Question Number: 25916

Character, Attitude and Control 1/24/2012

RE: Under 19

DK of DM, ia U.S. asks...

This question is a follow up to question 25893

What about foreseeing danger in aggressive, yet legal situations.
Say keeper and attacker charging full out at a ball and it looks like they will arrive simultaneously, or two players running up aggressively for a header, and that 'spidey sense' starts tingling cause you know something bad is coming up.
Is it OK to occassionally say something like 'play safe,' or would that be too much 'coaching' from the ref?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

My favorite response in this situation is to shout 'STEADY!'

It indicates that I'm near and the implied message is to be careful. Yet the word does not indicate what the players should do. Try it.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi DK
The sense that I get is that it normally too late for the referee to act before the aggressive challenge that is out of the blue. Yes in some instances it could be clear that the player may take retribution say after a challenge and the referee can step in with a comment such as 'Steady', 'Calm Down No 5', 'Easy'
A few weeks ago on a 50 / 50 challenge I just got the feeling that one player was going to challenge heavily by his body movement. It would have been a brave call to stop play just before the 'point of no return' so the challenge did happen, thankfully with no ill effect on either player. It was the 1st 'big' challenge in the game. I called the free kick and cautioned the defender. I doubt if I would have stopped play to go with a dropped ball on a hunch or shouted at the defender as he prepared for his challenge.
I think the more effective way is to set out one's stall early in the game where players learn very quickly that the referee does not tolerate aggressive play. As regards the 1st challenge IMO the referee just has to deal with the scenario as he finds it.
Also over a number of seasons players get to know the referee's tolerance levels so that they can act in the appropriate manner.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Unfortunately, the referee is not issued a crystal ball to know what is going to happen. At any competitive level of play, a referee would be nuts to go charging in and stopping play on the chance that some aggressive, legal action is going to cause harm.

My colleagues note that the ref's presence, both physical and verbal, can help smooth the waters, and they also note that the actions of the referee in the first minutes of the game will make a huge difference in the ref team's ability to deal with challenges successfully.