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Set-Pieces - Decision-making    By Julian Carosi.
(A series of articles on how to officiate in a proactive way by improving how you deal with specific incidents and how to become a better Referee).       

"Every Referee should have good eyes and bad ears!"
(Dutch FIFA Referee Jan Wegereef)

The aim of this article is to help Referees become more confident with their decision-making - and to minimise those embarrassing, wavering, and prolonged decision-making moments, where players are very quick to criticise any slightest indecision by the Referee. Players appreciate decisive strong decision-making, even when they know that some of the Referee's decisions may have been wrong. Stand upright with shoulders upright when making difficult decisions - this will impart an authoritative confidence that will help you gain credibility in the players' eyes. A weak indecisive Referee is no good to anyone. This article offers an insight into the process of decision-making by Referees on the field of play. It also explores psychological preparatory work that the Referee can employ to help decision-making, particularly in those situations where it is impossible for the Referee to make a correct decision, or where a decision is equally applicable to both teams at the same time!

 Dopey is the BOSS Referee Cartoon by Julian Carosi

Note: The advice here also applies to Assistant Referees.

Referee decision-making is a fascinating and complex area. Referees will approach, and deal with decision-making in their own individual ways, and will often rely on a combination of intuition, experience and their knowledge of the Laws. Some Referees are capable of making instant decisions, whilst others do not like making important decisions without having first quickly weighed up in their minds all of the relevant information. 

Experienced Referees rely greatly on their 'gut instinct', and their own automatic conscious or unconscious reactions when making judgements (more about this at the end of the article). Decisions made using instinct are very often proved to be correct. And if you can trust in your instinct, it will serve you very well as a Referee, as your decisions will more than likely be correct. 

Referees will make hundreds (and probably thousands) of decisions during every game. Each decision must be calculated in the very smallest fraction of time. The human mind is capable of making this quantity of decisions automatically without having to think about the rational behind each conclusion. 

Making correct decisions are complicated by a number of factors.

When a Refereeing judgement is based on opinion, the ability to successfully execute a decision with conviction can be measured by the level of unquestioning acceptance by the players. On many occasions, it matters not so much on whether the decision is right or wrong, but whether the Referee can sell the decision to the players. If you can do this within the blink of an eyelid - and do it in such an authoritative and confident way that it must seem correct at that time (even though others may think differently) - then your credibility as a capable Referee will grow. Players respect strong and confident decision-making. They also know that a Referee will make one or two mistakes in nearly every game.

An astute Referee understands that there will be many decision-making situations that do not neatly fit the answers provided by the Laws. The ability to interpret the Law is therefore an important asset in the Referee's armoury. It is not only a deep understanding of the 17 Laws of Associated Football that makes a good Referee; it is also the decision-making ability to use the Laws as the main framework, in conjunction with the further ingredients of: common sense, self-assessment, managing the temperature off the game, self-analysis, the 'Spirit of the Game 'and' Fair Play etc. 

A tired Referee will make tired decisions - a referee who is fit, will make decisions fit!

To enable Referees to maintain a higher percentage of correct decisions, a thorough knowledge of the Laws is essential. It is an injustice to players, if a Referee constantly makes wrong decisions based on an ignorance of the Laws. Being physically and mentally fit also helps towards making correct decisions. Becoming tired too easily will impair the ability to judge incidents correctly. Thus, tired Referees will become more prone to errors with their decision-making. An overtired Referee, or one suffering from a drunken hangover, cannot officiate properly. Decisions on the filed of play should be made quickly, confidently and calmly. 

There are many questions that a Referee will need answers for in their career. But it is no good looking to FIFA as a single repository for 'official' answers that cover every single possibility. This is the nub of being a Referee - the ability to make decisions instinctively within the simple framework of the Laws. 

In cases where there is no 'black-and white' answer to a situation, an individual Referee will need to consider the opinions of others before he can eventually feel comfortable with his own final solutions. Interpretation is an individual characteristic that sometimes enables two opposing answers to be correct. The trick is to assess all of the information and advice during an incident - and then make your own choice based on the relevant circumstances at the time. 

The ability of a Referee to interpret the Laws is just as important as his ability to correctly apply them as they are written. Although this may seem to be a contradiction, it is an essential requirement for a Referee officiating in a sport that; (a) contains a lot of physical contact, and (b) relies just as much on chance as it does on ability.

It is impossible for a Referee to believe that someday he will have learnt and seen everything that there is to now about the game and its Laws; and then to apply it perfectly in every game. This ideal Nirvana is unachievable. But with perseverance and experience, the Spirit of how the game is supposed to be played, will provide most of the unavailable answers for a Referee. Experience will also help a Referee to decide how he will react to given situations that have caused him trouble in the past.

Hopefully, this article will help you to:

a) make more consistent decisions

(b) lessen the chances of becoming anxious because you are not quite sure which team to give a decision 

(c) help you to NOT react on occasions when a decision is NOT required. 

There are three main types of decision that a Referee will need to take during a game.

1. Statutory decisions (The Laws of the Game): These are objective decisions - i.e. they are either right or they are wrong! 

2. Interpretational decisions (How the Referee interprets the Laws): A subjective decision, i.e. reading between the lines!

3. Impossible decisions: The ability to quickly and confidently make a 'best guess' or 'default' or 'benefit-of-the-doubt' or an 'equal' decision (such as a drop ball).


1. Statutory decisions - are judgements based on the Laws of the Game - i.e. decisions that the Referee must make in accordance with the written Laws of Association Football (commonly known as the LOAF). 

Some statutory decision examples are shown below:

(i) A player who strikes another player must be sent-off. 

(ii) A throw-in is the proper restart when the ball has travelled wholly over the touchline.

(iii) If the Referee has awarded a goal, he cannot disallow that goal if play has been restarted.

(iv) A goal cannot be scored direct from an indirect free kick.

(v) A player cannot be offside if he receives the ball direct from a goal kick.

Making statutory decisions depends greatly on a Referee's knowledge of the Laws and his ability to keep abreast with Law-change developments during his career. Statutory decisions are the easiest to make - because the Referee knows (or should know) beforehand, exactly which Law punishment or conclusion or decision to apply. Referees should endeavour to refresh their memory of the Laws on a regular basis. It is very much like passing and studying for your road vehicle driving test - when you first pass this test, the rules and situations concerning driving are easily remembered, but as time wears on, basic facts that once seemed perfectly clear or situations that were reacted to automatically, suddenly become muddied in the memory, and as a consequence, a Referee's decision-making on the field of play can suffer - usually at crucial moments.

Refereeing is a life-long apprenticeship including constant learning, interpretation and application.

Most of the Laws are easily remembered, and a Referee will apply them automatically - but there are numerous other parts of the Laws that a Referee will have trouble remembering when officiating at the beginning of his career. Creating an aide-memoir can help a Referee to remember particular Law problems that he has encountered in previous games. By simply listing down those vague Law areas that are troubling a Referee, onto a piece of paper, and reading them before each game, he can build up his conscious knowledge of the Laws - which in time, can be eliminated from the aide-memoir, and replaced by other concerns.

An example of a common Statutory Law error made by new Referees, is the failure to understand that when a free kick is taken inside the penalty area by the defending team, the ball has to travel outside of the penalty area before it comes into play, and before another player can touch it.

In his mind, the new Referee may have already know the correct application of Law required in the above scenario, but just needed a few moments to think about it. But Referees do not get "a few moments to think about it," they are expected to make an instant decision. By recognising weaknesses in Law understanding, and by constantly strengthening that knowledge, a Referee will enhance his performances. Learning the Laws inside-out means that a Referee will actually need to sit down and read them from time to time. It's such an easy thing to do. When was the last time that YOU sat down and read through the small Law book? Do you have the current Law book, or are you still using the version that you had when you took your exam!

Statutory decisions are the easiest ones to become proficient at. If you can demonstrate to players that you are capable of constantly making correct Statutory Law decisions, then they will more readily accept the interpretation and impossible decision-making moments discussed in more detail below.

This is the first stage of enhancing your decision-making. READ THE LAW BOOK FROM TIME TO TIME so that your statutory decision-making becomes automatic. 

2. Interpretation decisions: (How the Referee interprets the Laws): A subjective decision, i.e. reading between the lines!

The Laws of Associated Football allow Referees a great deal of flexibility in the way that they can interpret and apply the Laws subjectively. Each Referee will have his own style, his own limits, and his own tolerance levels etc. The Laws are written in such a way, that the personality of each Referee is allowed to play a significant part in enhancing every game; in other words, the Laws allow the Referee to retain his human characteristics. This flexibility adds more fervour to the game's greatest asset - chance. The uncertainty, unpredictability, mistakes, levels of experience, level of commitment and luck, all serve to make football the most exiting game in the world. 

Learning the Laws by heart, and passing the initial Referees' exam is the easy bit. The hardest part is being able to apply the Laws, and more importantly, being able to interpret them in such a way that the players get the maximum enjoyment out of their game. The key to this, is the ability of a Referee not to be a dictator, but to recognise and react to the ambience of each game, and to be able to adjust his levels of control throughout the 90 minutes. Decision-making is key to this requirement - along with ability to bend and flex the rules in such a way that it promotes the Spirit of the Laws by using what is generally known as Law 18 - Common Sense. 

Below are a few examples of where good interpretation of the Laws and quick confident decision-making are required for a Referee to retain his credibility as an official: 

(i) Should a player who fouls another player always be cautioned?. 

(ii) Is the attacking player standing in an offside position, actively involved with play or not?

(iii) Was the tackle a completely accidental tangling of the players' legs, or was it intentional?

(iv) Was the handball deliberate?

(v) Can a Referee drop the ball to the goalkeeper without any other players being involved?

(vi) Should the player be cautioned or will a stern public warning suffice? 

The ability to interpret the Laws successfully is not something that can be easily taught in a classroom environment, or via articles such as this; rather, it comes with experience and learning and by watching how other Referees successfully deal with incidents. Common sense and Law interpretation used fairly and correctly, separates the good Referees from the bad ones.

Below are some ideas on how a Referee can enhance his Law interpretational skills:

(a) officiate in as many games as possible, and learn by experience 

(b) interact with Referee colleagues. e.g. by joining and participating in Referee Societies, and reading Refereeing material

(c) learn by watching as many games of football as possible

(d) self-assess every game to analyse how to improve.

A Referee who does none of the above, will undoubtedly take much longer to build up his interpretation and interpersonal man-management skills. His decision-making capability will also suffer. A Referee who does all the above, will swiftly improve his skills, and will quickly become acceptable within the footballing community through his ability to make the right decisions at the right times.

This brings us on to the third part of capable decision-making……………………………..

3. Impossible decisions: The ability to quickly and confidently make a 'best guess' or 'default' or 'benefit-of-the-doubt' or an 'equal' decision (such as a drop ball). 

There will be many occasions in each game, when it will be impossible for the Referee to make a correct decision. 

Example 1: An unsighted Referee is 60 yards away, and the ball quickly ricochets out from a crowd of players and travels out for a throw-in. Should the Referee award the throw-in to the attacking team or to the defending team? 

Example 2: Two opponents are competing for possession of the ball very near to the goal line. The ball simultaneously hits the shins of both players, and travels completely over the goal line. Both teams are equally entitled to the decision. But what should the Referee award - a goal kick or a corner kick?

Example 3: The Referee is on the other side of the field of play and the ball is very near to the opposite touchline. There is a shout for, "Throw-in Ref?" The grass is long, the Referee who is 70 yards away cannot see the poor quality touchline, and there are no Assistant Referees to help. What should the Referee do, allow play to continue, or award a throw-in to one of the teams?

Example 4: Whilst making an equal robust challenge for the ball, two opponents injure themselves and fall painfully to the floor. The Referee stops play to allow the injuries to be assessed. How should the Referee restart the game?
Note: When a Referee believes that either team could be awarded a restart (such as the one mentioned in this example), a 'dropped ball' restart with both teams involved, is an accepted method - so long as the dropped ball is not too near one of the goals or involves a goalkeeper in his own penalty area - in these cases, the Referee should either drop the ball to the goalkeeper (or to a single player) alone, or award a free kick one way or another. Referees usually give unsure free kick decisions to the defending team in situations of this nature; the reason for doing this, is that it has less potential for further trouble to develop. For example, if a Referee were to award the free kick to the attacking team (instead of the defending team), and the attacking team score an immediate goal, then World War 3 would be the outcome! As a general rule, if in any doubt, always award decisions in favour of the defending team. One exception to this is when making offside decisions - the attacking team should be given the benefit of any doubt. This is to encourage more goals being scored - hence more entertainment. 

Example 5: The ball ricochets out of a crowd of players and travels on to an offside player who scores a goal. The Referee is unsure which player played/touched the ball to the offside attacker. What should the Referee do? Assume that the ball was last played  to the offside attacker by a defender or by a colleague? Offside or not offside? Goal or no goal?

As you will see below, although the types of decisions mentioned in the above examples seem to be the most difficult ones to make, in essence (and with a little preparation), they are conversely the easiest decisions to make; in fact they are very easy to make!

When a Refereeing decision is required during a game - making a quick confident decision is much better than making an unsure delayed decision (or making no decision at all). An astute Referee will add great emphasis when communicating a decision, if there is a doubt of its correctness. This way, he sells the decision, even though occasionally it may actually be wrong! If a Referee shows any weakness or uncertainty when making decisions, the players, the crowd and the team officials will certainly make the most of it!

Additional factors that will help the Referee to sell a decision, are his ability to (a) keep up with play by making sure he is always as fit as possible and (b), by attaining good monitoring viewpoints at all times during crucial moments.
Note: In the 1986 World Cup, detailed analysis showed that errors were more likely to be made when Referees were too close to the incident. When the officials got it right, they were, on average, 17 metres away from the action. The average distance in the case of errors was 12 metres. Research shows the optimum distance for making correct decisions is about 20 metres.

The crux of impossible decision-making is to consider the following key phrases:

Be ready.

Anticipate problems.

Get as near as you can.

Be firm:

Be quick.

Be positive.

Do not waver or hesitate.

Stand erect.

The more difficult the decision - the more you will need to sell it.

Look players in the eye confidently.

Provide clear and quickly delivered signals.

Do not be influenced by others once you have decided what to do.

Make honest decisions. If you realise later on in the game that you have made a mistake, admit it if asked.
Note: In situations where the Referee has made a genuine mistake, he can change his decision so long as play has not restarted. Players are usually receptive to an honest mistake being rectified - the Referee just needs to admit that he was wrong in the first place.

Have defaults in your mind (more about this below).

Your decision counts and nobody else's. So be ready to deal with the inevitable ensuing dissent.

Look at the reaction and the body-language of the players, i.e. don't dismiss passionate shouts by a team for a decision in their favour, as these are very often correct. 

Don't worry too much, if everybody else thinks you are wrong - for now, you're right! 

And finally - maintain 100% concentration at all times.

Embedding default decision-making scenarios in your mind:

It is the Referee's responsibility to make all of the decisions in a game - the easy decisions, the hard decisions and especially the impossible decisions. There will be many times during each game, where it is not possible to make a correct decision. Therefore, to aid him with this duty, an astute Referee agrees with himself before each game, how to deal with impossible decision-making. He does this by embedding standard default decision-making outcomes in his mind (for those situations where he is unsure which team should benefit). 
In situations of this type, the Referee can either give the decision to the attacking team or he can give it to the defending team (or he can sometimes award a dropped ball). 

Some standard examples of these types of decisions are shown below. If you can adopt these, it will make your impossible decision-making very easy and automatic. The trick is to make life as easy as possible for yourself by lessening any potential trouble ensuing because of your decision.

If you need to make a decision but are not sure which way to go:

Although the ideas above are not mandatory, they are the historical standards generally used by Referees. But if you wish to take a completely (not-recommended) opposite view, for example - award default throw-ins to the attacking team instead of the defending team, then the important thing to remember is to be consistent with your default decision-making. 

A Referee, who mentally prepares himself with default ideas (like those mentioned above), will be able to make impossible decisions automatically, without consciously thinking about them. Impossible decision type incidents occur in a split second. Referees are expected to make an instant judgement.

When you make an impossible type decision, you must sell it to the players by using very strong body-language signals, vocal and whistle communication. And the nearer you are to the incident, the easier it will be to sell your decision. It's no good blasting your whistle from 50 metres away when making a difficult decision.

Intuition:

The most accurate single decision-making attribute that a Referee has is the ability to trust in his own intuition. This is the capacity to trust your intelligent, instinctive knowledge (or insight) and then to act on it. When a Refereeing decision is made, it is not made based only on what can be seen. After all, Referees' eyesight has always been questionable!" A Referee who trusts and acts on his gut feeling (without dwelling on any doubts), is using a very powerful and efficiently accurate subconscious human mechanism. It is a facet of a human being's ability to survive that allows instinctive decisions to be instantly made with such speed and accuracy. The subconscious mind is capable of computing all of the decision-making evidence required in a matter of milliseconds. 

When there is no time to make a reasoned judgement, an intuitively made decision will always be automatically communicated to the players with 100% conviction. Even though inside your mind, you may fleetingly think that you may have only got 40% of the evidence required to make an accurate decision, your intuition will provide the remaining 60% to enable the correct decision to be made. It is impossible for a Referee to make every decision 100% correct, or to have 100% of the evidence in front of him before he makes a decision. 

If you can trust in your own intuition - then the intuition will make the decision for you. If you doubt your intuition (even by a modest amount), then you decisions will be doubtful. 

Believe in your intuition, and accept it every time.

Do not dismiss the reaction of the players:

Look at the reaction and the body-language of the players and don't dismiss passionate shouts by a team for a decision in their favour, as these are very often correct. Players faces, the way they speak and react are all naturally expressive human reactions that you can utilise in your decision-making. Trust in them.

For example, during difficult throw-in decision moments, the correct team will very often automatically go to collect the ball, and the other team will move to take up their position without you making any decision.  The same happens during corner kick/goal kick decisions and in certain circumstances, offside.  When a player screams out loud after he has been tackled, this is a very good sign that the tackler has committed a foul and possible a caution for a reckless challenge, or even a red card if justified. In other words, do not dismiss the reaction of the players, rather, listen, look, wait and then use it as another piece of evidence before making decisions.  

Summary: If a Referee can apply the Statutory Laws correctly AND Interpret them in his decision-making capabilities, AND then has the ability to make Impossible decisions seem easy - he is well on the way to gaining a high standard of performance. If you can get the first one right, then players will more readily accept the second one. If you can get all three correct, then you will have mastered the decision-making requirements expected of a top Referee. 


Happy reffing.

Regards, Julian Carosi.