Welcome to the 30th edition of The Corsham Referee monthly International Referees' newsletter. Please let me have any contributions for the newsletter, as readers are always interested in hearing about Refereeing from around the world. Please let me know if you have any difficulties in receiving or reading the newsletter; and let me have any suggestions on how it can be improved. It is issued free by email in both html (web page format), and plain text format. Previous issues (and printable pdf versions) can be seen by using the Previous Newsletters link on the home page of my http://www.corshamref.org.uk web site. This newsletter is issued approximately on the 1st day of each calendar month.

REFEREEING TODAY MAGAZINE - A MUST FOR ALL REFEREES
For those of you who are interested in subscribing to the best ever Referee magazine, why not subscribe to the Referees' Association (RA) glossy magazine 'Refereeing Today' which is issued 4 times each football season. I am the Managing Editor of this 28 page magazine, and the December issue has a theme of the Referee Assessor. The theme of the next magazine in February will be Assistant Referees, and will include a number of pen-pictures of FIFA Assistant referees around the world. There are lots more other articles that will be of interest to all referees. 
SUBSCRIBING: 
The magazine can be delivered to your door, wherever you are in the world.
Annual Subscription Costs for 4 magazines per season: United Kingdom £12 by direct mail. 
National Referees' Association members who subscribe through their Referees' Society get the reduced rate of £8.40. 
Airmail (World-wide) £18.50: Europe £15.25: Forces £12.75:
Part-year subscriptions are available pro rata.
To subscribe, email ra@footballreferee.org for details, or phone the Referees' Association England on 02476 601 701 for Credit Card subscription.

Keep up the good Refereeing work wherever you are in the world; and have a peaceful Christmas.

GEORGE BEST deceased 25 Nov 05.

"I think we've lost a genius." 

The final red card was issued on 25 November 2005; and even thought he might not have been a saint, the Angels' United team will have welcomed him to fill their No. 7 wing position for eternity. 

Tributes came in abundance from players, spectators, journalists and managers. Heartfelt tributes came also from the world of refereeing, where it must have been an honour to have officiated (like the linesman in the photo) during an era blessed by the greatest player these islands have produced; and arguably the best player any of us is ever likely to see. Had the Law changes of today (to protect players and encourage skill), modern pitch surfaces, and player development been in place in the 60's and 70's, the mind boggles at what more thrills could have been forthcoming, from this magician with the heart and courage of a lion. 

It was the thrill of the challenge that spurred him on to deal so mercurially with the so-called hard men of those days. They only had one task to do. Knobble Bestie! Peter Story at Arsenal, 'Chopper Harris at Chelsea, Tommy Smith at Liverpool, and the triple whammy of Norman Hunter, Billy Bremner and Jack Charlton at Leeds; none could stop this genius blessed with rapier skills from flying down the wing. All they got for their efforts was 'twisted blood'. 

It was rock 'n' roll football at its best.

Seat edges will no longer wear away as quickly as they did when he was on fire. The gasps of awe from those who were lucky to have seen him will live forever; as will Bestie's memory.
(By Julian Carosi)

LETTERS

Hi Julian

I recently ran a referees course for school students so that they can officiate their own matches, a great initiative in our local community. A young girl who attended stood up and told the story of a young man who was slightly handicapped who was given the opportunity to take a penalty kick because his team was well out of the game.
The young fellow had never taken a penalty before and was not a good kicker so his next actions in my mind were very well thought out indeed...he urinated on the ball (the other players and the referee were undecided what to do because of this handicap), kicked the ball and the keeper let it go in to the goal because he did not want to touch it.

Talk about smart!

Brad McKendrick
Australia

Julian 

I read your article with interest and it reminded me of one of my recent matches. 

The game was drawing to a close with the home team, which was full of young enthusiastic young lads, easily beating the team of older, wiser players. In the final minute of the match, a home player ran into the penalty area his team were attacking with the ball under control. A defender ran towards him and lunged with one leg towards the attacker. He made no contact with the attacker or the ball but, if he had, both probably would have crossed the touchline such was the force of his lunge. The attacker stumbled and fell in his attempt to avoid the defender's lunge. I blew my whistle and awarded a penalty to the attacking team and spoke harshly to the defender, but did not add to his misery by carding him (a decision, which in hindsight, was wrong).

The defender and his team mates, with the exception of the team manager, who had come on as a last gasp sub, "congratulated" me on my decision before the attacking side took the penalty and scored. I blew the final whistle and the team manager approached me for a chat. He asked about the penalty and when I explained about "trips or attempts to trip" he went away with a wry smile. "I knew that" he said, "I was just checking you were sure that no contact was made". 

He then went on to berate his team for their earlier "congratulations" and point out some of their deficiencies. After he had changed he came back to me to congratulate me on a good game. Sporting behaviour is still out there!

Best wishes 

Brian Hamilton 

Many thanks to those of you who email me following the issue of my newsletters. Regards from Julian Carosi

NEWS BULLETS By Julian Carosi

A quick journey around the world of refereeing.

• Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT): At a recent seminar the VGT explained their responsibility for child safety on the internet. The Football Association has become the latest organisation to join the Virtual Global Taskforce and encourage as many as possible to download the VGT link onto web sites. The Taskforce is an alliance of law enforcement agencies and businesses working together to help protect children and young people online.
  http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com/
• Referee / Club Charter: The Isle of Man Referees' Society is promoting its own charter of good practice in partnership with local football clubs. Basically, the Society and individual clubs promise to observe best practices by both parties signing a formal charter document.
  It is a brilliantly simple idea that could be applied anywhere in football. Figures mid-November show 21 of the 27 clubs on the Island, that's over three quarters, has signed up to the scheme. One of the stipulations for Clubs, is to thank the Officials after every match! Go to the website and select the Club/Referee Charter menu for full details:
  http://www.iomreferees.org.im/
• RA Conference 2006: The 2006 Referees' Association Conference will take place on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 June at the Warwick Hilton Hotel.. It has been brought forward a week from the traditional third weekend in June, so that matches in the World Cup will have minimal impact.
• Child Protection / CRB Checks: If referees in England do not complete all their training and checks by 31 December, they will have to start paying the £7.50 that they were originally let off! More than that, with no completed documentation, they will not be able to re-register with their County FA next season.
• RA Shop: The new equipment supplies catalogue is out. Visit www.RAshop.co.uk 
  For those of you who have not already received the new 2005 Laws of Associated Football (LOAF), a combined LOAF and FIFA Questions & Answers 2005 book, is available from the RA shop via the 'Accessories and Books' link for a mere £6.50. A 'must' for any serious referee!
• Delaying gets a yellow: At this year's FIFA World Youth Championship held in the Netherlands, and the FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Peru, the following potential Laws change (discussed at the Feb 2005 IFAB meeting) was experimented with: 
  "If a player from the side that has been penalised deliberately touches the ball after the referee stops the game for a free kick, this will be considered as delaying the restart of the game and shall be sanctioned with a yellow card. These sanctions shall be applied equally to players who touch the ball after conceding a throw in or corner kick and to players who keep possession of a ball after their team has conceded a goal."
  The aim of the new regulation is to put an end to players wasting time by unsportingly holding onto the ball. It is also designed to prevent players fighting for possession of the ball after the whistle has blown.
  Referees noted that the experiment helped play flow more freely and also led to fewer altercations between players after free kicks had been awarded. Players were allowed to touch the ball in special circumstances, for example, when the ball is some distance from the point where play will restart and there are no members of the opposing team in the vicinity to return it.
  It was also noted that refereeing decisions were contested far less frequently with the number of cards shown for dissent dropping.
  The potential new law change, if accepted by the IFAB, could have a very positive effect once players have become familiar with it. 

REFEREES WERE IMMORAL SAYS TERIM

SWITZERLAND booked their place in the 2006 World Cup Finals despite a 4-2 defeat in the second leg of their Playoff with Turkey. Turkish coach Fatih Terim was furious, blaming the referees in both legs - Slovakia's Lubos Michel Saturday in Bern and Belgium's Franck de Bleeckere in Istanbul - for crucial errors, which he said cost Turkey a place in the Finals. 
'I say well done to Switzerland but I have never seen two such immoral referees both here and there.’
'Some of our players lost their concentration and as a result we conceded two goals. These people are thieves, they are immoral,' he raged.
Asked about Terim's criticism of the referees, Switzerland manager Koebi Kuhn added: 'You have to look for the blame elsewhere. When you make a mistake you should not blame the referees.’
'The Turkey team did not play as I expected. Turkey have very talented players. They did not show their own football but played in the old English style.'
Switzerland's celebrations were confined to the dressing room as their players quickly left the pitch under a hailstorm of objects thrown by the disappointed home fans.
(DATELINE: Istanbul, November 18, 2005)

NEWS CLIPS FROM THE TELEGRAPH NEWSPAPER  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ 

GERMAN REFEREE IMPRISONED

Robert Hoyzer, the German referee, has been sentenced to two years and five months in prison for his role in a match-fixing scandal. Hoyzer, 26, and another referee, Dominik Marks, 30, were found guilty of rigging games in return for payment from Ante Sapina, the Croatian ringleader of a £1.4 million betting fraud. Marks received a suspended sentence of 18 months for his role in the biggest match-fixing scandal to hit Germany in more than 30 years. In the most notorious incident, Hoyzer awarded regional league side Paderborn two penalties to help them come from two goals down to knock out First Division Hamburg SV in the first round of the German Cup. He also sent off Hamburg's Emile Mpenza. 
(By Rob Stewert 18 Nov 05)

CAPTAIN ROY KEANE PARTS COMPANY WITH MANCHESTER UNITED.

Keane’s departure was ordered by manager Sir Alex Ferguson for his recurrent, and increasingly frequent, criticisms of fellow United players. Keane was creative as well as destructive, and in a way that did not always catch the eye. After winning the ball, he would not just give it to someone else but choose the right pass - and not just transfer the ball but fizz it forward, driving the recipient in the desired direction. In his autobiography Keane admitted taking revenge with a notorious challenge so appallingly over the top, that he did not wait for the referee, David Elleray, to show the red card. This and other remarks about Haaland would have been forgivable only in the light of an apology, which has not been forthcoming. Nor has public contrition been offered to Mick McCarthy for the row in Saipan that led to Keane's banishment from the Republic of Ireland squad for the 2002 World Cup, although the player did hint at the time that such a rift had been caused by his outburst in front of the other players as to render an apology meaningless (a poor excuse).
(By Patrick Barclay 20 Nov 05)

Keane will also be remembered for hounding the hapless referee Andy D'Urso a few years ago. with all the bared-teeth relish of an unhinged, unleashed guard-dog cornering an apprentice postman. That photo will stay in the memories of all who have seen it.

GRAHAM POLL PONDERS

The referees who will officiate at the finals will not be confirmed until next March. My journey to what I hope will be a place among those selected started in Latvia 14 months ago with Portugal's 2-0 win and my last World Cup qualifying tie was the play-off in Prague between the Czech Republic and Norway. In between, there has been a magical mystery tour including Bahrain, Jamaica and Spain among others. By mid-December I will have refereed 12 games outside England since August.

Whilst inspecting the pitch prior to his appointment to referee the replayed Asian Group final play-off game between Bahrain and Uzbekistan, Graham and his team team noticed that one goal was the wrong height, the penalty marks were in the wrong position and there were four other pitch markings that needed attention. We returned on the day of the game to find that nothing had been altered despite assurances they would be and had to wait until midday to see the pitch finally in accordance with the law. By that stage the temperature was over 40 degrees and the humidity almost unbearable, which made me understand the need for a 10pm kick-off.
(16 Nov 05)

FIFA BAN GALIS AFTER REF ROW 

FIFA has banned Slovakia coach Dusan Galis from the bench for the second leg of the World Cup play-off with Spain on Thursday. Galis was sent off in the first leg on Saturday for protesting against decisions to an assistant referee. Slovakia, whose hopes of qualifying for the World Cup were virtually ended by a 5-1 defeat, also had defender Marian Had sent off for protests. The Slovakia coach was incensed at Italian referee Massimo De Santis's performance in the match.
'I want to congratulate Spain on their win although things happened in this game,' he said. 'I'm disappointed that in a big country like Spain the referee was so favourable to the home team. 
If the best players are in the World Cup we should also have the best officials. We knew this result could happen but we didn't think it would be down to the referee's decisions.'
'When we scored to make it 2-1 we got back in the game and they were almost immediately given a penalty. 
I won't criticise the players but the referee was not as good as he should have been and I was sent off for asking why he had given a corner.' 
'I'm very sorry to say Slovakia is a small country and we can't play against 12 men. Slovaks will have seen this on TV and I don't think they will be giving Spain a warm welcome this week.' 
(DATELINE: Zurich, November 16, 2005)

WAS THAT OK REF?
There was a sublime monument in the Wigan (2) Arsenal (3) played in the English Premiership on 20 Nov 05. Thierry Henry scored a spectacular goal by curling a 25-yard free-kick over the Wigan wall and in off a post, and then calmly turning to referee Graham Poll, who had refused to allow him to take the free kick quickly, to ask: "Was that OK?"  It sure was as far as Arsenal was concerned. 

HURRY UP FOR GOODNESS SAKE?
In the English Premiership on 20 Nov 05 Man City (0) Blackburn (0), Stuart Pierce, the City manger, became so frustrated at the delaying tactics of Blackburn players, that he ran on to the pitch three times to try to hurry up the play and was ultimately reprimanded by the referee. On one occasion, he collected the ball from near the technical area, ran on to the field and placed the ball down so that the Blackburn player (who purposefully did not go to collect the ball) could take his free kick.

QUOTE FROM PELE

Referees, contrary to the impression Maradona had of them as wreckers of careers - and the 1990 World Cup, in particular - were simply human beings.

BOSNIAN REFEREE FACES BAN FOR ASSAULT 

A Bosnian referee may be banned from soccer for a year after he knocked out a player who disagreed with one of his decisions. Dusko Pekija was in charge of Wednesday's derby between FC Sarajevo and FC Zeljeznicar when Sarajevo players, unhappy at not being awarded a penalty kick, attacked him. Pekija hit Samir Saric, knocking out the player for several minutes. Both player and referee could be banned for a year, Bosnian Football Association official Slavica Pecikoza said on Thursday. The Bosnian Cup match was halted after the incident, with FC Zeljeznicar leading 1-0. (DATELINE: Sarajevo, November 18, 2005)

TOP REFEREE HOWARD WEBB MAKES HIS INTERNATIONAL DEBUT (15 November)

"Naturally, I'm delighted to get the appointment and it is another step on the ladder," said Webb, 33, who is earning a reputation as one of the Premiership's leading referees after just a couple of seasons in the top flight.
"You could say there will be a bit more pressure than usual. After all, it's countries not just clubs and there will be wider interest, but it's a great honour and I'm looking forward to it. I just hope it is the first of many."
Webb moved on to the FIFA list last year, replacing Sheffield's Uriah Rennie, and received his first UEFA appointment this season when he took charge of the UEFA Cup tie between Sampdoria and Vitoria Setubal in Genoa.
Son of former local referee Billy Webb, he began refereeing in his teens and moved swiftly through the ranks. He was appointed on to the Football League only five years ago.

HACKETT BACKS MIKES FOR REFS 

REFEREES' chief Keith Hackett believes football can learn from the example of rugby by allowing broadcasts from match officials´ microphones.
Rugby referees are regularly wired up for big televised matches and Hackett believes such a system in football would help the public understand decisions on the field. And he also feels it would have the added bonus of curbing player dissent.
Hackett, general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, told BBC Radio Five Live: "In recent weeks there have been experiments with the best technology, but would FIFA allow communications between referees, the assistants and players to be broadcast?
"The mike may act as a deterrent to players - but maybe I live in a different world - and I do believe the public would learn a lot from it."
(DATELINE: London, November 11, 2005)

18 VIETNAMESE REFEREES CHARGED 

The Vietnamese police have closed the first phase of their investigation into bribery and match-fixing in football with the prosecution of 18 referees, it was stated earlier this week. They had questioned 40 referees for suspected involvement. 
The source said the 18 would be tried following which the police would undertake the second stage of investigation, probing officials of football clubs, and then the last stage focusing on footballers. They have an initial list of 71 footballers and officials thought to be involved in match fixing.
(DATELINE: Hanoi, November 9, 2005)

Excerpts from The Midland Referee newsletter:

PLAYER HAS WEDDING RING CUT OFF AFTER LAW BREACH
Australia, 24th October: Perth Glory striker Damien Mori agreed to have his wedding ring cut off his finger after he had not been allowed to take the field in an A-League game the day before. In accordance with A-League Rules, Mori was told to remove the ring by Fifa referee Mark Shield prior to kick-off for his side's match against Melbourne. The 35-year-old was unable to do so, even drawing blood as he and English coach Steve McMahon attempted to remove it whilst being filmed by the TV company covering the match.

ANDRE JOINS SELECT GROUP
34 year-old Andre Marriner was promoted onto the Select Group of 20 referees for this season but was unable to referee a Premier game until last month because of a back injury.
Andre was born in Birmingham England and qualified as a referee in 1992; he is a member of Solihull RA. He became a FL Referee in 2003-04 and last season was placed on the Development Group of referees and given four Premiership middles.

CHANGES AT THE FA
The FA Head of Refereeing, John Baker, retired on 12th September after having been with The FA since 5th May 2001 when Ken Ridden retired. John introduced FAMOA and the 2-tier courses whereby anyone could learn the Laws of the Game in 4 weeks and if they wanted to become a referee they would pursue another 4 weeks. The FA have now split the role of Head of Refereeing into two, and from 1st September, Neale Barry took up the position of Head of Senior Referee Development and Ian Blanchard the Head of National Referee Development.

ANNA MAKES HISTORY IN ITALY'S PRO LEAGUES 
24th September - Anna De Toni, 28, made history when she became the first woman to referee a match in the Italian men's professional leagues, when she took charge of the fixture Alto Adige v Lecco (1-1) in Italy's fourth division, Serie C2. "I'm just one of the 28 newly-promoted referees that has to show they can handle life among the professionals - nothing more," De Toni was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport. "If I'm here then it must be because somebody believed me to be capable of doing the job. All I have to do is prove them right." De Toni, who has a degree in medicine from the University of Padova, began refereeing at the age of 15.

CORRUPTION IN BOSNIA-HERZIGOVINA
After the Posusje v Sarajevo (0-1) game, referee Lazo Aleksic was beaten up, allegedly because the game should have ended 1-1 in accordance with a supposed agreement with a betting ring. Police had to defend Aleksic who was hit by a number of individuals that included the Posusje coach Vjekoslav Lokica. And in the Siroki Brijeg v Zrinjski (0-0) game, the Siroki president Mijo Jelic was reported to have intervened to stop an alleged match rigging attempt at a 3-3 scoreline by another betting ring.

GOAL LINE TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENT TO CONTINUE
Zurich, 3rd October -The International Football Association Board (IFAB) held its Annual Business Meeting in Lima on Saturday 1st October. The Board met in the Peruvian capital during the Fifa U17 World Championship Peru 2005, the first Fifa tournament to use goal-line technology. The general outcome of this meeting was that IFAB, Fifa, the referees and those responsible for this system, namely, adidas, Cairos and the Fraunhofer-Institut, are convinced that goal-line technology could have a positive future. However, further improvements will be required to be made to this system following its first test in a competition environment.

44 REFEREES REMAIN IN THE FRAME FOR 2006 FIFA WORLD CUP GERMANY
Zurich, 25th October 2005: The Fifa Referees Committee, chaired by Ángel María Villar Llona (Spain), shortlisted 44 referees and 111 assistant referees for the 2006 World Fifa Cup. They (List of 44 referees preselected for 2006 FIFA World Cup) will attend a workshop in Frankfurt between 22nd and 25th March 2006, where they will complete a fitness test and undergo medical and psychological examinations. Their knowledge of the Laws of the Game will also be assessed before they are interviewed by members of the Fifa Referees' Committee. Only then will Fifa decide which 30 or so candidates meet the stringent requirements to take charge of matches during the 2006 World Cup in Germany. 

USA: A high school referee says he plans to file charges against a father who punched him after a game in Springfield, Massachusetts. The referee, Jeffrey Rousseau, is a Hartford, Connecticut police officer. He said he was attacked from behind as he and another match official were walking to their cars after refereeing the game at Central High School. Rousseau said his jaw was dislocated. Witnesses told police that the man, who was shouting threats at referees during the game, was upset because he cautioned one of his sons.

GERMAN PLAYER ON MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE
Bad Toelz, Germany, 11th October: A 41-year-old amateur footballer faces a charge of attempted manslaughter for throttling a referee after he made a controversial decision in the match between Olympic Geretsried against SV Bad Toelz on Saturday 8th October when he attacked the referee for "being blind". Police said that the man was taken briefly into custody. Another Olympic player faces charges of grievous bodily harm for kicking the referee as he tried to escape the attack.

COLOURED SHIRTS FOR REFS!

It is hoped a system of colour coding will make spectators less inclined to abuse referees or umpires still learning their skills. The system has been used in the SANFL as a way of retaining umpires. Those new to umpiring wear a red shirt. The South Australian National Football League has since found it easier to keep them interested in the job. The Minister for Recreation and Sport, Michael Wright, does not expect that a person wearing a shirt that indicates they are new at umpiring will become a target for more derision. "I'm confident that this will work because people expect a fair go and we want them of course to continue in the game," he said. "I've got a young daughter myself who umpires netball and I think this will be a very exciting program and I'm confident it's a step in the right direction."

COLLINA TO RECEIVE IRISH INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITY AWARD 

FORMER FIFA Referee, Pierluigi Collina of Italy, is to receive the International Personality Award at the 16th eircom International Soccer Awards which will be held in Citywest Hotel on Sunday 26th February 2006. In all 17 Awards will be presented on the night including International Goal of the Season, which will have public involvement again this year. Pierliugi Collina began his refereeing career in 1977 and graduated to the FIFA Panel in 1995. In an International career which spanned 10 years, he refereed the Olympics Final in 1996, the 1999 Champions League Final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich, the World Cup Final between Brazil and Germany in 2002 and the UEFA Cup Final in 2004. After refereeing in Euro 2004, Pierluigi Collina retired as an International Referee on reaching the mandatory retirement age of 45. 
(DATELINE: Dublin, November 14, 2005)

THIS MONTH'S TOPICS

This month, we look at a method to analyse difficult situations that can occur in a game, with the aim of providing you with an answer that will prevent (or at least minimise) the incident occurring in your future games as a Referee. We also look at a situation where a player plays in a dangerous manner whilst he is near one of his colleagues.

The 5 Whys. - Determining The Root Cause. (By Julian Carosi).

Using The 5 Whys is very easy to learn and apply, and will help you to quickly determine the issues related to the root of any problem. This will help get you to the true drivers of any difficult incident that happens to a Referee on the field of play.

When a Referee is faced with a particularly difficult incident that arises on the field of play, it is usually the result of a culmination of a number of lesser events that have preceded it. You can look for a solution by repeatedly asking yourself the question, "Why did the incident happen?" This simple method enables you to go back in time, and peel away the layers to reveal the events that lead up to the incident. The aim is to go back in time, far enough for you to provide yourself with the answer that will prevent (or minimise) this event occurring in future games. Although this (well known) technique is called "The 5 Whys," you may find that you will need to ask the question fewer or more times than five before you find the solution.

How can a Referee complete The 5 Whys, so that it will help provide a solution to a difficult problem?

1. What happened? To enable you to focus on the problem, describe the incident on a piece of paper. 
2. Why did it happen? On the next line, write down why the incident happened. 
3. Ask yourself - is there anything that can be done at this stage to prevent the incident happening again?

Yes? If you can provide an answer at this first sage, then you already have the solution. 
No? If the answer does not identify the root cause of the incident, ask yourself Why again, and write that answer down.

 Keep repeating the questions Why? Until you get to the root of the problem. Identifying the root of the problem will enable you to take a different course of action in future games.

Let's look at a typical serious situation that can occur in a game; and then use The 5 Whys method to try and find a solution for the Referee.

In the 75th minute of the game, the Red No. 4 struck the Yellow No. 9 in the face.

1. Why did the Red No. 4 strike the Yellow No. 9 in the face in the 75th minute? 
- Because the Yellow No. 9 swore at the Red No. 4 and called him unpleasant names. 
2. Why did the Yellow No. 9 swear at the Red No. 4? 
- Because the Yellow No. 9 was angry that the Red No. 4 had not been punished for making a reckless challenge on him, a minute before. 
3. Why did the reckless challenge made on the Yellow No. 9 go unpunished by the Referee? 
- Because the Referee was looking the other way, and did not see the reckless challenge. 
4. Why was the Referee looking the other way? 
- Because the Referee was talking to another player. 
5. Why was the Referee talking to another player? 
- Because the Referee was asking the other player to pull up his socks.

As you can see, in the simple example above, the final Why leads the Referee to a statement (root cause). The solution to prevent this problem occurring for the Referee in future games is very simple. When a Referee needs to deal with a minor Law infringement, such as asking a player to adjust his equipment, the Referee should wait until the ball is either out of play, or in an area where there is zero chance of a problem occurring between opponents. 
Had the Referee kept his eye on the game, he would have seen and punished the reckless challenge by stopping play, and issuing a caution to the Red No. 4. 
Had the Referee cautioned the Red No. 4, the Yellow No.9 would not have sworn at the Red No. 4. 
Had the Yellow No. 4 not sworn, the Red No. 4 would not have thrown a punch.

The example above is purposefully simplistic, to enable you to see how The 5 Whys works; and how easy it is to find the real cause of a problem. The more serious that an incident is, the more useful The 5 Whys becomes in providing a solution.

Question: Can a player play in a dangerous manner against a player of his own team?

Dangerous play does not refer to acts involving colleagues. For example, if a player commits an overhead scissors kick and his feet come very close to a nearby colleague's face, this is not an act that the Referee can penalise. In other words, the Referee cannot award an indirect free kick to the opposing team just because a player made a dangerous manoeuvre whilst a colleague was nearby. Dangerous play is defined as play which, while in itself is not against the spirit of the game, is nevertheless, dangerous to an 'opponent'. Where two colleagues are involved in dangerous play, the Referee cannot award an indirect free kick to the non-offending team, because - the 'so called' offending player and the non-offending player are both in the same team!

The offence is plays in a dangerous manner, and an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team.
In a game of football, you play against the opposing team, you do not play against your own players; hence the plays in a dangerous manner, offence only applies to acts committed against the opposition, and not your own players (or a player by himself) - as this would have no effect upon the opponents. This is how this ruling has been for a hundred years. The law is to punish unfair play against opponents.

Regards Julian Carosi

I hope that you have enjoyed this issue of the newsletter, and that you are all continuing to enjoy your refereeing roles.  All the very warmest wishes to you all, wherever you are in the world.

Regards, Julian Carosi (Newsletter Editor):
(Also - Managing Editor and Laws Editor of Refereeing Today, Referee, FA Referee Instructor, and FA Referees' Assessor Wiltshire, England).

Disclaimer: The content of this newsletter is not sanctioned by or affiliated with any governing body of soccer. The opinions expressed here are sometimes those of the Corsham Referee webmaster and the readers, or from other media sources. Reference to the male gender in this newsletter is for simplification only, and apply to both males and females. All rights of the current Laws mentioned in this newsletter are reserved by FIFA, and they are the official laws of the International Football Association Board.

This Newsletter and previous copies will be available via The Corsham Referee web site Newsletter page. 
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