Iowa High School
Points of Emphasis
Spring 2013 Season
Iowa Referee Committee
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Activities Directors’ Feedback
Year
Total Responses
Negative Responses
Percent Negative
2010
40
14
35%
2011
65
2
3%
2012
103
19
18%
Iowa Referee Committee
Coaches’ Feedback
Year
Total Responses
Negative Responses
Percent Negative
2010
311
163
52%
2011
307
144
47%
2012
810
244
30%
Iowa Referee Committee
Coaches’ Areas of Concern
• 2010
– Control/Foul Recognition (24%)
– Inconsistent/Indecisive (22%)
– Misconduct (15%)
– Unprofessional/Unapproachable (15%)
– Positioning/Fitness (7%)
– Dissent/Bench Control (7%)
Iowa Referee Committee
Coaches’ Areas of Concern
• 2011
– Control/Foul Recognition (43%)
– Inconsistent/Indecisive (15%)
– Unprofessional/Unapproachable (13%)
– Knowledge of Rules (12%)
– Positioning/Fitness (11%)
– Dissent/Bench Control (1%)
Iowa Referee Committee
2012 Points of Emphasis Recap
• Foul Recognition/Game Control
• Professionalism/Knowledge of Rules
• Positioning/Fitness
Iowa Referee Committee
Coaches’ Areas of Concern
• 2012
– Control/Foul Recognition (35%)
– Knowledge of Rules (19%)
– Positioning/Fitness (13%)
– Inconsistent/Indecisive (13%)
– Unprofessional/Unapproachable (12%)
– Dissent/Bench Control (0%)
Iowa Referee Committee
2013 Points of Emphasis
•
•
•
•
Foul Recognition
Game Control
Knowledge of Rules
Professionalism
Iowa Referee Committee
2013 Points of Emphasis
• Foul Recognition
• Game Control
• Knowledge of Rules
• Professionalism
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
• 4 components of a foul
– Committed by a player
– Against an opponent
– On the field of play
– The ball must be in play
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
• Types of Fouls
– Careless (simple) Fouls
– Reckless Fouls
– Fouls committed with Excessive Force
– Tactical Fouls
– Denying an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
• Careless Fouls
– Majority of fouls
– No need to caution or eject
• Must be cognizant of persistent infringement
– May be considered trifling
– Must be aware of advantage possibilities
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
Trifling v. Advantage
• Trifling
– Minor incident that had no impact on match
• Slight contact that had no effect on player
• Challenge with contact, but with no chance for either player
to play ball, so no impact on outcome
– No signal or indication needed from referee
• Advantage
– Clear foul where the team that is fouled has better
outcome if foul is not called
– Requires referee to indicate advantage signal
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
• Reckless Fouls
– A player acts in a manner with complete disregard
to the danger to, or consequences for his
opponent
– Late challenge
– Little risk of causing injury
– MUST be shown a Yellow Card
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
• Fouls committed with Excessive Force
– A player far exceeds the necessary use of force
and is in danger of injuring his opponent
– Targets the plant leg
– Straight Leg (knee locked)
– Cleat Exposed
– MUST be shown a Red Card
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
• Fouls committed with Excessive Force
– Speed of play
– Intent
– Aggressive
– Position of the tackler
– Opportunity to play the ball
– Atmosphere of game
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
• Fouls committed with Excessive Force
– Not all aspects of SIAPOA must be present
– When all are it is usually an obvious red card
– When only a couple are present it is more difficult
to discern
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
• Tactical Fouls
– Designed to break up a promising attack or create goal
scoring chance
– Can happen anywhere on the field
– Frequently used to stop quick counter attacks
– Common Examples
• Deliberate Handling to prevent outlet pass or score goal
• Holding/Charging to slow attacker on or off ball
• Defender grabs shirt after being beat
– Usually need to be sanctioned with Yellow Card
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
• Denying an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity
– Preventing an obvious opportunity to score a goal
by committing a foul
• This does not mean preventing a goal… just the
opportunity to score one
– Must meet all of the 4 D’s criteria to be considered
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•
•
•
Direction of play
Distance to goal
Distance to ball
number of Defenders
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
Denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity
• Direction of play
– Player must be moving towards the goal at the
time of the foul
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
Denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity
• Number of Defenders
– There should be no other defenders with the
opportunity to challenge the attacker other than
the one that commits the foul
– This excludes the goalkeeper
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
Denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity
• Distance to goal
– The closer to goal the more obvious the
opportunity to score a goal
– This can vary by skill level
• If the foul is committed at midfield with the other
criteria present, is it an obvious opportunity?
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
Denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity
• Distance to ball
– The attacker must be close enough to the ball to
continue playing it at the time of the foul
• This does not mean the ball has to be at their feet
• It does mean in your opinion they would be the next to
play it if not fouled
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
Denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity
• If, in the referee’s opinion, the 4 D’s are met
the foul must be sanctioned with a red card.
• NOTE: In NFHS* attempting to deny an obvious
goal scoring opportunity with the hand must
be sanctioned with a caution if unsuccessful.
*Refer
to Rule 12-8-1f(13) and 12-8-2d(1).
Iowa Referee Committee
Foul Recognition
Comparative Study of Rules and Laws
from the NFHS Officiating Central Hub (Arbiter Sports)
09-Aug.-'12
Caution-Reasons
(Yellow Card)
... Hand ball to prevent
goal and ball goes into
goal.
Ejection-Reasons
(Red Card)
... hand ball to prevent
goal if ball does not go
into goal; …
Iowa Referee Committee
2013 Points of Emphasis
• Foul Recognition
• Game Control
• Knowledge of Rules
• Professionalism
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
•
•
•
•
Managing Players
Consistency
Fitness
Teamwork
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Managing Players
• Consistency
• Fitness
• Teamwork
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Managing Players
– Be Respectful
– Be Firm
– Be Decisive
– Be Personable
– Be Compassionate
– Be Tolerant
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Managing Players
– Dissent
• Recognize emotional outburst v. ongoing dissent
• Players are passionate – we need to allow it if possible
– Critical decisions cause an emotional reaction – that is OK
– If they cross the line, you must address it
• Deal with ongoing dissent
– Address it early in the match
– Don’t be afraid to caution, but other tools are available
» Talk with player (quietly or ceremonially)
» Tell teammates to get him under control
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
How to Manage Players
• Player A is fouled but you make no call
(trifling/advantage)
– At the next dead ball, tell player A you saw it
• “I had it there, but I thought your forward was going to
make you a hero since you had numbers. You good
with that?”
– Earns you credibility
• Players think you have great match awareness
• Otherwise they think you just missed it
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
How to Manage Players
• Player A is fouled and wants caution you
aren’t giving
– Be Compassionate –
• “I know that hurts.”
– Explain why no caution without being rude
• “I understand it might feel like a caution, but it was just
slightly mistimed…there was nothing too malicious in
it.”
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
How to Manage Players
• Two players verbally engaging each other
– Intervene early – “guys knock it off”
• No need to stop play if it is just talk
• Say it loud enough so others hear – again shows awareness
– If it escalates, take control
• Bring them together and talk to them together
• Don’t threaten directly but give consequences
• “This is an important game and I don’t think any of your
teammates want to play 10 minutes of it without you.”
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Managing Players
• Consistency
• Fitness
• Teamwork
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Consistency
– Good referees are consistent in their recognition
of fouls, but not always in their selection of which
to call or when to apply additional sanctions
– As the game changes so must the referee’s
decision process
– Minute 1 = Minute 80 in most matches
– Deal with similar situations in a similar manner
• It does not have to be identical, but it must be close
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Consistency
– Same hard challenge could have multiple
outcomes within the same match
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•
•
•
•
Time of match (early v. late)
Temperature of match (easy v. chippy)
Location of foul (in front of benches v. middle of field)
Player fouled (role player v. team star)
Previous incidents (no history v. retaliation)
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Consistency
– Key is that the foul is recognized in the same
manner at all times – That is consistency
– The decision the officials make based upon all
factors may be different – This is refereeing and
may vary from moment to moment within a
match
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Managing Players
• Consistency
• Fitness
• Teamwork
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Fitness
– Start now if you haven’t already
– Vary workouts
• Long runs
• Intervals
• Sprints
– Don’t referee to stay in shape, but stay in shape to
referee (you need to do more than just games)
– Stay hydrated
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Fitness
– Personal responsibility
– If not fit, don’t do the match
• If you can’t keep up you will make mistakes
• You fail the kids that work too hard
– Missing a foul call is excusable
– Making mistakes because you are not fit is
inexcusable – we owe the students more
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Managing Players
• Consistency
• Fitness
• Teamwork
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Teamwork
– ARs
•
•
•
•
Assist, don’t insist
Make calls actively within your area
Don’t insert self when not needed
Offer information when requested
Iowa Referee Committee
Game Control
• Teamwork
– Referee
• Needs to be receptive to input
• Protect ARs from dissent
• Use information provided to make key decisions
– For critical situations a conference is OK
– Entire team should help monitor trouble players
• Referee can loudly tell the AR to watch a certain player
• Lets everyone know, including trouble player, that you
are aware
Iowa Referee Committee
2013 Points of Emphasis
• Foul Recognition
• Game Control
• Knowledge of Rules
• Professionalism
Iowa Referee Committee
Knowledge of Rules
• Most basic responsibility
• Like fitness, failure is inexcusable
• Study, Study, Study
Iowa Referee Committee
Knowledge of Rules
• Resources
– NFHS Rule Book
– Comparative Study of Rules and Laws
– NFHS Central Hub on Arbiter Sports
Iowa Referee Committee
2013 Points of Emphasis
• Foul Recognition
• Game Control
• Knowledge of Rules
• Professionalism
Iowa Referee Committee
Professionalism
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•
•
•
•
Before the match
During the match
Halftime
Post match
After the match
Iowa Referee Committee
Professionalism
• Before the match
– Prepare yourself mentally and physically
• Do not do multiple matches
• Eat properly
– Arrive on time
• Be ready 30 minutes prior to match
– Dress appropriately
• School appropriate attire
• If in uniform (not recommended), shirt tucked in and
socks pulled up
Iowa Referee Committee
Professionalism
• Before the match
– Meet with coaches
• Cordial but brief
• Equal time with each coach
• Don’t engage in dialogue about the last referee!
– Warm up
• Even a short jog is effective
– Gets your heart rate up
– Shows dedication to the teams
Iowa Referee Committee
Professionalism
• Before the match
– Pregame conference
• Always make time for conference with referee team
• Cover key topics (adjust for time)
• As referee always ask ARs if they have questions or
have something they want covered
– Meet with teams
• Cover sportsmanship
• First chance to set your style to the team
– Humor, strict, approachable, standoffish
Iowa Referee Committee
Professionalism
• Before the match
– Captains meeting
• Invite the coaches
• Be brief (they aren’t taking info back to their teams)
• Let them get back to warming up
– Timing
• Make sure the teams aren’t waiting for you
• Start on time
Iowa Referee Committee
Professionalism
• During the match
– Stay calm and in control
– Remain approachable
– Stay focused
Iowa Referee Committee
Professionalism
• Halftime
– Avoid coaches when leaving the field
• If approached remain calm
• End discussion quickly and firmly
– Do not check your cell phone
– Speak quietly and away from teams/fans about
game situations
Iowa Referee Committee
Professionalism
• Post match
– Do not seek out coaches or players for handshakes
– If they approach you, be courteous
– Avoid arguments
• Remove yourself from the situation
• Do not raise your voice
– Do not discuss decisions within earshot of players,
coaches, or fans
Iowa Referee Committee
Professionalism
• After the match
– Complete the required game reports
• Match report
• Ejection reports
– Alert assigner of any issues
Iowa Referee Committee
Questions
Iowa Referee Committee