #10 to make a move.  Another Red attacker runs from behind the White defender and stands just to the right side of the defender in a blocking position, as Red #10 moves the ball to the left.  The White defender turns to follow and bumps into the Red defender, and Red #10 is able to get a shot on net.

A Caution, is a Caution…is ALWAYS a Caution.

It’s always a downer when you’re all geared up and ready for a match, only to get an email notification that your game tonight has been cancelled, or rescheduled.  That’s what happened to me last night however, I was able to salvage what was left of my evening by catching the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semi final between Toronto FC and Montreal Impact.  Thankfully the game was very exciting and fairly high scoring as Toronto was losing on aggregate and needed a fairly high number of goals if they wanted any part in the final.  The blind mice for the night did a tremendous job of controlling the match without any major problems however, I did feel that there was an opportunity for a Montreal send off.

Who Needs Cards, Anyway?

Being the football referee enthusiast that I am, and a self proclaimed nerd when it comes to things of this nature, I am often left wondering about situations and their probability of actually coming to pass, not just in my own appointments, but in games my friends watch over or matches I see on TV. I also like to ponder on the reasons why certain things are the way they are, and how/when they came to be. Often these two curiosities work hand in hand as finding the answer to one, inevitably answers the other. Over the weekend, a friend asked a hypothetical scenario which did exactly that; the answer sparked my wonder and I went searching for answers.(I should preface the question by saying that DMC knows the answer but was just thinking about the mechanics and complexity of the situation.)

The scenario as asked by DMC goes like this:

“Player commits cautionable offence (doesn’t matter what it is really – but let’s say a reckless tackle). You take out your pad/card to write it down before showing the yellow. Player smacks said pad/card out of your hand – You show a red card for that.Question: Do you still record the yellow you were going to give? If so, when do you consider the caution “recorded”? When the act is committed that warrants the caution, when you decide in your head you’re giving a caution, or when you show/write the caution (whichever comes first)?”

Football Myths – Part 3: Playing On the Ground

Player:  “REF!  He’s on the ground!!!”

Referee:  “OK….and???”

Sound familiar?  It should, because I hear this at least once or twice every single game.  What players fail to realize is that playing the ball while on the ground isn’t actually against the Laws of the Game.  Every time I hear this protest I challenge players and coaches to find me the reference in the LOTG that says a player cannot play the ball while on the ground.  Since most players and coaches don’t have the LOTG handy, let’s figure it out for them.

#WorldCup Brazil 2014 Final Predictions!

I guess you’re all thinking that this is going to be a post about my predictions for this years WC Champion.  Will it be Germany, or will it be Argentina?  Well…you’re wrong!!!  I’m going to give you my thoughts on who I think will be the ultimate winner and referee the final!!!

#WorldCup – Marchisio Send Off – Who thinks it’s only a yellow?

 

 

Preface – If you don’t already know, I am an Italy supporter (as well as Portugal) however, you might find my opinion in this post rather surprising and contradictory.  I am, in fact a referee first and when it comes down to FIFA Law vs. National Pride…Law always wins!

After the embarrassment of Italy’s departure from this World Cup, I had some discussions with colleagues and my parents (my father to be exact) about the severity of Marchisio’s tackle that ultimately got him sent off in their last match against Uruguay.  The discussions revolved around how everyone thought it was a soft dismissal and Marchisio should have only got a caution for his actions.  Everyone blamed Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez for causing Italy to play short for 2/3 of the match, and then not dismissing Suarez for his cannibalism against Giorgio Chiellini.  However, after watching the replays over 100 times and looking at still shots of the incident (and my father is going to kill me for this), I agree with the Mexican official and I think that Rodrigues was CORRECT in sending off Marchisio.

World Cup Game Day 5 – Portugal should have played 2 men short!!!

 

 

As I was at the cottage this weekend, and didn’t have any internet connection, I was unable to comment of match days 3 and 4 however, you would like my take on a couple of incidents please message me and I will gladly write a post or two.  Most interesting one for me was Ecuador’s goal against Switzerland…in particular the ball placement.

On to match 1 of the day…

After watching the yet another embarrassment for a top class team, and having to witness Portugal’s horrific 4 – 0 loss to Germany, I decided that I should count my lucky stars that the score line wasn’t more drastic as Portugal should have been in deeper water very early in the game.  To what am I referring?  In the 11th minute, Mario Goetze was hauled back by the arm as he bore down on the Portugal goal by João Pereira, who got a yellow card for his troubles.

Lessons Football can learn from Futsal

In my short tenure as a futsal referee and enthusiast, I’ve picked up on rules better enforced in Futsal than in football due to the nature of the game.

Football Myths – Part 1: Asking for Yards

Welcome to Football Myths Part 1 – Asking for Yards.  This is the very first post in a 7 part series in which I will set out to debunk a few of the most common myths that I am faced with every time I step out on the field of play to referee a youth or senior mens competitive match.  I came up with the idea to do this on my drive home last night from refereeing a few mens recreation indoor matches.  Throughout the night I was faced with the usual chatter and dissent that comes with the refereeing territory however, there are a few things that I keep hearing every week that really bothers me because I don’t know where players are getting their information from.  My assumption is that a lot of the referees they see on a regular basis are making fundamentally wrong decisions, which then leads to drastic inconsistencies for the players as they see different referees from week to week, and it makes the rest of our lives more difficult as we have to constantly hear the barrage of nonsense that come out of these player’s mouths.  I’m not talking about the difficult, grey line interpretive calls where opinion makes a big difference such as what is/isn’t a hand ball, or what is or isn’t offside.  No, I’m talking about the fundamental, basic rules and laws of the game that so many people seem to THINK they know, when in reality what they thought they knew is actually all wrong.