2010 Referee Week In Review

The usssoccer.com Referee Week in Review is designed to address the issues facing referees at all levels by using video highlights from professional games as well as the U.S. National Teams. Written by U.S. Soccer Director of Referee Development Paul Tamberino and U.S. Soccer Manager of Assessment and Training Brian Hall, the Referee Week in Review will highlight specific areas of focus and current U.S. Soccer initiatives designed to improve performance and aid in the development of officials across the country.

http://www.ussoccer.com/Referees/Week-In-Review.aspx

Managing Feinting by the Kicker at a Penalty Kick or Kick From the Mark

Date: July 12, 2010

In response to requests for clarification of its earlier guideline on deception at the taking of a penalty kick, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) published a circular in 2010 outlining the circumstances in which a player taking a penalty kick may act to deceive the goalkeeper by performing a “feint” between the time the referee signals for the kick to be taken and when the ball is considered to be “in play.” This memo provides those clarifications in summary form, followed by several points of emphasis to assist referees in managing the process.

A. On a penalty kick, if the kicker performs an illegal deception after the referee has blown the whistle for the kick to be taken and before the ball is in play:

¹Another teammate of the original kicker may take the kick if a retake is ordered.

²If this is a second caution, the kicker is sent off and shown the red card.

NOTE: If a player from the defending team also violates Law 14, the penalty kick is retaken regardless of the outcome.

B. On a kick from the penalty mark (as part of a tie-breaking procedure), if the kicker performs an illegal deception after the referee has blown the whistle for the kick to be taken and before the ball is in play:

¹Another teammate of the original kicker may take the kick if a retake is ordered. However, a replacement kicker must still meet the requirement of the rules governing "Kicks from the Penalty Mark" that no eligible player can kick an additional time until all eligible players have kicked. If no teammate is available who meets this requirement, the original kicker must kick the retake.

²The kicker is, however, credited with having taken the kick and may not kick again until all other eligible teammates have kicked the same number of times.

³ If this is a second caution, the kicker is sent off and shown the red card (the opposing team does not "reduce to equate").

Referees are reminded that they must still monitor other actions by the kicker which might also violate Law 14 (or the kicks from the mark procedure). For example, the kicker must not take such a long, convoluted run to the ball that, in the opinion of the referee, this action delays the restart of play; the kicker must not run past the ball and then back up before kicking; and the kicker must not make a hand or arm gesture which, in the opinion of the referee distracts or deceives the goalkeeper.

The term "illegal deception" used above with respect to penalty kicks or kicks from the mark refers to the action of the kicker described in USSF's "Memorandum 2010":
This would include clearly stopping and waiting for a reaction by the goalkeeper before taking the kick or any similar clear hesitation after the run to the ball is complete and before kicking the ball into play. In other words, once the kicker has reached the ball, the kick must be taken without hesitation or delay.

Memo (pdf, 125kb)

2010 Memorandum of Law Changes

Date: June 16, 2010

The 124th Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) took place in Zurich on 6 March 2010. The amendments to the Laws of the Game approved at this meeting and the various instructions and directives issued are listed below. ... 2010 Memorandum (pdf, 67kb)

7+7: Sending Off and Cautionable Offenses

Date: June 14, 2010 (Updated)

A player is cautioned and shown the yellow card for committing any of the following seven offenses (actions of special concern to FIFA are displayed in bold print): ...
A substitute or substituted player is cautioned and shown the yellow card if he commits any of the following three offenses:
1. is guilty of unsporting behavior
2. shows dissent by word or action
3. delays the restart of play

If a substitute who enters the field of play without the permission of the referee is to be cautioned, the official reason given must be "unsporting behavior" - this applies as well to previously substituted players except where the rules of competition allow unlimited re-entry with the permission of the referee.

A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off and shown the red card for committing any of the following seven offenses: ...
A substitute or substituted player who commits any violent act should be sent off and shown the red card for Violent Conduct.

Full Memo (pdf, 64kb)

Interfering with the Goalkeeper's Release of the Ball

Date: April 14, 2010

Law 12 (Fouls and Misconduct) includes the words “prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands” as an offense punishable by an indirect free kick. By tradition and interpretation, this violation is described more generally as any action by a player which interferes with the opposing goalkeeper’s ability to get the ball back into active play freely and quickly.

A goalkeeper is considered to be in the process of “releasing the ball” from the first moment when he or she has clearly taken hand control of the ball until the moment when the ball has been clearly released into play. This includes any time when the goalkeeper is:

• bouncing the ball,
• running with the ball
• in the process of dropping the ball in preparation for kicking it
• throwing the ball

During the time the goalkeeper has control of the ball and is preparing to release it into active play, an opponent may not stand or move so close as to restrict the direction or distance of the goalkeeper’s release.

In the 70th minute of a match between D.C. United at Philadelphia Union on April 10, 2010, D.C. forward Moreno followed, moved in closer to, waved arms at, and made various head and body “movements” toward Philadelphia goalkeeper Seitz while Seitz was holding the ball and preparing to distribute it. During the course of this interference, Seitz dropped the ball and Moreno shot the ball into the net. These actions by Moreno constituted a violation of Law 12. The goal should not have been allowed and an indirect free kick should have been given where Moreno interfered. Moreno’s behavior additionally could have been cautioned as unsporting behavior.

Whenever a goalkeeper has taken possession of the ball and an opponent is either nearby or begins moving toward the goalkeeper, referees and assistant referees must recognize the possibility of interference and allow their attention to continue to focus on the goalkeeper. More proactively, a quick word to the opponent might well prevent this sort of offense.

Interfering with the Goalkeeper's Release of the Ball (with embedded video)

Week In Review 2010

Week 3 : ending April 11, 2010
WEEK OVERVIEW
Week 3 of the MLS season presented numerous opportunities for match officials to demonstrate their knowledge of the Laws of the Game as well as their understanding of the spirit of the game and law. Two situations will be examined this week that require officials to understand both the letter of the law as well as the spirit of the law. An interesting situation involving interfering with the goalkeeper’s distribution of the ball will be reviewed as will a referee’s management of a free kick just outside the penalty area. Both incidents require an attentive referee who understands the intricacies of the law.

Full article

Week In Review 2010

Week 2 : ending April 4, 2010
WEEK OVERVIEW
Referees continued to work hard to find the balance between asserting their command presence and dealing with situations that require a yellow or red card (100 percent misconduct). Managing this balance is not an easy task as match officials must weigh the “big picture,” including the atmosphere or environment of the game, as well as, what has occurred in the game to that point and the direction that the referee feels the game is heading. The ability to assimilate this information and decide on the correct course of action is a factor that differentiates the elite referee from the average referee.

Assistant referees (ARs) continued to be faced with many difficult offside decisions. In several instances, the lack of concentration and focus caused ARs to misapply the offside law. On the other hand, there were a few fantastic offside decisions that promoted attacking play like the decision highlighted below in this “Week In Review.”

Full article

Week In Review 2010

Week 1 : ending March 28, 2010
WEEK OVERVIEW
After four months of offseason recovery and training, the professional season kicked off once more with eight challenging games during the opening weekend of Major League Soccer. To prepare for the “first kick”, referees and assistant referees (ARs) worked preseason matches to fine tune their competitive spirit and attended extensive preseason training in which their fitness level and knowledge of U.S. Soccer training materials (such as the “Week In Review” and position papers) released over the past year were tested. The most important part of preseason preparation, however, was the instruction geared around key focus areas for the upcoming season. For 2010, referees are being asked to focus on game and player management through “command presence” and increasing their “feel” for the needs of the game and ensuring their management decisions mirror the game and the situation.

Full article

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[ July 14 | August 11 | September 8 | October 13 | November 10 ]

Business Meetings start at 7:00pm, and are over by about 8:30pm.

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