Question Number: 28142

Law 5 - The Referee 1/29/2014

A of Manchester, England asks...

During half time, do you re-watch footage from the first half? (On decisions you have made / missed)

If no, is this because you are prohibited?

If yes, do you think this affects your decisions in the second half?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi A
Viewing decisions using electronic means is not allowed by FIFA as it could have the effect of influencing the decision making from that point on or in the 2nd half. Now there have been errors made at the highest level where 'incidents' have been replayed on the stadium screens by mistake along with the suggestion that the 4th official seen an incident on a monitor and informed the referee accordingly.
In the game between Brazil and Egypt, the Egyptians protested that neither Howard Webb the referee nor Mike Mullarkey the assistant saw the deliberate handling that led to a penalty award but that it was seen by the 4th official on a monitor who informed the referee. The protest was dismissed by FIFA based on the evidence presented.
A similar suggestion was made about the Zidane sending off in the WC final but was again dismissed. There was also an incident involving Mexico and Argentina in the WC in South Africa when it was shown on the stadium screens that Carlos Tevez was clearly offside for a goal that was missed by the AR. The assistant was shown to have looked up at the screen after the goal was awarded but it did not change the decision. It did affect the players on the field who saw that the 'wrong' decision was made. Whether it influenced the referee and assistant from there on is a matter of opinion but FIFA came out to say that the replay should not have been shown and apologised.
Now there can be a discussion between the referee crew but it should only opinion based without the use of technology.
The really good referees have a way of isolating their decision making to the actual decision being taken rather than being influenced by past decisions or 'pressure' from players. If a referee say has awarded / not awarded a penalty and if he were to see that he was wrong there is a danger of trying to make it right later. It is for this reason also that referee assessors do not approach the referee or assistants at half time but wait until the game is over.