Welcome to the 47th edition of The Corsham Referee monthly International Football/Soccer Referees' newsletter. This month, there is less general news and more on tips and education.

Those of you who have an AOL email address will not have received last month's (April) newsletter No. 46. For some reason, all the AOL emails were bounced and came back undelivered. Hopefully, this may have been due to one of the many web addresses that featured in last month's newsletter. I have kept web address to a minimum this month to see if the problem has gone away. To get last month's newsletter, go to my website home page and follow the Newsletter link. Apologies to my AOL subscribers, and I hope that this edition gets to you this time!

I hope that all of you continue to enjoy your role in the world of refereeing. 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; or 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.

Keep up the good Refereeing work wherever you are in the world; and my best wishes go to you all. Editor Julian Carosi.

Ten Assistant Referee Development Ideas (for football/soccer Assistant Referees).
By Julian Carosi

"Whilst all Assistant Referees at a certain level are equally capable, some of those Assistant Referees are more capable than others!"

Introduction: 

Invariably, a Referee's promotion path requires him to officiate as an Assistant Referee in the level above him, prior to being promoted into the middle as a (centre) Referee. The higher up the promotion pyramid, the greater the competition; in other words, the bottleneck to succeed into the higher levels gets smaller and smaller, the further up the promotion ladder you aspire to. 

As a rough calculation, there are say 30,000+ registered Referees in England, but only say 20 or so Select Group Referees who officiate in the Premier League. This roughly means that only 1 Referee out of 1,500 will make it to the very top. There are obviously lots of other factors that form part of the promotion equation, other than the figures themselves that are mentioned here. This 1:1,500 ratio is simply a statement that indirectly confirms; "Whilst all Assistant Referees at a certain level are equally capable, some of those Assistant Referees are more capable than others!"

After working your way through the lower levels of Refereeing, you begin to join a band of Referees who are of a similar (or the same) ability to yourself. This is probably the time in your career that you ask yourself, "What else can I do, to make myself stand out from the others, so that I have a better chance of promotion than they do?" Of course, the usual answers will include, "I have to work harder than them; I need to show better commitment and I must never miss another offside for the rest of my life! But in hindsight, these are not the answers that will work for you, because all the other Referees in your band will have already sussed this out for themselves. In other words, all the Referees are similarly fit; they all know the Laws inside out; they are as fully committed as you are; they are all experts when dealing with correspondence, they attend all of the training seminars that you do, and they NEVER miss offsides! 

So what is it that will make you stand out from these others? There are two aspects to consider.

When FIFA Assistant Referee Roger East was asked at a local Cup Final Seminar for Referees in Wiltshire, England, what it was that made him different to other aspiring FIFA Assistant Referees, he simply replied, "When you get to the highest levels of Refereeing, all your peers have exactly the same ability as you do. It's your style and the small differences in performance that get you noticed and promoted."

Style is all about your personality and the subtle differences in the way that you go about your business. This is what gets you noticed once you have already mastered all the expected Assistant Refereeing skills to get to a particular level. The former aspect of 'personality,' is something that you are born with and develop as you grow up. It's no good trying to be somebody else, in the hope that it will increase your promotion chances - because it won't! This leaves the latter aspect, i.e. the 'subtle differences' in the way that you go about your business. It is here, that the following Assistant Referee development ideas will provide some techniques that may help your development and promotion chances.

Some of the ideas below, are barely significant and almost seem irrelevant, but when Mr Assessor is looking at two Assistant Referees in the same match, (i.e. one Assistant who does every thing to perfection, and the other Assistant who does every thing to perfection, but also incorporates style and fine tuning, which one will stand out? The answer can be found at the end!

1. Twiddle your thumbs elimination. 

When you enter the field of play as a team of three officials, the two Assistant Referees will normally break away to check the goal nets prior to kick-off (this is standard practice in England). This provides a last minute check on the condition of the nets and stops the Assistant Referees from having to 'twiddle their thumbs' in the centre circle whilst the Referee prepares for the coin tossing ceremony. The Assistant Referees should wait until they are both ready to return together, before rejoining the Referee in the centre circle. This not only looks good, but also provides the first opportunity to display the coordination that will be the linchpin to the Refereeing Team's success. A clear indication of sound teamwork at this stage, will form a first impression on the players' minds, how the Refereeing team intend to approach the game. So when you next walk out onto the field of play, ask yourself, 'how am I going to approach this game?'

2. Get there and back again: 

When the coin-tossing ceremony has been completed, the Assistant Referees will take up their respective positions. Instead of sauntering to the touchlines as an Assistant Referee, try sprinting/jogging into position in line with the second last defender. The flag should be furled. Once you are ready, you can unfurl your flag as a statement to the Referee that clearly says I am now prepared. When the Referee blows his whistle to end each half, sprint to be alongside the Referee. Using high energy in these situations sends out a very strong message of unity and purpose. The quicker that the team can get together at the end of each half, the less likelihood of problems occurring, and the more witnesses there are. 

3. The offside flag eye contact: 

When delivering offside flag signals, Assistant Referees very often train and retain their eyes along the offside line, with little or no regard for the Referee. A better technique for you to consider, would be to; 
(a) indicate offside by raising the flag vertically; 
(b) make eye contact with the Referee; 
(c) wait for the Referee's signal to stop play; 
(d) once the Referee has blown his whistle, then bring the flag down to indicate the position of the offside infringement; 
(e) once the ball has been correctly positioned, drop the flag completely and then immediately take up a position to control the offside line (level with the second-last defender), which is the priority. The eye contact before lowering the vertical flag is vital, as it promotes two-way communication and unity. If you raise a flag signal for offside and the Referee does not see it immediately, you should keep signalling until it has been recognised or the ball is clearly in control (or to the advantage) of the defending team (if available - the electronic beep signal is used to alert the Referee to the flag signal).

4. When the ball enters a goal:

To confirm that a valid goal has been scored, you should firstly make eye contact with the Referee and then display a clear movement down the touchline towards the halfway centre line. In borderline cases where a goal has been scored, but not everyone is aware of this, the movement should be a clear sprint of some 10 -15 metres to be recognised by the Referee. To confirm a goal, you should not raise your flag. If in your opinion a goal has not been scored correctly, you should stand still, retaining any signal already given. The Referee may then choose to consult further if he needs additional guidance from you.

5. Is the foul inside or outside of the penalty area?:

It is important that a Referee's pre-match brief to his Assistant Referees include some form of instruction to cover this scenario. 
Where a Referee seeks guidance from an Assistant Referee concerning the exact location of an offence near the boundary of the penalty area, the action of the Assistant Referee should be as follows: 
(a) If the offence is inside the penalty area - the Assistant Referee should move visibly down the touchline towards the corner flag. 
(b) If the offence is outside the penalty area - the Assistant Referee should stand still, having moved to be in line with the edge of the penalty area.
This is a simple clandestine form of communication that can provide vital information that allows the Referee to make a strong creditable decision, without the players realising the Assistant's important contribution. 

6. Goal kick and goal clearance: 

For goal kicks and when the goalkeeper is in possession of the ball inside his own penalty area, it is advised that the Assistant Referee occasionally checks that the ball is correctly positioned inside the goal area, or that the goalkeeper does not cross the 16.5 metre penalty area line before releasing the ball from his hands. This should be done whilst in convenient situations (e.g. from alongside a second last defender who is near the penalty area). Assistant Referees learning their trade, very often place too much emphasis on always being adjacent to the 5.5 metre goal area line when goal kicks are taking place, or alongside the 16.6 metre penalty area line when a goalkeeper punts the ball out from his hands. It is possible to monitor these situations from much further up the touchline, thus increasing the chance of reaching the offside monitoring position without having to break the 100 metres sprint World record! Control of offside from subsequent play is always the priority concern in such cases.

7. The standing flag: 

A Referee, who is concentrating on play, will adjust his positioning so that he always keeps the active Assistant Referee's flag in the corner of his eye. This is known as using peripheral vision. From a Referee's perspective, the visible surface area of a typical unfurled Assistant Referee's flag is roughly say 2000 square centimetres. The visible surface area of a furled flag that is held pointing downwards, is roughly 500 square centimetres. It does not take a mathematician to work out that when a Referee uses peripheral vision it is four times easier to register a fully unfurled flag, than a flag that is pointing downwards. This is not so much of a problem when you (the Assistant Referee) are running, as the momentum will automatically open out the flag so that its full surface is visible. But it is a problem when you are standing still, or crabbing (i.e. facing the field and moving sideways to monitor offside) whilst holding your flag pointed directly downwards. This drastic lack of flag surface area visibility, is compounded when poor quality floodlights are used, or in bad weather conditions (e.g. rain or fog). 

To maximise the flag surface area visibility, you should never hold the flag pointing downwards. Even by raising the flag arm by as little as 30 degrees upwards when standing still (or crabbing), it will increase the visible area to 80/90 percent. In short, it would take four Assistant Referees with their flags touching and all pointing downwards, to match the flag area shown by a single astute Assistant who can achieve a similar effect by just raising his flag arm 30 degrees! 

If you were the Referee in the middle, would you be happy with only 25 percent of your Assistant Referees' flags visible? Next time you run the line, try to maximise the visible flag surface area at all times. It is easy to do, and makes it much easier to see. 

8. Competition Rules: 

It is one of the idiosyncrasies of Competition Rules, that they rarely contain the same information. As an Assistant Referee, be prepared to assist the Referee if questions arise such as: how many people are allowed in the Technical Area?; what is the minimum amount of time playable due to bad light?; which team changes if there is a colour clash?; how many substitutes are allowed to be named and used?; when should the team sheet be handed to the Referee?; how many balls should be provided and when?; what are the match fees; in Cup matches, is it extra time or extra time and penalty kicks?; what is the maximum time for the half-time interval? etc.

An astute Assistant Referee will have prepared himself beforehand, by writing these requirements in his notebook for easy reference, and by doing so, will certainly have assisted the Referee should questions be asked before the match has even started. 

These are the small things that separate a good Assistant Referee from an even better Assistant Referee!

9. Dealing with the Technical Area: 

Whilst it is recognised that an Assistant Referee who needlessly puts his nose into the Technical Area during moments of frustration can sometimes make matters worse, there comes a time in almost every match, when some calming action needs to be taken by the Assistant Referee. Approaches to the Technical Area occupants firstly require bravery, and secondly, a process that is both professional and assertive. 

Try adopting the simple stepped disciplined 'Technical' Area approach method below: 

ASK them, TELL them, WARN them, and then REPORT them.
(a) ASK: Approach politely and say; "Please can you calm down and behave yourself." If this does not work - 
(b) TELL: Approach and assertively say, "I'd like to remind you that the Laws required you to behave in a responsible manner." If this does not work, then - 
(c) WARN: Warn them by saying, "I'm advising you, that this is the last warning that I will be giving you. If your irresponsible behaviour continues, the Law requires me to inform the Referee." If this does not work, then -
(d) REPORT: Bring the matter to the attention of the Referee, informing him that you have already asked the perpetrators three times to calm down. 
ASK them, TELL them, WARN them, and then REPORT them.
Do it!

10. The flag hand shuffle: 

Left hand or right hand? Right hand or left hand? The hand in which the flag is held or moved to, is important both in communication terms and aesthetically. When changing hands, do it low down before you raise the flag, and not whilst it is up in the air.

• When you are static near the halfway line, try placing the flag in the hand that is nearest to the halfway line, so that when you turn to run down the touchline towards the corner flag to monitor play, the flag will already be facing inwards towards the Referee.

• When you are monitoring the taking of a corner kick, try placing the flag in the hand that is nearest to the corner flag, so that if you need to raise it to indicate a subsequent goal kick, corner kick or offside decision, your upraised arm will not obscure your line of sight when you make eye contact with the Referee.

• When you are about to indicate the direction of a throw-in, move the flag low down as soon as you can, into the hand that you are about to raise to indicate the throw direction. Make eye contact with the Referee as soon as you can, and then raise the flag. This sends an important direction signal prior to raising your flag, so that the Referee is able to confirm the direction himself in unison to the flag direction. It also gives the Referee time to subtly overrule the direction before you raise the flag, should he feel that the direction is opposite to what you are about to indicate (thus minimising conflicting direction signals). 

• For the same reasons mentioned above, use the same method, to indicate the direction of any observed free kick offences that the Referee has missed. Place the flag in the hand that leads towards the direction that the free kick should be awarded, make eye contact with the Referee, then raise and agitate the flag straight up above your head to indicate a free kick offence. 

Final thought:

When Mr Assessor is looking at two Assistant Referees in the same match, (i.e. one Assistant who does every thing to perfection, and (YOU) the other Assistant who does every thing to perfection, but also incorporates style and fine tuning, which one will stand out? 

The answer is: YOU.

Regards
Julian Carosi

THE REFEREE'S SURVIVAL GUIDE

A fantastic new referee book written by Jeffrey Caminsky from the USA was featured in the 2007 April edition of The Corsham Referee newsletter, where you can get details of how to buy Jeff's book entitled 'The Referee's Survival Guide'. Can be bought from Amazon.com. The book comes highly recommend by me (Julian Carosi) and provides answers to many of your problems on the field of play. Clearly written and easy to understand. The Referee's Survival Guide explains many of the "what's, how's, who's and why's" of life on the soccer field, as well as many of the things for a referee to avoid.

Below is a monthly excerpt (with Jeff's permission) to whet your appetite for his brilliant book.

Humanizing Yourself
In our modern, impersonalised world, people are bombarded with cold statistics every day and often come to view others as faceless bodies in a crowd. Yet even a statistic as impersonal as the government's monthly unemployment report can become quite meaningful if we, or someone we know, is out of work.
On the soccer field, players develop a personal bond with members of their team, and occasionally with players on the other side. They share the joys and frustrations of their games, which are soon part of their weekly routine. Referees, on the other hand, simply come and go. Officials often tend to pass as unnoticed as the playing field, and are memorable only if the cause of some disaster. Otherwise, we are just a condition of play that nobody will remember once the game is over.
Part of the reason players and spectators feel so free to vent their frustrations at us is that we are often faceless and anonymous. It is easier for them to say something cruel or thoughtless to someone they do not know. And when things are going badly on the field, it can be more gratifying for them to lash out at the first available target than to confront the mistakes and misplays that arc causing their poor performance.
Taking a few moments to introduce yourself to the coaches or captains, or smiling and exchanging mild pleasantries with the players during the game, costs us nothing and will hardly jeopardize our integrity- as officials. It may, however, do much to make the participants come to see us as people, rather than uniforms. And it may even make them think twice about taking their disappointments out on us when they meet with setbacks on the field. Of course they may still yell at us, and many of them probably will. But at least some of them will feel guilty about it.

Punishing the First Foul
Any run of play carries endless possibilities. A wing moving downfield may cross the ball to the middle. A give-and-go pass may move the ball past the defenders. A tussle for the ball may result in a clearance or a goal, all within a few heartbeats. But as players contest for the ball, contact often escalates, and what starts as an inconsequential bump can become a minor push which turns into a wrestling match ended by a hard tackle. Everything happens so quickly and seamlessly that it can be hard to tell when the fair challenge ended, and the foul began. Missing one unfair contact may lead to others later in the run of play, as players try to recover from the initial challenge. An official who is out of position, or who lets his concentration lapse, risks missing the critical part of any play.
As a referee, it is your job to determine which charges are fair and which ones are fouls. Just as crucial will be deciding which foul started the sequence. Punishing the last foul you see, rather than the first, only rewards the fouler and teaches the players that it is better to get their foul in early, because if they can provoke a response by the other team, then their team will get the ball while the other team will get into trouble.
An inexperienced referee may see Red shove Blue out of the way to run toward the ball, and award Blue a direct kick to punish the push. A more experienced referee, however, might see the act of impeding that preceded the push, and award an indirect kick going the other way. Being able to recognize and identify fouls is essential to any referee. Identifying the first foul in a sequence of play is one of the things that distinguishes the veteran referee from the beginner.

SOCCERPEDIA

(A monthly extract from the brilliant book 'Soccerpedia' by my friend Andrew Ward. Arranged in A to Z format, this entertaining and authoritative book offers the chance to get to know the Laws of the Game and its history in detail.  Publisher Robson . Publication Date 28 September 2006: ISBN 1861059833 
Size (h x w) 234x156mm Pages 368  Normal price £10.99 (approx. $20.35) Can be bought from Amazon.com

PERSISTENT INFRINGEMENT

Persistent infringement of any of the Laws of the Game was classified as ungentlemanly conduct (1907) and then defined as a cautionable offence in
its own right (1924). If football matches average 35.5 fouls, what would you expect each player to contribute to that total? If one player is responsible for
three or four of these fouls in quick succession then that player is persistently infringing the laws of the game. A referee often demonstrates this to the
crowd by pointing to where those fouls had taken place. Two fouls in quick succession may be enough for a caution. Four fouls over the whole ninety minutes may not be. Evans and Bellion, in 'The Art of Refereeing', suggest a benchmark of four fouls in one half or six in the match. A study of USA's Major League Soccer showed that only 4 per cent of cautions in 2001 were for persistent infringement.

Robbie Savage (Blackburn) was cautioned when he committed three fouls in the first seventeen minutes of a match against Bolton (January 2005). In a women's international against Denmark, Ostberg (Sweden) was cautioned in the 31st minute (June 2005). It was only the fourth foul of the match but three of these had been by Ostberg.

Persistent infringement can also mean persistent fouls against the same opponent. A player may be cautioned for a first foul if it is one of several against the same opponent. When Arsenal played at Manchester United, Reyes (Arsenal) was fouled several times in the first half, and Gary Seville and Phil Neville (both Manchester United) were cautioned for their part (October 2004).

ROMA RIOT OPENS OLD WOUNDS FOR FRISK  (8 April 07)

Anders Frisk, the Swedish referee hounded out of football by death threats after the false accusations of Jose Mourinho, was safely tucked up in the stands as the Italian police began breaking Manchester United supporters' heads at Rome's Olympic Stadium on Wednesday night 4 April 2007. But the scenes brought back ugly memories for Frisk, who was led from the stadium with a bleeding head after being hit by a coin during AS Roma's Champions League tie against Dynamo Kiev in September 2004.

Frisk, 44, says: "I thought that Roma had cleaned up their act since then but this proves that they have learned nothing. I was sitting very close to where it all happened and the police totally over-reacted to the trouble. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was as shocked as when I was hit by that coin, something I had never imagined happening to me on the field, which I used to call my green living room. I was shaken up by the sight of the blood and so were my two assistants but you have to take strong action. There was a suggestion that the fourth official should take over from me for the rest of the match but my colleagues and I had to be firm and resist that. We felt that if such a thing could happen to me, the authorities could not guarantee our safety and therefore I abandoned the match."

Kiev were later awarded a 3-0 victory and the following season Frisk retired after receiving death threats prompted by Mourinho wrongly accusing him of entertaining Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard in his dressing room at half-time during a Champions League clash at the Nou Camp in 2005.

Frisk was in Italy to help launch a Ford of Europe-sponsored website called feelfootball.com along with Inter Milan's Patrick Vieira, Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o and former Germany striker and manager Rudi Voller. The aim is to create a dialogue between fans and players, even allowing them to chat online. Frisk says: "What happened against United was a perfect example of the sort of things we need to discuss. We need to hear from fans about why this happened and what needs to be done to prevent it happening again.

"But we need the whole football family to come together and with incidents like this, we need the media not just to report but to take sides, to be proactive." At least two journalists were assaulted before the game at the Olympic Stadium, which is about as involved as you can get. One of the biggest problems leading to crowd trouble, according to Frisk, is diving, risking another character assassination from Mourinho by naming Arjen Robben as a prime example. Frisk says: "Robben has been booked for diving so often that I don't think any referee will give him a penalty again, even if he really deserves one. I love to see players booked for diving. But what I would like to see even more is for the football authorities to set up a committee to look at cases of simulation after matches and if they are upheld, to ban players for a game. That would send out a message to players and their clubs that cheating and simulation are not acceptable. I believe it is perhaps the hottest topic in the game.

"I have seen many nice, quiet matches, with a good atmosphere and good relations suddenly turn ugly on and off the pitch because a player decided to deceive the referee in the penalty area. Small things can set off a big fire."

Like most referees and ex-referees, Frisk is ambivalent about proposals to use new technology, welcoming anything that might help the man in the middle make the right decisions but fearing that it might erode his authority and not always prove fair to everyone. He says: "I will give you an example. Let's say Chelsea play Arsenal and in the first minute, Didier Drogba heads a ball against the bar and it bounces over the line and out. So the referee goes off to watch a replay and awards the goal.

"Fantastic, technology of the goal-line, which is being talked about at the moment. But then what if, in the last minute, Thierry Henry heads towards goal and a Chelsea player stops it with his hand, unseen by any of the officials. In that situation, the referee would not be able to watch a re-run, which to me is illogical. So there are some grey areas." When Mourinho is involved, there tend to be more grey areas than during a Manchester thunderstorm, which led to Frisk ending a distinguished 18-year career as a referee after the Barcelona-Chelsea game at the Nou Camp in February 2005. After receiving death threats for weeks following Mourinho's ridiculous claims, he decided to quit, citing fears for his family's safety.

So what did really happen? Frisk says: "It was a devastating handshake in the Camp Nou stadium. When I came off at half-time, Rijkaard shook my hand and welcomed me to Barcelona because he had not seen me before the match. That was because I did my pre-match warm-up inside, rather than on the pitch. But when I came out, I did shake hands with Mourinho on the pitch. When he made all those accusations afterwards, he failed to mention that."

FAMOA DEVELOPMENT EVENT SUNDAY  5 AUGUST WILTSHIRE ENGLAND

I (Julian Carosi) will be organising this year's FAMOA Development day in my County of Wiltshire. We have a fantastic programme of events, with guest speaker Keith Hackett visiting us in the afternoon. In the morning, we have organised outdoor training sessions. Lunch is provided, followed by an indoor activities involving a fun session, our Key Note speaker Keith Hackett and lots more.  Jeffrey Caminsky from the USA has sent over eight copies of his fantastic new referee book 'The Referee's Survival Guide'. These will be issued as prises for an informal competition held during lunch time. Referees in Wiltshire, will be invited shortly via their annual registration letter. The event will be held at Melksham House Melksham, Wiltshire, and on the adjacent Melksham Town football ground. If any referees outside of Wiltshire would like to attend, please get in contact with me. We would be very pleased to see you. 

The draft program/timetable is as follows:

Venue: Melksham House, Wiltshire, England. The main hall is booked from 9:30 to 16:30.
The Melksham Town football pitch will also be marked out for our use on the morning.

Dress code: Casual tracksuits, trainers and shorts preferred. No studded boots. Bring a flag.
Note: Some minor physical activity will occur in the outdoors interactive sessions in the morning, but those who are not able or do not wish to participate physically, are most welcome to observe only. Everyone is welcome.

Timetable: 

0930 for 1000 Start (Tea / Coffee / Biscuits/ Registration (Registration by Graham Barnes).
Herbie Magri-Overend and Melksham Society members to act as chaperones for the day. 
1000-1015: Welcome, Introduction, and explain the day's timetable etc. (Julian Carosi & Kevin Barnes)
1015-12-15: Congregate on adjacent Melksham Town ground; split audience onto 3 groups;
Each group will circulate and attend each of the three interactive sessions in turn.
Session 1. (30 min): Flagging and lining techniques: (Steve Swallow aided by Ray Olivier).
Session 2. (30 min): Dealing with injuries & dealing with a melee. (Roger Vaughan / Graham Barnes)
Session 3. (30 min): Dealing with ceremonial free kicks & penalty kicks. (Kevin Barnes aided by Julian Carosi). 10-minute 'turn around' between each session, to allow groups to move to the next session.
1215-1230: De-brief in the Melksham Town stand, at the end of the morning's sessions. (Julian Carosi & Kevin Barnes) And a few words by Wilts Referees' Secretary Ian Whitehouse. Photo shoot - press & Radio Wilts??
1230-1330: Free buffet lunch, plus multi-choice fun Law Quiz competition that can be completed over lunch. Eight prize copies of the new book, 'The Referee's Survival Guide'; by Jeffrey Caminsky USA). 
Referees' Association stall organised by Mike Greenyer. Kit and accessories on sale) 
1330-1430: Interactive fun indoor session: 'The Perfect Referee' (Ray Olivier):
1430-1445: Law Changes (Dave Clarke):
1445-1545: Key Note Speaker Keith Hackett. 
1545-1600: Consolidation, thanks and 'Any Questions' session. 
1600: End
Contact details: Julian Carosi; Home 01249-714552 Mobile 07906-630053 julian@carosi.freeserve.co.uk

82 YEAR OLD REFEREE 

An 82-year-old retired referee stepped in to officiate a soccer match when an injury sidelined the original referee. Antony Warren, from Llanbedr in Gwynedd, hung up his whistle after 50 years at the age of 80. Mr Warren had gone with his wife to watch a Gwynedd League clash between Barmouth and Real Llandudno when his skills were unexpectedly called upon. He was only expecting to take charge of the first half but ended up refereeing the full 90 minutes.  Saturday's match was in danger of being cancelled when the scheduled referee pulled out with an injury at the last minute. But Mr Warren was asked to be substitute match official and after a quick jog around the pitch, the pensioner borrowed a whistle and kit and ran out to take charge. Both teams acted like perfect gentlemen, and they just got on with it 

He said: "Ever since I stopped refereeing, my wife and I have gone to a match every week as spectators. A lot of the club officials still know me, so they approached me and asked if I would stand in because the referee had pulled out. I thought about it for a few minutes, and I had a little jog around the pitch to check that I was up to it, and then I agreed. I thought I might do 45 minutes but ended up doing the full 90. It was quite a hot day but I felt OK at the end, and the next day I was able to do a bit of gardening in the greenhouse." 

Mr Warren, who had a reputation for not tolerating foul language on the pitch, added: "Both teams acted like perfect gentlemen, and they just got on with it. They were very polite and respectful." 

REFEREE NEWS FROM FIFA

BRAZIL

A Brazilian defender was booked for kissing the referee during a match at the weekend. 
Television pictures on Monday showed Cabofriense defender Cleberson giving referee Ubiraci Damasio a peck on the cheek after having a foul awarded against him during a 3-1 defeat by Botafogo at the Maracana. The two were initially involved in a friendly exchange but the referee's mood quickly changed as he pulled out a yellow card and could be seen to say: "You can't kiss me."

"I didn't know it was against the rules," said Cleberson afterwards.

ITALY

Christian Vieri is planning to sue his former club Inter Milan over allegations that they employed a firm of private investigators to spy into his personal life, his lawyer said on Friday. 
Danilo Buongiorno said the 33-year-old striker was seeking nine million euros from the Serie A club, as compensation for "moral, existential, image, and patrimonial damages".

He was seeking a further 12 million euros from Telecom Italia, added Buongiorno, over allegations that the staff at the telecommunications company passed on information about his phone calls to the investigators. Vieri played for Inter between 1999 and 2005, scoring 103 goals in 144 games. He now plays for Atalanta, who host Inter in Serie A on Sunday.

His warm relations with his former club were poisoned last September, however, when the Italian Football Federation's office of investigation opened a probe into claims that Inter had spied on Vieri and former referee Massimo De Santis, the referee found guilty of attempting to influence the results of Serie A matches in last year's match-fixing scandal. The initial hearing is due to take place on 2 May.

ITALY 

Giancarlo Abete was elected as the new president of the Italian football federation (FIGC) after a general assembly of the clubs in Italy's top two divisions on Monday. The 56-year-old, the only candiate for the presidency and a former deputy vice-president of the FIGC, takes over from interim chief Luca Pancalli. Pancalli, who previously worked as president of the Italian Paralympic Committee, was appointed extraordinary commisioner of the FIGC in September 2006.

He was brought in after the resignation of Guido Rossi. Rossi was hired to restore order after the Italian match-fixing scandal, which involved Serie A clubs, referees and high-ranked FIGC officials. Pancalli made it clear from the very start that he did not want the position as FIGC president on a permanent basis.

SPAIN

The referee in charge of Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat by Racing Santander on Saturday has lodged a complaint with his local court over receiving threatening phone calls. Javier Turienzo enraged Real fans when he awarded Santander two penalties in the last 20 minutes of the match and sent off two Real Madrid players, Ivan Helguera and Alvaro Mejia, in the 87th and 90th minutes respectively.

The national committee of referees said that Turienzo had posted his complaint with his local justice department in Leon where he lives. The defeat and Barcelona's victory on Sunday leaves Real five points adrift of their bitter rivals in the title race.

ENGLAND CUP FINAL REFEREE 

The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON. The Final. Chelsea v Manchester United. 3pm, Saturday 19 May 2007. The new Wembley Stadium

The FA have announced that Steve Bennett has been appointed as the match referee for the 2007 FA Cup Final. Bennett will take charge of the game between Manchester United and Chelsea at the new Wembley Stadium on Saturday 19 May. The Kent official has been a referee since 1984 and has previously officiated at The FA Cup Final as linesman (1995) and fourth official (2001).

Bennett progressed through the refereeing ranks via the Winstonlead Kent League, Isthmian League and GM Vauxhall Conference becoming a Football League linesman in 1992 and referee in 1995. He was appointed as a Premier League referee in 1999 and joined the FIFA list in 2001.Other highlights of his career have included the 2003 FA Community Shield, 2003 Football League Play-Off Final and 2005 Carling Cup Final. His career has also featured refereeing the 2002 Intertoto Cup Final as well as the 2006 international between Brazil and Argentina. In addition, he acted as fourth official at the 2005 UEFA Cup Final. 

Assistant Referees for this season's Final will be Peter Kirkup (Northamptonshire) and Dave Bryan (Lincolnshire). The fourth official will be Howard Webb (Sheffield & Hallamshire).

YOU MUST BE JOKING REF?

1. Following a game where he had to send off two players from each side, the Referee decides to make a quick getaway after the game, and speeds off in his car. In his haste, he overturns his car on the first bend, and is thrown out through his windscreen. A few moments later, one of the players arrives in his car and goes to the aid of the Referee who looks in a bad way. The player whips out his mobile phone and calls the emergency services. 

He gasps to the operator: "The Referee is dead! What can I do?"

The operator, in a calm and soothing voice says: "Just take it easy, I can help. First, let’s make sure the Referee is dead."

There’s a short silence, followed by a kind of choking, throttling sound…..and finally a loud gurgled scream.

The player’s voice comes back on the line.

He says: "OK, so now what do I do?"

2. In the middle of the game, the Referee suddenly blows his whistle to stop the game when he sees a long funeral procession on the road that runs alongside the field of play. He closes his eyes and bows his head in prayer.

"Wow", said a nearby player. "That is the most thoughtful and touching thing I’ve ever seen. You truly are a kind man Ref. I’ll never think bad of a Referee again."

The Referee replies. "Yeah, we were married nearly 25 years".

3. FIFA finally realised that ballpoint pens are not much good when the weather turns to rain, so they decided to spend $500,000 on developing a special ink that would work in the rain.

The rest of us use a pencil!

4. A Referee rushes to his doctor, looking very worried and says "Doctor take a look at me. When I woke up this morning after a harrowing game yesterday, I looked in my mirror and saw my hair all wiry and frazzled, with a large bald patch on the top. My skin was all wrinkled and pasty, my eyes bloodshot and I had this corpse-like look on my face. What’s wrong with me?"

The doctor looks the Referee over and says:

"Well, there’s nothing wrong with you, and contrary to popular belief, there is nothing wrong with your eyesight!"

THIS MONTH'S QUESTION and ANSWER TOPICS:

This month, we look at when a red card can be issued; offside including an injured defender; violent conduct prior to the kick-off; throwing the ball onto the back of a colleague (legal or not?); and finally, does a Referee have to issue a caution every time that he stops play to deal with dissent?

RED CARD OR NOT?

Question: After the final whistle, the Referee notices signal from his Assistant Referee. The Assistant Referee informs the Referee, that before the final whistle, the goalkeeper punched an opponent inside his own penalty area. What action should the Referee take?

Answer: 
Law 5 states:
"The referee may only change a decision on realising that it is incorrect or, at his discretion, on the advice of an assistant referee, provided that he has not restarted play or terminated the match."

Law 12 states: 
"The referee has the authority to take disciplinary sanctions, as from the moment he enters the field of play until he leaves the field of play after the final whistle.

Therefore, the game cannot be restarted.

If the Referee is still on the field of play after the game has ended, he should obtain the name of the goalkeeper and issue a red card, and send a report to the appropriate authority.

If the Referee has left the field of play after the game had ended, then he should obtain the name of the goalkeeper, and inform him that a misconduct report will be sent in to the appropriate authority (in this case, no red card should be shown).

INJURED DEFENDER: OFFSIDE OR NOT?

Question: If the 2nd last defender is injured inside his own penalty area, is he counted as being an active player when it comes to making offside decision? 

Answer: Yes, an injured player is counted as being an active player when deciding offside.

If injured players were allowed to be discounted during offside decision-making, it would not be too long before the back-four start dropping like stones to simulate injuries when their opponents get anywhere near goal!

STRIKE BEFORE KICK OFF.

Question: At the start of the match you order kick off to be re-taken due to the encroachment of a player into the oppositions half. While you (the refere) are preparing for the kick off to be re-taken a red player punches a blue player. The red player is dismissed for violent conduct and the restart is a re-taken kick off.

Can the red team replace the dismissed player with one of their named subs?

OR 

Has the game commenced with the original kick off and therefore the red team must play with 10 men?

Answer: Law 8 - The Start and Restart of Play, states that a kick-off is a way of starting the match, and the ball is in play when it is kicked and moves forward.

In other words, the game does not begin when the Referee blows his whistle, but when the ball is kicked forward. 

Law 3 states: A player who has been sent off before the kick-off may be replaced only by one of the named substitutes.

Therefore, the answer to your question is yes, the red team can replace the dismissed player with one of their named substitutes.

Had the incident occurred after the ball had been kicked forward, (i.e. the game had commenced), then the red team would not be allowed to replace their player who was sent-off. 

THROW ONTO THE BACK OF A COLLEAGUE

Question: Are players who take throw-ins allowed to throw the ball onto the back of an unsuspecting colleague and then regain possession of the ball themselves? Law 15 states that the player taking a throw-in is not allowed to touch the ball again, until it has been touched by another player - and in this case the ball had touched another player.

Answer: This is certainly not the way that throw-ins are supposed to be taken in accordance with the 'Spirit of the Law'. If the Referee thinks that this is an 'unsporting behaviour' offence rather than an accident (and it more than likely is unsporting behaviour), then an indirect free kick should be awarded at the place where the offence occurred, (i.e. where the ball touched the back of the player after it had come into play from the throw-in. The Referee can also consider the issue of a caution; but a strong word with the perpetrator is the best way to deal with this in the first instance.

It would be nonsense to start allowing such trickery that circumvents the criteria laid down in the Laws to creep into the game; despite the hours of time people have spent trying to justify it as a legal act (when it plainly is not, or never has been part of the game).

CARD OR NO CARD?

Question: I stop the game to caution the Red number 5 because, despite my previous warnings to him, he continues his one man quest to show me dissent at every chance he gets. Do I restart the game:

a. Where the ball as last in play? 
b. where the offence was committed?

Also, I stop the game and an award an indirect free kick to the opposition for the same offence - does a caution have to follow ? 

Answer: This is covered in Law 12. 

An indirect free kick is awarded for any other offence not previously mentioned in Law 12. The indirect free kick is taken from the place where the offence occurred. 

The Laws require a Referee to issue a caution if he stops play for dissent, but it is not unknown for Referees to issue a strong warning instead. This is done more so in the lower levels as a successful form of disciplining players to stop general moaning, but be careful to only stop play in a neutral area (i.e. not in the penalty area!) and use it sparingly. 

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, Referee, FA Licensed 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. The Editor is not obliged to publicise unsolicited manuscripts or photos.

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