Cautions 2006 - a Communication from US Soccer Referee Dept.

[bluedevils]

I received this via email yesterday from US Soccer referee department; it contained a MS Word attachment. It is basically a compilation of examples of each type of yellow card or red card offense, from all the different USSF and FIFA publications. This is handy information and saves referees from doing this sort of legwork on their own. I only wish they had done this years ago!

From the U.S. Soccer Communications Center - July 11, 2006

The National Program for Referee Development is pleased to announce the publication of an updated edition of the Cautions and Cautionable Offenses. The first edition of the Cautions was published in 2004.

Cautions and Cautionable Offenses 2006 provides USSF referees, referee instructors, referee assessors, coaches, players, and fans a reliable compilation of guidelines on cautions, including a philosophy as to when and why they should be given—and when they should not be given. Cautions and Cautionable Offenses 2006 has been compiled from the Laws of the Game and the Questions and Answers to the Laws of the Game, as well as other official publications from the USSF instructional program, including specific subject memoranda.

Cautions and Cautionable Offenses 2006 gives referees a solid foundation for making the correct decision at the correct time. It is also an ideal resource for coaches and players, to help them understand the decisions made by referees, assistant referees, and fourth officials.

[bluedevils]

I'm asking the mods to give me privileges to post attachments, so I can put the document here in this thread. I'm not sure if it is posted already on ussoccer.com or ussoccer-data.com.

[usatowin]

http://images.ussoccer.com/Documents/cms/ussf/Cautions_2006.pdf

Found in the LOTG section of ussoccer.com. Not at data yet.

[chrisrun]

http://images.ussoccer.com/Documents/cms/ussf/Cautions_2006.pdf

Found in the LOTG section of ussoccer.com. Not at data yet.

It's there now.

I meant to mention this before, but if you look at the 2006 7+7 document, you'll notice that they removed the reference to "mandatory" cautions, and now have "actions of special concern to FIFA".

[bluedevils]

It's there now.

I meant to mention this before, but if you look at the 2006 7+7 document, you'll notice that they removed the reference to "mandatory" cautions, and now have "actions of special concern to FIFA".

Yes, USSF seems to have backed off / moved away from the concept of the 'mandatory' caution and I feel this is a good thing. In my view, they have been too careful in their wording for my liking, trying to have it both ways.

[usatowin]

It's there now.

I meant to mention this before, but if you look at the 2006 7+7 document, you'll notice that they removed the reference to "mandatory" cautions, and now have "actions of special concern to FIFA".

They changed it in '04, maybe '05 and made a big deal of it then.

In my view, they have been too careful in their wording for my liking, trying to have it both ways.

It does seem rather silly when there are still some we absolutely must give no matter what.

[refontherun]

They changed it in '04, maybe '05 and made a big deal of it then.
It does seem rather silly when there are still some we absolutely must give no matter what.

Mandatory cautions in my book:
1) Keeper leaving the PA to engage the refs.
2) Not respecting required distance on CK, FK, or TI.
3) Extra player leaving the field (i.e. you discover a twelfth player and require that player be removed or, team playing with eleven after having a player sent off (this happened to me). Whoever the coach pulls off gets a caution in either case.
4) Preventing the keeper from releasing the ball into play (after a warning for youth 13 and below).

[usatowin]

Mandatory cautions in my book:
1) Keeper leaving the PA to engage the refs.
2) Not respecting required distance on CK, FK, or TI.
3) Extra player leaving the field (i.e. you discover a twelfth player and require that player be removed or, team playing with eleven after having a player sent off (this happened to me). Whoever the coach pulls off gets a caution in either case.
4) Preventing the keeper from releasing the ball into play (after a warning for youth 13 and below).

You're wrong on all but #3. The rest are listed in 7+7, but are not designated as "mandatory". If by your book you meant in your games, remember the part about not cautioning solely based on personal standards. If everyone else is playing the FK games (which I hate), then we can't be the only one giving an automatic yellow for not instantly getting away.

Here's the full list of bold, required, but not mandatory, cautions:

Unsporting
f. Fakes an injury or exaggerates the seriousness of an injury
g. Fakes a foul (dives) or exaggerates the severity of a foul
k. Changes jerseys with the goalkeeper during play or without the referee's permission (both players must
be cautioned)
l. Engages in trickery to circumvent the goalkeeper's limitation on handling the ball played from a
teammate's foot (the defender who initiates the "trickery" is cautioned, the decision does not require that
the goalkeeper actually handles the ball, and the misconduct can occur during dynamic play or at a
restart)
n. Removes the jersey after scoring a goal

Enters
a. Having previously been substituted (unless the rules of competition allow such return)
b. After having previously been instructed to leave the field to correct equipment
e. As a substitute, without having received a signal to do so by the referee

Edit: This is off 2005. Enters a and e should now be UB.

[chrisrun]

They changed it in '04, maybe '05 and made a big deal of it then.

They said they were changing it, but if you look at the 2005 7+7 they still say "mandatory cautions are shown in bold print".

[usatowin]

They said they were changing it, but if you look at the 2005 7+7 they still say "mandatory cautions are shown in bold print".

Cautions 2004 redefined mandatory and had the whole judge each one by the needs of the match, but for some you have to give it even if it would hurt more than it would help.