But do you KNOW the law?

We all profess to be experts when it comes to making a judgement on football, and some would say we, as referees, have a better chance of being right (but some would not!)

Players get it wrong

It still amazes me when I am refereeing, even at senior level, how often I get asked to make a decision which is not correct in law. ‘Throw-in, ref’ when the ball is on the line and not over it completely; ‘Offside, ref’ when the player in question is behind the ball when it is played; ‘Obstruction, ref’ when the player is legitimately shielding the ball. My actual favourite is ‘He didn't call a name, ref" when a player shouts ‘Leave it.’

Let's look at that last one. If a player shouts ‘leave it’, or ‘my ball’, that in itself is NOT an offence. One would only award a free kick if, by making the call, the player is seeking to gain an advantage by putting off an opponent. You, as the referee, have to make the decision. Is it all right for a player to stand on the line when taking a throw-in? The answer is ‘yes’, as long as part of both feet remains on the ground on the line.

Sometimes the referee too

There are so many quirks to football law which seem to surprise even those that have been in the game longer than Andy Gray. Take a direct free kick given to a defender outside his penalty area. I saw a player, before the change in law which stopped a goalkeeper handling a ball in this situation, pass the ball back to his goalkeeper. The goalkeeper missed it totally and watched in amazement as the ball went into the goal. The referee gave a goal and not a murmur was heard, other than a few choice words to the defending players. But for once the referee had got it wrong, as I pointed out afterwards, and no player knew the laws well enough to spot it. The correct decision was a corner kick to the attacking team. In law, you cannot score against your own side from a direct free kick.

More trained officials needed

On the local parks it is usually extremely difficult to form a real team of officials, when you have two volunteer assistants who may have to be cajoled into helping. There are, however, some extremely capable people around and the Sunday League’s initiative to get teams to have a club official take the referees' course is really helping. Only last Sunday I had the pleasure of having Bob Challis of The Poacher line to me with a level of skill I would expect from a seasoned match official.

Perhaps it is time you took the training course for referees and learnt more about the laws, before you are completely brainwashed by the unqualified and overpaid experts in the media.

John Moore

© J Moore 1999

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