The Weekly Soccer Referee Blog
Sharpening Referee Knowledge and Judgment, One Week at a Time
Volume 5, Issue 46, November 24, 2013
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The purpose of this Blog is so we can all learn from each other’s experience and by doing so, avoid mistakes, make more consistent calls, and do a better job. I don’t have to make any of this up – this is what happens on the pitch.
Quote of the Week
“I had 24 players on my roster, and 8 showed up for a U19 tournament.”
From the coach of a U19 team, whose team played 4 games short-sided for the tournament. And never gave up.
IHSA and Ratings
A few years ago, IHSA let certified officials rate their fellow officials. Personally, I think it was a good idea, and provided balance.
After all, who is more unbiased? A coach who just lost a game, and is looking to blame the zebras, or a fellow official, who watched the center do a good job of keeping two teams that were clearly mismatched playing within the laws? I know what my answer would be.
I’m not sure what prompted the shift – since it applied to all sports, it could be something in soccer, or out of soccer. I guess what I would have hoped for is that IHSA would not throw out the “baby with the bathwater” so to speak, and fix the problem, rather than take away the ability. I rated every official I worked with as a duty since from what I could see, the coaches were not consistently rating us. I know other C’s that were doing the same thing.
Well, one less thing to do. Now all I have to do is write Special Reports whenever:
- A team has an improper uniform
- A home team doesn’t supply the right balls with the NFHS logo
- A home team doesn’t supply ball people
- A school messes up the game clock too many times
- I eject someone
- The field isn’t properly marked
- A coaches area isn’t marked or “coned”
- Something else weird happens
This Week’s Question – Right in the Head
On a recent MLS game…
Player A27 is advancing the ball up the right side, just past the mid-field line. As he turns to bring the ball more towards center and forward, A27 is tripped and held (at the same time) by B3 and plunges to the ground.
As A27 is carried forward sliding on the artificial turf by his momentum, Player B21 kicks the ball in a blast, right into the side of A27’s head.
And here is the video:
http://www.socceramerica.com/article/53764/blast-to-the-head-goes-unpunished.html
You Make the Call:
What is the call?
What is the restart?
Last Week’s Question – ADVANTAGE! PLAY ON!
At a recent U19 tournament:
A team has been playing short all game. The referee sees a foul just outside of the Penalty Area, and seeing that the Player A81 stumbled but maintained possession, called out “Advantage! Play On!”
Around 2 seconds after that call, A81, who was stumbling but looked like they could recover but did not, loses possession of the ball to Player B18 from the other team.
You Make the Call:
What is the call?
What is the restart?
What You Said:
Referee 1:
Sounds like a classic case of an advantage that didn’t materialize. Whistle to stop play and award a DFK or IFK as appropriate for the original foul.
Referee 2:
If the fouled team did not, in fact, gain an advantage after the foul, blow the whistle, and restart with a Direct Free Kick.
Referee 3:
If the player never stopped stumbling, whistle, “Advantage did not develop, keeper, DFK!” with the DFK signal, while pointing to the spot of the penalty.
The Answer:
“Advantage” is why we don’t run with the whistles in our mouth. It allows us time to see what happens after a foul, in which it is possible the fouled team can do something with the situation to score a goal. The intent is to avoid a double-penalty on the fouled team – first for the original foul, and second, for the delay as the defense sets up (which becomes egregious if we don’t handle any delays of the restart that might result.
USSF:
Law 5 – The Referee
Powers and Duties
The Referee:
– allows play to continue when the team against which an offense has been committed will benefit from such an advantage and penalizes the original offense if the anticipated advantage does not ensue at that time.
NFHS:
Rule 5 – The Officials
Section 3 – During the Game
Article 1: The officials shall:
d. call out “play on” and, with an underswing of both arms, indicate a foul which was observed but shall go unpenalized because penalizaing the offending team would give an advantage to the offending team. If the referee applies advantage, which was anticipated but does not develop at that time, the referee shall penalize the original offense;
USSF’s Advice to Referees has the best discussion of Advantage
“5.6 ADVANTAGE
Referees have the power to apply (and signal) the advantage upon seeing a foul or misconduct committed if at that moment the terms of the advantage clause (Law 5, 11th item) were met. Applying advantage permits the referee to allow play to continue when the team against which the foul has been committed will actually benefit from the referee not stopping play.
The referee must remember that the advantage applies to the team of the fouled player and not just to the fouled player. Soccer is a team sport and the referee is expected to apply advantage if the fouled player’s team is able to retain or regain control of the ball.
The referee may return to and penalize the original foul if the advantage situation does not develop as anticipated after a short while (2-3 seconds). Referees should note that the “advantage” is not defined solely in terms of scoring a goal. Also, a subsequent offense by a player of the offending team must not be ignored while the referee allows the anticipated development of the advantage. Such an offense may either be recognized by stopping play immediately or by applying the advantage clause again. Regardless of the outcome of the advantage call, the referee must deal appropriately with any misconduct at the next stoppage, before allowing play to be restarted. (See also Advice 12.27.)
NOTE: After observing a foul or misconduct by a player, the referee decides to apply advantage and within a second or so, the ball goes out of play across a boundary line. The referee may still penalize the original offense.
The use of advantage as described in Law 5 is strictly limited to infringements of Law 12 — both the section covering fouls and the later section on misconduct. Other offenses under the Laws of the Game (e. g., violating Law 15 on a throw-in, offside, “second touch” violations at a restart, etc.) are not subject to the application of advantage. As with any other infringement of the Law (e.g., the lack of corner flags, a whistle blown by a spectator, the illegal entry onto the field of a spectator), these are subject to a determination by the referee that the infraction is doubtful (uncertain that it occurred) or trifling (the infringement occurred but had no importance for the course of play). For example, if a ball comes onto the field of play from a nearby field, it is not necessary to stop play unless and until this “foreign object” actually interferes with play or causes any confusion for the players. Deciding not to stop play in such a case is not based on applying advantage but of following the time-honored principle embodied prior to 1996 in International Board Decision 8 of Law 5 (dropped in 1997 but still considered a core value in the Laws of the Game — see the first paragraph of Advice 5.5, above).
Referees must understand that advantage is not an absolute right. It must be balanced against other issues. The giving of the advantage is not required in all situations to which it might be applied. The referee may stop play despite an advantage if other factors (e.g., game control, severity of a foul or misconduct, possibility of player retaliation, etc.) outweigh the benefit of play continuing. As a practical matter, referees should generally avoid a decision to allow advantage for fouls which happen very early in the match, for fouls performed in front of the team areas, or for misconduct involving violence unless the chance for a goal is immediate.
A common misconception about advantage is that it is about deciding if a challenge is a foul. On the contrary, that decision has already been made because advantage cannot be applied to anything which is not a foul (meaning a violation of Law 12). Advantage, rather, is a decision about whether to stop play for the foul. Accordingly, giving the advantage is “calling the foul” and thus it must be as obvious to the players as signaling to stop play.
Inconspicuous advantage signals are as much to be avoided as a whistle which cannot be heard. Likewise, however, using the advantage signal to indicate that something is not a foul or misconduct, or is a doubtful or trifling offense, is equally wrong.
In determining whether there is persistent infringement, all fouls are considered, including those to which advantage has been applied.
One way to determine when to invoke the advantage is to apply the Four Ps: Possession, Potential, Personnel, and Proximity. Possession means active and credible control by the player who was fouled or a teammate. Potential means the likelihood of continuing an immediate and dangerous attack on the opponents’ goal. The referee evaluates Potential by judging the Personnel involved (the number and skills of the attackers relative to the number and skills of the defenders within 2-3 seconds of the offense) and Proximity (the distance to the opponents’ goal; the less the distance, the greater the potential).”
So, we had a foul, called advantage, and it didn’t materialize.
Blow the whistle, call the foul, and return the ball to the location where the original foul occurred. Direct Free Kick from that point to Team A. And don’t let Team B delay the restart, and by doing so, add further insult to injury!
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