FINALLY! New LOTG in Action at Rio 2016

With changes in law like “Ball can be kicked in any direction at kick-off”, “Offside FK always taken where offence occurs (even in own half)”, and “Foul off the field penalized with a direct free kick on boundary line”, it’s no wonder why most referees were excited to watch the UEFA European Championships this year, and to get a first hand look at the new laws being applied.  The most anticipated of these changes is the new DOGSO part of Law 12 in that the “triple punishment” has been removed and some DOGSO offences inside the penalty area are now punished with a Caution (yellow card).  However, as exciting as the 2016 Euro’s were, I was personally a little disappointed in that there weren’t very much match incidents, or at least controversial incidents to really talk about.  On one hand, I applaud the officials at this years tournament for the exemplary job they did at managing and controlling each match.  On the other hand, by the end of the month-long event, the referee community still didn’t have much examples of the new laws in action.  That is until now…

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)?”

As the Saying Goes – Fool Me Once…EmbarrASSed

One of the most embarrassing moments out on the FOP for a referee is when we get duped into believing simulation.  This is also one of the hardest things to catch, and IMHO the biggest “disease” in the beautiful game.  There are plenty of things that we can do as referees in order better understand and catch the culprits as they try to trick and deceive us (see l’arbitre’s post on simulation).  However, no matter how close we are to play, how focused and concentrated we are, or how diligent we we try to be in all our games, sometimes the actors on the FOP catch us off guard and we fall for their theatrics.

 

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 – 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.

World Cup Game Day 1 – Congrats Mr. Nishimura on a job (somewhat) well done.

Finally…the day that the world has been waiting four years to arrive is upon us!  For the past month I have been counting down the days and have been waiting with such excitement for the 2014 World Cup.  This one is a sort of special one for me…it’s being played in Brazil and for many of those people who know me well, they know that I have a special love affair with the South American country of Samba and Soccer.  Although I am of Italian and Portuguese heritage, my love for Brazil comes from my background as a musician/percussionist.  This world cup fuses both my passions as they collide into a month-long high of great football being played in the midst of great music!

In keeping with the theme of my blog, I will attempt to pick out the good, the bad and the ugly of the refereeing and decision-making throughout the tournament, and give you my own humble opinion on how I saw things.  These are only my own opinions and in way do I suggest that I am the greatest referee in the world…if I was, I would be in Brazil this month, not sitting at my computer writing this blog! 😉

So, let’s get on with it then…