THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF REFEREEING
Robert Evans
FIFA Referee (1979-88); FIFA Referee Instructor (1990-92)
 Many people who go to watch a soccer game-youth, adult, professional-wonder why a lot of physical contact between players is not punished by the referee. If they are new to the game, they may be no more than puzzled by the apparent lack of understanding (or eyesight) by the official. If they've been around the game a bit, or if their little darling is playing and perhaps gets knocked over, they may become irate at the irresponsibility of the referee. And of course, if they have the authority of a coach's jacket or hat, they not only become irate, but they may even take it upon themselves to let the official know exactly what they think of him (or her). After all, everyone knows that the official is supposed to call fouls and other infringements of the laws, and if he doesn't do that, he must be incompetent, right?
Well, actually, no! By allowing some infractions to go unpunished he may in fact be doing his job just the way that the laws tell him to. (Pause to wait for the muttering . . .) Oh, I can here it now: "What is this idiot talking about? He says that a referee misses the calls and yet is still doing his job? He lets fouls go unpunished, and we are supposed to compliment him for doing things right?" And those comments are the mild ones . . .!
After being involved in refereeing since 1964, through thousands of games refereed, watched and assessed, and through countless classes instructed, I have to say that the most difficult part of refereeing is knowing what infractions to call, and what ones to let go. The reason for the difficulty is simple: For more than one hundred years, the laws of the game have INSTRUCTED REFEREES NOT to call everything, but to call only the infractions that affect the game adversely.
IT COMES DOWN TO THIS: THE ART OF REFEREEING IS THE ART OF PENALIZING ONLY THOSE BREACHES OF THE LAW THAT AFFECT THE GAME.
But the problem with that statement is that at each level of the game, from little wobbly kids to U-8s, U-10s, U-12s through the early teenagers up to full youth competitions, into the adult games, to the top amateur level into the semi-professionals and full professionals, then into international club competitions all the way to full "A" class internationals and on to the World Cup, the infractions that affect the game are different!
So youth players and their parents go to a professional match or watch one on television, and they see all that goes on-ferocious tackling; seemingly endless comments to the referee-and wonder about the competence of the official. They see players with their hands all over their opponent; they wince as a player is challenged hard and goes down in a heap with his challenger; they see a blatant offside, and the referee allows play to go on! It seems so obviously unfair-unless of course, you know what is going on.
Experienced referees changed their decision-making to suit the game they are refereeing. A simple push in a U-12 game can throw a player off balance and most times should be penalized. That same push in an adult game would be meaningless, and in a professional match might be taken merely as a gesture of affection! An offside call when the flag goes up and the whole of the audience in the stands can see the player offside, should not be called if it is clear that the goalkeeper or other defender is going to safely clear the ball. The infraction has become meaningless and does not affect the game. Until the recent rewriting of the Laws of the Game, this philosophy of refereeing was written as 64 words in the International Board Decision number 8 of Law 5:
"The Laws of the Game are intended to provide that games should be played with as little interference as possible, and in this view it is the duty of Referees to penalise only deliberate breaches of the Law. Constant whistling for trifling and doubtful breaches produces bad feeling and loss of temper on the part of the players and spoils the pleasure of spectators."
That's the art of refereeing!
So next time you go to a game and see fouls going unpunished, take a look at the players, and listen to what they are saying. If they are not complaining, but are just getting on with the game, then they obviously are happy with the way that things are being called. In which case, so should you. But if you go to a match and here players saying: "For heaven's sake, ref! Let us play!" then you know that the players want more freedom, they don't want the referee to call everything and choke the game to death.
It's a difficult art, this refereeing. And doubly difficult when you do the job right, but still have to contend with spectators who don't understand. That explains the big money we make doing it!
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