From The Middle

Dick Sawdon Smith contributes In The Middle, articles his writes for The Reading Chronicle. They are reproduced on this web site with his kind permission. These articles were previously known as From The Middle and have included many contributors including Brian Palmer and John Moore. If you would like to contribute, please contact Aaron Baker.

• Penalty Kick Changes December 8, 2016
• Can you Spot a Foul Tackle from the Terraces? December 1, 2016
• What Players Must Wear November 25, 2016
• Being Forewarned is not Victimisation November 17, 2016
• Change to Advantage Law is Great Improvement November 10, 2016
• Seeing is Believing November 3, 2016
• Injured Players Need Not Always Leave FoP October 27, 2016
• Offside Distraction by Another Word October 13, 2016
• “Last Man” is not in the Book October 6, 2016
• Action Against Dissent – About Time Too September 29, 2016
• Why Should Control of Players be Left to Referees? September 22, 2016
• When Handball Warrants a Caution September 15, 2016
• Advantage need not always be played April 7, 2016
• Going soft on DOGSO March 31, 2016
• Video Refs won’t solve all controversies March 24, 2016
• The Fourth Official is not a Manager’s verbal punchbag March 17, 2016
• Messi and Suarez’s joint penalty March 10, 2016
• All change for the Laws of the Game this summer March 3, 2016
• Full-time Refs for Championship next season February 25, 2016
• When should a Referee blow for time? February 18, 2016
• Are shoulder charges still allowed? February 11, 2016
• Tiniest margins count in football February 4, 2016
• Getting the laws in a twist January 28, 2016
• Judgement is often a question of angles January 21, 2016
• Heading the ball in football banned January 14, 2016
• Playing the ball does not always constitute a fair tackle January 7, 2016
• A Little Sign of Goodwill December 23, 2015
• Abuse Them and You’ll Lose Them December 17, 2015
• Deliberate Handball is Not Always Simple December 11, 2015
• What do Goal Line Assistant Referees do? December 3, 2015
• Can Fair Play Awards Stem Aggression? November 26, 2015
• Which tackles warrant a caution? November 19, 2015
• Bewildering Stoppage at the Mad Stad November 12, 2015
• Are Video Referees on the Way? October 22, 2015
• When Tackles Become Fouls October 15, 2015
• Give Young Referees a Chance October 8, 2015
• Retrospective Punishment – Catching the Cheats October 1, 2015
• Overhead Kicks can be Dangerous September 24, 2015
• Referees and Injury Treatment September 17, 2015
• A Change to Offside September 10, 2015
• Referees Need Help – Not Constant Criticism May 4, 2015
• Don’t Believe Every Shout For Handball April 27, 2015
• Does a Player’s Past Actions Affect Referees’ Decisions? April 20, 2015
• The Penalty Kick Retaken Four Days Later April 13, 2015
• Offside – It’s Not Difficult to Understand April 10, 2015
• There is a Conspiracy – But Against Referees April 3, 2015
• Goalkeepers Must Be Allowed to Clear Without Hindrance March 26, 2015
• Dissent Tackled by American Professional Referees – Us Next Please March 16, 2015
• No Change in Triple Punishment, or Video Support for Referees – yet March 9, 2015
• Match Delegate Troubles Chelsea March 2, 2015
• Rooney Innocent of Two Controversies in One Match February 23, 2015
• Extra Substitution Proposed – But Don’t Make Them Too Slowly February 16, 2015
• For Women Referees – It’s a Wide if Troubled World Out There February 9, 2015
• Is the Spectacle of the Game a Referee’s Consideration? February 2, 2015
• No Penalty if a Foul is off the Field January 26, 2015
• Getting a Grip on the Grapplers January 19, 2015
• Can a Referee Delay Substitutions Being Made? January 12, 2015
• There’s more technology in refereeing than you might think January 7, 2015
• Scourge of Diving is not Referees’ Problem Alone January 5, 2015
• Why should referees suffer insults? December 17, 2014
• Shaka Hislop helps to shape laws of the game December 12, 2014
• Pundits and Sam Allardyce still have a lot to learn December 4, 2014
• Why QPR missed out on beating the champions November 24, 2014
• Even the best referees must obey the rules, even Mark Clattenburg November 23, 2014
• How long does it need to take advantage? November 12, 2014
• The ambiguity of taking free kicks November 9, 2014
• Howard Webb’s resignation November 6, 2014
• Offside – how much nearer do you have to be? October 20, 2014
• Rooney’s foul was not professional but violent conduct October 9, 2014
• When does a goal celebration become an offence? October 8, 2014
• How referees prepared for their World Cup matches October 7, 2014
• World Cup commentator who showed up the BBC October 6, 2014
• The magic spray that caught the imagination October 3, 2014
• What to expect at the World Cup and beyond May 21, 2014
• Jose Mourinho – the special one or enemy of football? May 1, 2014
• Is there a right and wrong way to toss the coin? April 26, 2014
• Decisions, decisions – the hard part of refereeing April 17, 2014
• What do Premier League referees do between Saturdays? April 10, 2014
• Decisions are better when players tell the truth April 3, 2014
• Parents asked to keep quiet at football matches March 26, 2014
• Football managers should set a good example March 25, 2014
• How few players can constitute a team? March 24, 2014
• What makes a goal-scoring opportunity obvious? March 20, 2014
• Feigning injury is harming the game March 10, 2014
• Playing the ball doesn’t always absolve tackles February 28, 2014
• Psychologists have a warped view of referees February 19, 2014
• Should spitting footballers be above the bye-law? February 5, 2014
• Should referees be talking to players? February 2, 2014
• New interfering with play interpretations meant Newcastle’s ‘goal’ should have stood February 1, 2014
• Let’s regain Eusebio’s spirit of the game January 17, 2014
• Diving must be stopped says Sepp Blatter – but is it that easy? January 11, 2014
• Players’ mistakes can cost games so why always blame the referee? January 3, 2014
• Did Lloris need to scramble to save goal from drop ball? December 30, 2013
• Fifty years of instant replay torture December 29, 2013
• Can Platini introduce the sin bin into football? December 28, 2013
• A book that changed the world December 5, 2013
• Is football seen as the cheating game? December 3, 2013
• Technology is already helping with decisions November 21, 2013
• Players don’t always have to leave the pitch after injury treatment November 20, 2013
• Was Norwich’s “unsporting” goal wrongly disallowed? November 10, 2013
• Goals sometimes slip through the net October 31, 2013
• When does a goalkeeper’s control of the ball end? October 25, 2013
• When did you last see a contested drop-ball? October 17, 2013
• Is this the worst job in football? October 16, 2013
• Referee can’t undo physio’s saving interference October 16, 2013
• Playing the advantage not always the best option September 29, 2013
• UEFA women referees set a great example September 29, 2013
• Will new offside interpretations cause chaos? September 29, 2013
• Should unnaturally positioned hands be penalised? September 29, 2013
• History of the RRA magazine and ‘From The Middle’ articles August 3, 2013
• Match Of The Day needs to change May 8, 2013
• Life after football for the professional footballer May 1, 2013
• Must yellow cards be shown for cautions to stick? April 24, 2013
• Goal line help for referees – at last April 17, 2013
• Are FA reprieve panels good for the game? April 3, 2013
• Why McManaman’s tackle was left unpunished March 27, 2013
• Lessons from Swansea’s off-side goal March 20, 2013
• Was Nani’s high tackle a sending off? March 13, 2013
• Premier referees’ training days are no secret March 6, 2013
• Is the FA’s influence on laws coming to an end? February 27, 2013
• Proposed law changes for next season February 20, 2013
• Questions over two yellow cards and no red February 13, 2013
• What are the benefits of offside in football? February 6, 2013
• Assistant referees are the to assist not insist January 30, 2013
• Just being offside is not distracting an opponent January 23, 2013
• Whatever the replay shows the referee’s still wrong January 16, 2013
• How does Sir Alex get away with being completely wrong? January 11, 2013
• Head high boots can endanger safety January 4, 2013
• Serious injury can be a difficult judgement December 26, 2012
• Not fair that referees face psychological warfare December 19, 2012
• The shirt-pullers that get away with it December 12, 2012
• It’s no sinecure running the line December 6, 2012
• Football assault hurts more than referee November 28, 2012
• Football league blitz goes unheeded November 21, 2012
• There can be reasons for extending extra-time November 14, 2012
• Should referees’ words be broadcast? November 7, 2012
• Our top referees experience now exported to USA October 31, 2012
• Diving is only an offence when done to deceive October 24, 2012
• Law change means no score from drop-ball October 17, 2012
• Newcastle’s goal raises questions on handball October 10, 2012
• Time for abusive language to stop October 3, 2012
• There should be a six second warning September 26, 2012
• Local clubs in substitution experiment September 19, 2012
• Additional assistant referees are now official September 12, 2012
• Technology but only for the goal line September 5, 2012
• Tough decision divides ex-referees on Arsenal game April 10, 2012
• Why a referee showed players red cards in his dressing room April 4, 2012
• Would two referees be better than one? March 28, 2012
• The curious case of the Hijab and the laws of football March 21, 2012
• Local football may change substitution rules March 14, 2012
• Tackling with feet off the ground risks a sending off March 7, 2012
• Change proposed to denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity February 29, 2012
• Inconsistency is not always what it seems February 22, 2012
• Referees don’t have to say heads or tails at toss up February 15, 2012
• Football is not something to die for February 8, 2012
• Different type of bravery on the football field January 25, 2012
• Who should be blamed if a referee is deceived? January 18, 2012
• The FA break their rules for Rooney January 11, 2012
• Assistant referees don’t make decisions January 6, 2012
• Are we too sensitive to racial comments and spitting? November 25, 2011
• Injuries mean more decisions for referees to make November 18, 2011
• Because you didn’t see it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen November 11, 2011
• Wrong colour underpants go down badly November 4, 2011
• New suspension rules for players September 23, 2011
• Players and managers told “Get on with the game” September 16, 2011
• Stop cheating – get better decisions September 9, 2011
• Should referees give post-match interviews? September 5, 2011

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