1. Law 5 – The Referee

2. Elements of Being a Good Referee
Law 5
This is law 5, The Referee
Elements of Being a Good Referee

3. Topics Duties of the Referee – quickly review
Powers of the Referee – quickly review
When to penalize
Using Advantage
Critical Techniques of good officiating
Fitness, diagonal and positioning of the Referee
Pregame briefing
Required Equipment of the Referee

4. Duties of the Referee Enforce the Laws of the Game
Keep a record of the game
Keep the time for the game
Ensure no unauthorized persons enter the field of play
Restart the match after any stoppage
Decide on the fitness of the ball
Ensure player equipment meets requirements
Report on the outcome of the match
Duties – an action or task that is required by a persons occupation, that’s how the dictionary defines Duty. So here are the duties of the referee;
Enforce the Laws of the Game. We’ll talk more about that one.
Keep a record of the game.
Keep the time for the game.
Ensure no unauthorized persons enter the field of play. Obviously this one is easier to enforce than absolutely prevent.
Restart the match after any stoppage. You’ll always be using one of the eight restarts we’ve studied.
Decide on the fitness of the ball. Check as many as you think might be needed, but only let them play with the ones you’ve checked beforehand.
Ensure player equipment meets the requirements of the law.
Report the outcome of the match. So your duties don’t stop when the final whistle blows, you must file a report with the competition authorities.

5. Duties of the Referee Control the match with the AR’s
Act on the AR’s advice
Punish the more serious offense when more than one occurs at the same time
Ensure any player bleeding leaves the field of play
Controlling the match in cooperation with your AR’s and 4th. The old adage is “No man is an island” means you can’t do it alone. Just like the players, your team has to work together.
You are obligated to act on the advice of one of your AR’s regarding incidents you have not seen. How and when they communicate that info to you should be covered in your pregame.
Punish the more serious offense when a player commits more than one offense at the same time. You must instantly know how to apply the laws of the game.
Ensure any player bleeding leaves the field of play. What’s unsaid here is “as soon as you are aware or made aware of any bleeding”.

6. Powers of the Referee Give the advantage if appropriate
Stop, suspend, or terminate the game if necessary
Discipline players for cautionable or sending off offences
Stop the game for any infringement
Stop the game for serious injury
Allow play to continue on slight injury
Ensure proper behavior of coaches/officials
Reverse or change an incorrect decision (must be before play is restarted)
Along with the Duties, come the powers granted to the Referee by the Laws of the Game. With these powers comes a lot of responsibility to use them prudently and wisely.
Give advantage if the offended team will benefit from it. Your proper positioning and proximity to play must “sell” this to the players. That is to say any confidence players have in your using advantage wisely will come from not only how much authority you put into your voice, but where you are and how they perceive your use of this power. We’ll look at some video examples of this later that will make this clearer.
You have discretionary power to stop, suspend or even terminate the game. That statement means you are the final authority during THAT game, no one else has that power.
Take disciplinary action against players guilty of cautionable or sending off offences. What that doesn’t say is you should use all your referee tools and experience to try and prevent the offences from happening in the first place. That being said, sometimes things happen that you can’t control. You are obligated to administer the disciplinary action, mandated in some cases, according to the laws.
Stop the game for any infringement. You must be consistent in your applications of the laws for both sides. All players want an unfair advantage, it’s up to you to make sure neither team gets any from you.
Stop the game for serious injury. Obviously a subjective judgment by you, but for safety reasons you should always” error on the side of safety”. The younger the players, the more you should apply this mantra.
Allow play to continue on slight injury. Again, the younger the players, the more flexible you will have to be in using this power.
Ensure proper behavior of coaches and team officials. Empower your AR1 to assist you with this.
You can reverse a decision if you realize it is incorrect as long as play hasn’t been restarted. We’ll talk more about this in a few minutes.
So these are the powers of the Referee. Each one grants you tremendous responsibility to ensure the game is managed according to the laws of the game. Let’s talk some more about each.

7. Decisions of the Referee
And remember…
The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play are final.
The referee may only change a decision upon realizing that it is incorrect, provided that play has not restarted or terminated.
Your decisions. With respect to the facts connected with play, they’re final. No one can appeal them. With that statement comes a moral responsibility that should never be taken lightly.
Those fact of play include whether a goal has been scored, or NOT, and the final result of the match. You must have and exude confidence in your mannerisms, actions and decisions. But you must also be human and humble. If you have doubts, use your AR’s and 4th if one is assigned. Give the perception of being a unified team.

8. When to Penalize
One of your duties is to “Enforce” the Laws of the game. Does this mean you call everything???
Advice to Referees (PART C. SERIOUS FOUL PLAY AND VIOLENT CONDUCT and annual FIFA Circulars) state:
The Laws of the Game are intended to ensure games be played with as little interference as possible. Therefore, it is the duty of the referees to penalize only significant breaches of the Law.
Constant whistling for trifling or doubtful breaches produces bad feeling and loss of temper for the players and spoils the pleasure of the game.
This statement should give you a feel for how your job should be done. “that games should be played with as little interference as possible” and “penalize only deliberate breaches of the law” have to be put in the context of the level of game you are tasked with managing. The younger the age, the more likelihood you will have to educate the players on what they did that was wrong. As you do older more experienced players, your prudent and consistent allowing play to continue will be tempered with your communication skill sets so that players will have confidence in the fact that you saw it, recognize it, and will remember it later if needed. This is a mark of a successful and experienced referee.
Nobody likes to hear constant whistling for doubtful breaches of the law. Nor, depending on the level of the match, do they like whistling for trifling offenses. Everyone is there to enjoy the match, so as much as possible let it flow. As a referee you must learn to use your judgment and authority prudently and wisely.
Fouls that don’t impact the ability of a player to play
the ball should not be called.  

9. Advantage
Allows play to continue when the team that was fouled would benefit more from the foul NOT being called.
If the benefit (advantage) does not develop – call the original foul.
If ever there was a part of the laws that guarantees there are always two sides to every situation, Advantage is it. You will encounter teams and players that want it used all the time. You will also encounter those that rarely if ever want it applied. You must find a balance that fits the level of the match you’re assigned. That can change for each match, and it can change IN each match. Balancing the use of advantage has, and always will be, open for debate and scrutiny by everyone associated with the game. Let’s look at advantage more closely.

10. Advantage Verbal - “PLAY ON!” Visual - Arms swing in front
Here the referee uses the proper signal and mechanic for advantage. Both arms extended fully with open palms turned upward swinging from the sides forward, while at the same time saying loudly “PLAY ON”. Now is when your 2-3 second window starts. Provided the perceived advantage continues to develop, you wait and see. The 2-3 seconds doesn’t sound like much time, but it might seem like an eternity in some cases.
Verbal - “PLAY ON!”
Visual - Arms swing in front
Can change mind if advantage doesn’t occur

11. Advantage – Video Examples
Example 1 Here is a video where a late foul by the touchline is seen by the referee but the fouled white player’s team still has a creditable attacking opportunity.
[play]
Did you see the late foul by the defender into the calf of the white player? The ball went to his teammate and the referee signaled “play on” with both arms swinging out and up because the white team retained possession. In this case the referee felt, based on the skill level of the white team, that there was a creditable attacking opportunity for the white team.
Example 2 - In this match, the USA team sends a promising ball in and Heather O’Riley runs onto the ball and is fouled at the moment of her shot. The referee applies advantage and the goal results.
Unfortunately, the Goalkeeper’s challenge resulted in a broken ankle for Heather.

12. Critical Techniques of Officiating
Know the Laws
Positioning - Be near the play but not in the play
Fitness
Body language
Indicate your decision - Do not explain it
Use common sense
All referees should know the laws completely.
They should be firm, but not overbearing.
Indicate your decision, but you should not explain it.
Be near to the play, but don’t be so close that you’re in it or affect the play.
Use the unwritten law 18, common sense.

13. Referee Positioning
Players tend to know when a referee hasn't been moving like he/she should be. Let’s examine the positioning and movement of the referee.

14. General Positioning The Referee runs diagonal
AR 2
The Referee runs diagonal
Referee area of responsibility
Each AR covers ¼ of the field
sees what’s ahead and behind the Referee
judge most offside calls
AR 1

15. A referee who is not fit can not properly cover the field of play.
Fitness and Diagonal
Standard Diagonal
A referee who is not fit can not properly cover the field of play.
This is a standard diagonal. A reverse diagonal is the opposite. This is the normal patrol path you would use as referee. Your AR’s are in the opposite quadrants from your diagonal.

16. Fitness and Diagonal EXAMPLE - UNFIT / LAZY Stayed in center of field
Here is a mapping of the running patterns for a referee that is unfit and inexperienced. You’ll notice that this referee stayed in the general middle of the field. His/her corridor of patrol is fairly narrow. It appears this referee is a “slave” to the diagonal, meaning the referee doesn’t get very far from the generally diagonal pattern.
Stayed in center of field
Narrow corridor of patrol
“Slave” to diagonal?

17. FIT / EXPERIENCED / ACTIVE
Fitness and Diagonal
FIT / EXPERIENCED / ACTIVE
On the other hand, here is a running pattern of a referee this is clearly fit and experienced. This referee is very active and covers much more of the field. Sometime the flow of play takes the referee close to the AR’s, that’s ok. The referee appears to have been close to play but hopefully not interfering. The pattern would suggest the referee anticipated play and action and read the game well.
Close to assistant referee in some cases
Close to play but not interfering
Anticipates play and action

18. Critical Techniques of Officiating
Fitness:
A referee who is not fit cannot properly cover the field of play
Must get to drop zone -- near center of action
Must be within yards of significant challenges
Fitness is part of being a referee. Referees can’t wait until game day to get into the proper level of game fitness needed. We’ve said it before, and now we’ll say it again, a referee who is not fit cannot properly cover the field of play.
Referees must get to drop zone and be near the center of the action. Drop zones are the areas where the ball will likely come down and be played after a restart like a goal kick, corner kick or any free kick.
Referee must be within yards of significant challenges. Close presence lends conviction to the decisions of the referee.

19. Critical Techniques of Officiating
Body Language
Do not let negative body language show
Fatigue or Tiredness
Exasperation
Frustration
Fear
Disdain
Arrogance
It is critical that you never let negative body language show. Keep your head up and your shoulders back. Examples of negative body language are;
Fatigue or tiredness.
Exasperation. Don’t let the situation rattle your confidence.
Frustration. You must exude limitless patience and understanding at all times.
Fear. You must mask any fear with an effectively neutral game face.
Disdain. Don’t put yourself above the players. They need to know you’re human too.
Arrogance. Don’t be presumptuous or overbearing. The laws give you the authority to control the match, they should not be used to belittle players or talk down to them.

20. Critical Techniques of Officiating
Eye contact – keep your head up!!!
At every stoppage - make eye contact with assistants to ensure that you know if they have information for you.
After foul - make eye contact with player who fouled as you point direction.
At every opportunity, keep your head up and make eye contact as needed with players and your team. Looking down after a decision says you’re not confident in what you just decided. Keep your head up!
At every stoppage, make eye contact with your AR’s and 4th official if present. Are you on the same page with them? Give support to each other when needed. If they have information for you, or you for them, use that eye contact to communicate as much as possible.
After calling a foul, make deliberate eye contact with the offender. You can use this eye contact and use facial expressions to reinforce your control and some facial expressions speak volumes. This can be very helpful when there is a language barrier to overcome.

21. Critical Techniques of Officiating
Move toward fouls when:
Challenge was very hard/physical
A player remains on the ground
Opponents are not departing the area
You must move in quickly to control the situation and prevent/stop/deal with misconduct
You must use your command presence and move toward fouls when;
The challenge was very hard or physical. This will help prevent retaliation. Use your voice to let the players know you’re there and got it.
A player remains on the ground. Get in there so his teammates don’t decide to dispense their own form of payback. Hold up any restart if you think there could be an injury.
Opponents are not departing the area. This is a signal that more might follow. Your presence is needed in this situation to prevent escalation and more problems.
A lot of misconduct results when any of these thing happen. You must move in quickly to control the situation. That way you hopefully prevent, stop, and or deal with any misconduct that arises as a result of the aftermath of the original foul.

22. Critical Techniques of Officiating
Watch play - not the ball
Ball gone - start move to next position, watch for late contact
Ball coming - move to position, watch for foul prior to ball arriving
Set plays - vary position, use voice to manage players, signal when ready
Signal your decision (use standard signals – later)
Watch play, not the ball. The ball doesn’t commit any fouls. If a ball is in the air, watch the players not it.
When the ball is gone, or has just been kicked, start your movement toward your next position, but as you move away, glance back and watch for late contact.
If the ball is coming in, vary your position and watch for a foul before the ball arrives.
On set plays, vary your position, use your voice to manage player when possible, give signal when YOU are ready.

23. How to Sell your Calls Accurate decisions will sell your calls!
Know the Laws (facts)
Where are free kicks taken
Is it Direct or Indirect
Is the ball in play or out
When are signals required
Exercise judgment (opinion)
Was that a foul?
Is that misconduct?
Is that player offside?
Signal your Decision
Indecision can be fatal!
Accuracy! Accurate decision will sell your calls.
Know the facts before you act according to the laws of the game.
Where are free kicks taken from?
Should the free kick be direct or indirect?
Is the ball in or out of play?
When are signals required from and by the referee and the assistant referees?
You must exercise good judgment and base your opinion on what happened on that judgment.
Was what happened a foul? Does that foul need to be called?
Is that misconduct? If so, what should you do as the referee?
Is that player offside? You must know what factors are present that change offside position into an offside offense.
Your indecision can be fatal for the match. Be confident in what you do and your action should have a firm base in the laws of the game.

24. You should never be the cause of a delayed start.
Pregame
The referee and assistants should arrive early (at least 30 minutes) to complete the following tasks:
Inspection of field markings, nets, goalposts, safety issues
Conduct a crew pre-game meeting
Check players’ equipment
Check game balls
This is the standard that’s been set. All officials should arrive at least 30 minutes before the scheduled match in order to;
Inspect the field and markings, as well as address all safety issues that arise as a result of those inspections.
Conduct a proper pre-game meeting between all the game officials.
Check the players’ equipment and ensure it is appropriate and complete for the match.
Check however many game balls the referee feels are needed for the match.
It is important that the referee crew NEVER be the cause for a delayed start.
You should never be the cause of a delayed start.

25. Uniforms and Equipment
Although Yellow is the basic shirt, there are 5 colors acceptable and available. Shorts should be black. Socks can be the 3 stripe or the other approved. Shoes should be basic black, with logos accepted. Avoid colored shoes, other than black.
Shirt, Black Shorts, Socks, Shoes

26. Required Equipment Flags, fancy or basic set 2 Watches w/alarm
Referee’s book
Writing tools
Air pump and Gauge
Whistles (2 different sounding)
cards
Plan on 2 watches. One should count up, the other down. Make sure at least one has an alarm.
Bring your own flags. If an AR shows up without one, you must have a spare.
Develop something you’re comfortable with to record game information. Many of the equipment suppliers can provide you with a variety to choose from.
Don’t forget to bring something to write with. Always bring a backup as well.
Whistles. There are literally hundreds to choose from. You’ll want to always carry 2 at all times. Make sure their tone and sound are completely different. Many times you will be a field with other games being played right next to yours. To save confusion, you’ll need to use a whistle that is distinctly different from the ones being used around you so the players can ‘tune in’ to the sound of yours.
And always use a wrist lanyard to you don’t drop your whistles.
Always pack a air gauge and air pump for balls.
You’ll need a set of red and yellow cards.
And something for the coin toss. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but that’s ok too.
Wrist lanyard
Flipping coins

27. Extra socks or matchrecords
Law 18 Extra Equipment
Shoe care
Different shoes
Extra lanyard and whistles
Extra watch
Sun-block and Chapstick
First Aid Kit
Extra socks or matchrecords
In addition to the basics, there are other things to think about that really come in handy if you travel to work games.
Different shoes. The field may be as hard as concrete. Or it may be so muddy that it’s hard to stand, stop or run without cleats.
Sometimes the weather will be wet or muddy, you might have to clean up and polish your shoes between game shifts to restore your professional appearance.
An extra watch. What if one of your primary watches breaks or the battery dies?
Always keep extra different whistles and a lanyard.
Other common sense items include chap stick and suntan or sun block lotion. A first aid kit. Extra dry socks or game reports. Or even a set of cards that you can write on in the rain.
All these items are things you might wish you’d packed in your bag.
Waterproof card set

28. Review – When may the referee..
Reverse a decision?
Prior to restart
Apply “Advantage”?
For a foul or misconduct (Law 12)
Reverse it, if no advantage occurs?
Within 2-3 seconds
Stop, suspend or abandon a match?
Outside interference
Weather
Infringements of the Law
Let’s review Law 5.

29. Review A referee must: Know the Laws of the Game
Be firm (Not overbearing)
Signal calls (Do not explain them)
Be near to play (If nothing else)
If in doubt - don’t interfere
Referees must know the laws of the game, inside and out.
Be firm in their decisions, but not be overbearing.
Signal calls, but avoid trying to explain or justify them.
Be near to play, enough to see your call.
If you’re in doubt as to whether to interfere, don’t. A call is much better made late when it’s right, than early and be wrong.
Use common sense, the unwritten law 18.
Use common sense (Law 18)