IFAB decree

[USSF REF]

LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Referees at the World Cup will eject players who elbow or tackle recklessly.

A meeting of the governing body's International Football Association Board also approved yellow cards for shirt-pulling or holding an opponent, as well as for playing the ball after the referee's whistle.

"The stars of the tournament will serve as role models for hundreds of millions of other players around the world," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said. "So it is all the more important that Germany 2006 sets a positive example."

The tournament will be held June 9-July 9.


IFAB to refs "Get tough!" (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/soccer/03/04/fifa.meeting.ap/index.html)

[david58]

So, Sepp decided he needed to publicly tell the refs to do their job?

I suppose maybe the problem was that some, too many, were not

[USSF REF]

I don't know exactly how to read that part that says "referees will send off players who tackle recklessly". -- Right now, we treat reckless tackles as a cautionable offense, so I wonder exactly how this was meant. Perhaps it was the author of the article writting that part OR maybe something more.

Very interesting.

[nsa]

IFAB clamps down on time-wasting, reckless play and simulation (http://www.fifa.com/en/media/index/0,1369,115318,00.html?articleid=115318)

From the FIFA release:... the Board supported FIFA's request that special instructions be issued to the match officials who will be in action in Germany. As a result, they will be asked to severely sanction all cases of elbowing, reckless tackling and serious foul play with red cards, while shirt-pulling and holding an opponent will incur a yellow card. Furthermore, referees will also be told to caution any player who provokes a confrontation with an opponent by deliberately interfering with the ball after the referee has stopped play.


Also:In accordance with its principles, the Board therefore gave the green light for the continuation of the experiment launched by adidas and cairos using chip-in-the-ball technology. The Board also approved an experiment presented by the Italian football association using a digital-camera system and UEFA's proposed trial of a referee communication system. What's the ref comm system?

[blind_clown]

I don't know exactly how to read that part that says "referees will send off players who tackle recklessly". -- Right now, we treat reckless tackles as a cautionable offense, so I wonder exactly how this was meant. Perhaps it was the author of the article writting that part OR maybe something more.

Very interesting.

Is careless, reckless, excessive used to mean foul, caution, send off in other countries?

[jkdd77]

I think this is just bigmouth Blatter trying to ruin another World Cup.:mad:

The IFAB can't unilaterally change the Laws, without going through the correct procedures, and in any event any change to the Laws would not take effect until the 1st July.

It'll be like France '98 all over again:

Referees ordered by Blatter to sent players off for 'nothing' challenges or face being kicked out

Referees sent off players for 'nothing' challenges, as ordered

Huge media outcry after several players are sent off for 'nothing' challenges

Blatter tells referees they're doing it all wrong and orders them to be more lenient...:rolleyes:

[USSF REF]

I think this is just bigmouth Blatter trying to ruin another World Cup.:mad:

The IFAB can't unilaterally change the Laws, without going through the correct procedures, and in any event any change to the Laws would not take effect until the 1st July.

It'll be like France '98 all over again:

Referees ordered by Blatter to sent players off for 'nothing' challenges or face being kicked out

Referees sent off players for 'nothing' challenges, as ordered

Huge media outcry after several players are sent off for 'nothing' challenges

Blatter tells referees they're doing it all wrong and orders them to be more lenient...:rolleyes:

Ain't that the damn truth...

I know precisely what you mean. It seems like FIFA always wants a crack down and when it happens people talk about how terrible the refereeing is.

[Law5]

The IFAB can't unilaterally change the Laws, without going through the correct procedures, and in any event any change to the Laws would not take effect until the 1st July.


Let's be clear about this: The IFAB is the only group that can change the laws of the game. The "correct procedure" is that six IFAB votes out of eight determine the Laws, period. They can choose to make the changes effective whenever they want, although I would be surprised if they changed their usual practice of making them effective July 1.

[Chas (Psyatika)]

From what i remember though (feel free to correct me, i've only been alive for 5 World Cups, and have only been following football for two), we have seen law changes go into effect at the World Cup. I remember commentators talking about it a lot, like the red card for tackling from behind at the 1998 World Cup, or the "passive offside" as they called it (there have been others, i just can't think of them off the top of my head). Either the law changes were made in 1997, and went into effect on 1 July 1997, and for reason the commentators feel the need to discuss it a year later, or the World Cup applied the rulings of the IFAB meeting from 1998.

In any case, surely some exception in either direction has to be made for the World Cup, the largest football tournament in the world, if only for the mere fact that two of the Quarterfinal matches, both semifinals, the 3rd place match, and the final all take place after 1st July. The laws should remain uniform throughout the tournament (in my opinion, anyway), so it would makes sense to choose to either apply the IFAb rulings for the entire tournament, or to ignore the rulings entirely.

I suppose "points of emphasis" would be a different story...

[Gary V]

The IFAB can't unilaterally change the Laws, without going through the correct procedures, and in any event any change to the Laws would not take effect until the 1st July.They (IFAB) had their annual meeting, and changed the Laws. And it has historically been the case that competitions that span July 1 will either use or not use the Law changes for the entire competition.

It'll be like France '98 all over again:
//snip//Probably. Sigh.

Now, does anyone have a link to exactly which proposals passed IFAB?

[jkdd77]

What I meant by 'acting unilaterally' was the reclassification of 'reckless' challenges from a YC offence to a red card offence.

It seems they've done just that, though, and it will apply at the World Cup:
http://www.fifa.com/en/media/index/0,1369,115318,00.html?articleid=115318

Prepare for honest referees to be flamed by the world's media, and generally have their integrity questioned, as a result of a few RCs for borderline careless/ reckless challenges (ie, normal run-of-the-mill challenges). :(

I hope the WC teams get plenty of practice in training playing with 7 men, because they might just need it...

I wonder if we could even see a match abandoned due to insufficient players on one or both teams?

[Chas (Psyatika)]

I hope that this is a case of the media simply not knowing referee terminology, and using the wrong word. Replacing every caution for a reckless challenge with a send-off might be just a little drastic, and i seriously can't imagine the laws being changed so dramatically just before a major competition. This isn't basketball after all, where fouls are called when the smallest bit of contact is made (or if you're a star player, but that's another story...).

[MassachusettsRef]

We've got 3 months to the World Cup and the referees haven't even been selected yet. We're going to have several meetings/forums involving the referees between now and mid-June and I expect we're going to see a lot of discussion/clarification on just exactly what this means.

I, for one, want know a lot more about the use of the word "reckless" in this press release. As might have been pointed out already, we haven't seen an actual tangible document from the IFAB, we only have a second hand account from FIFA's communications department. This might be an unfortunate mis-use of the word "reckless". I severely doubt it's a wholesale change/interpretation by the IFAB. If it was, what would the new standard for yellow cards be? If careless were a foul and reckless were a red card, there'd be no classification left for yellow cards, except for technical violations of the law. In that regard, I think there's some overreaction on this thread. Give it time and things will be sorted out. Besides, it doesn't affect any of us at all, yet.

Ultimately, I personally think it's just a strong reminder that ALL tackles that endanger the safety of an opponent will be considered serious foul play (remember, this is the FIRST World Cup with that standard) and that "reckless" is just an unfortunate word choice here, because layman (as opposed to referees) can equate "reckless" with that standard, even though it's not technically correct.

The bigger issues, I think, are the edicts on elbowing and shirt pulling.

The elbowing directive sounds a LOT like what's been emphasized in MLS the past year, and there have been several controversial red cards under that interpretation. I predict that you're going to see several incidents where careless elbows will be, unfortunately in my opinion, sanctioned with red cards.

As for shirt-pulling, I think it's important to try to stamp it out of the game, but I don't think mandatory cautions for it are the answer. I hope that this is just a directive to caution for all shirt pulls that are tactical (ie, ones that stop attacking opportunities). If it's a mandatory caution for all shirt pulls that FIFA wants, then we're going to see a LOT of soft red cards for second yellows and a lot of yellows in general. You can't stop that behavior overnight and I don't think the World Cup is where you should start. Also, you're going to see a LOT of inconsistency in the application of this law.

In the end, yes, I think you're going to see a lot more red cards at this tournament. But part of it is with good reason (the interpretation from last year that all tackles that endanger the safety of an opponent are red cards). The other reason--the elbowing edict--I think is going to turn out to be overreach by the IFAB.

[chrisrun]

Let's be clear about this: The IFAB is the only group that can change the laws of the game. The "correct procedure" is that six IFAB votes out of eight determine the Laws, period. They can choose to make the changes effective whenever they want, although I would be surprised if they changed their usual practice of making them effective July 1.

"The modifications will come into force on 1 July 2006. However, with the FIFA World Cup™ beginning on 9 June and lasting until 9 July, the IFAB decided that the modifications and instructions would also apply for FIFA's flagship competition."

[NHRef]

we had an intermediate/advanced ref seminar this weekend with a national instructor who told us that the "powers" are instructing to concentrate on: elbowing, SFP and VC and sanction it as such and get the players off the field.

Supposedly this is being instructed at all levels from U-littles to FIFA international.

[chrisrun]

Ultimately, I personally think it's just a strong reminder that ALL tackles that endanger the safety of an opponent will be considered serious foul play (remember, this is the FIRST World Cup with that standard) and that "reckless" is just an unfortunate word choice here, because layman (as opposed to referees) can equate "reckless" with that standard, even though it's not technically correct.

Looking at the slideshow, I think this is correct.
http://www.fifa.com/documents/media/IFAB%20AGM%202006%20Lucerne-Web.pdf



As for shirt-pulling, I think it's important to try to stamp it out of the game, but I don't think mandatory cautions for it are the answer. I hope that this is just a directive to caution for all shirt pulls that are tactical (ie, ones that stop attacking opportunities). If it's a mandatory caution for all shirt pulls that FIFA wants, then we're going to see a LOT of soft red cards for second yellows and a lot of yellows in general. You can't stop that behavior overnight and I don't think the World Cup is where you should start. Also, you're going to see a LOT of inconsistency in the application of this law.

I like that they are going for mandatory cautions for shirt pulling. There is wiggle room for pushing and challenging, depending on how physical the game is. There is no need to EVER pull the shirt. That is straight out cheating, and not a subjective call. I just don't like the timing of the change. They should have done it last year, or waited until after the World Cup. This is a bad habit that many players have been able to get away with for a long time, and it will take some time to get out of that habit. As much as I hate the shirt pulling, I don't want to see players get carded in the WC for a habit they haven't been given time to break.

[USSF REF]

FIFA Slide Show (http://www.fifa.com/documents/media/IFAB%20AGM%202006%20Lucerne-Web.pdf)

This will give some more insight and clarification into what this article means.

[macheath]

[QUOTE=chrisrun]Looking at the slideshow, I think this is correct.
http://www.fifa.com/documents/media/IFAB%20AGM%202006%20Lucerne-Web.pdf [QUOTE]

Thanks for this link! The photos are great, and pretty instructive. Almost all of the red card examples on fouls seem to be studs-up, foot at a 90 degree angle, aimed at the ankle or lower leg. Those merit reds in my book anyway, good to see it being underscored at the highest level.

And the shirt pulling pictures are hilarious! In a couple of cases, it's virtually undressing the opponent.

[MassachusettsRef]

Ok, for some reason I hadn't been able to open that PDF directly from the FIFA site, but I've seen it now.

1) It should be patently clear that this is a reinforcement of last year's edict and not a new standard for what "reckless" entails. All of those slides for serious foul play either involve excessive force or have come under the interpretation of "endangering the safety of an opponent". If that's what FIFA means, then there is literally nothing new here. All of those tackles are red cards today and they all should be at the World Cup.

2) Elbowing. This is what I have a HUGE problem with. It seems like the powers that be are literally mandating red cards for accidents and 50/50 challenges. Look at page 4 of the slideshow, as an example. FIFA wants a red card on the Brazilian (?) player because his elbow happened to connect with his opponent's face on a challenge in the air. But both players clearly lept with their arms extended. You send off one player and allow the other to stay simply because one of the guys was unlucky enough to leap higher? It makes zero sense to me. The slide on page 3, I can understand and accept a little more (though depending on exactly where the ball was coming down, I could also see just a yellow card). Effectively, FIFA and the IFAB are making elbows a special case--and not applying the careless/reckless/excessive force standard. It goes against the Laws to mandate that referees issue red cards for careless elbows, but that's exactly what FIFA is doing. This is going to be a HUGE problem at the World Cup, because you're going to see some dumbfounding send offs.

3) Shirt pulling. I've got no problem with yellow cards on any of those slides, except slide 11. Yes, it's a stupid and unnecessary foul, but it looks like the sort of thing that I can talk a player through and not give out, what I feel, is an unnecessary yellow card. To be blunt, I would NEVER want to show a player a second yellow card for what's seen in slide 11. That's why I have a problem with the mandatory edict here. 85%+ of the time, I think a yellow is warranted for shirt-pulling--I just don't feel it's warranted 100% of the time.

[Statesman]

In my college years I played a saxophone in a band. We had an old saying: "Never change your reed before a concert." For the layman, the reed is the small strip of wood or plastic placed over the aperture wind is blown into to create the vibration that produces the sound. After a decent amount of time, the reed becomes too soft and the tonal quality is lost, and thus they need to be replaced regularly.

The thing is, when you put a brand new reed on the instrument it takes a bit to break it in. Out of they box they tend to be fairly stiff and more difficult to play on - like breaking in a new pair of shoes. Going from a soft reed to a stiff reed changed the playing experience enough to be a distraction during a performance. Not to mention you won't have that fine level of control required to produce the best sound possible.

So, the best practice is to buy the new reed a week before the concert. By the time concert night rolls around it will be broken in perfectly.

Seems to me FIFA, in its attempt to stress important items they want to eliminate in the World Cup, changes its reed on concert night. The referees selected have years of international experience and should know already what type of dirty play FIFA wants eliminated. By over-emphasizing these elements, it focuses too much of the referee's attention towards enforcing them at the expense of overall game performance.

Changing a reed produces an incosistent sound. Overemphasis of elements referees are already comfortable punishing produces inconsistent referees. FIFA should learn to leave well enough alone - change the reed in the year prior to the WC to break it in, and when the WC roles around you have nothing to fear.