Okay so I've been sifting through some previous threads on Futsal and I still have a few questions for those who've done/do Futsal, a weird and wacky wormhole I've just started to explore. First this gem from the Futsal course: I heartily LOL'd. And my correct review question was worth 10 points!!! Okay so questions: Contact. The slide says that not even shoulder-to-shoulder contact should be allowed, owing to the tight quarters and hard/slick playing surface. It also says that pushing should be watched closely, since some arm contact is unavoidable. Okay...as a practical matter, I guess I'm looking for feedback on how contact much should be allowed. Don't yet have a good barometer for how out of touch the "helpful" fans are in the face of F=MA. GK Control of the Ball. GK has 4 seconds to play the ball. Ok. Situation: defender kicks in to GK in the arc, who traps the ball and does not hurry to play ball since no opponent challenges. Ball is near feet, not on/under foot. Partner counts 4 seconds and gives IFK. Does standing near the ball constitute control? Goal Clearance. Not necessary to wait until GK has ball in hand before starting 4-second count. Whoo. Practically, when should/do you start the count? Keeper changes. Okay to just hold a restart for this, v. require a timeout?
I'll take a stab at this but only have one season of futsal under my belt and this season hasn't started yet so I'm a bit rusty. Yes Law 11 is funny and only there so the # of Laws/Law #'s are the same as association football LOTG. Much less contact is accepted in futsal and may depend on your local ROC. In our league we're told any hand check or contact should be whistled for a foul, although most of us don't call it quite that tight. However, if you watch professional futsal, you'll see they call it much looser and allow a fair amount of contact but again, less than what we're used to in football. I basically whistle for any contact that unbalances or moves a player off the ball, and only play advantage in cases where it's during an attack and very clear. It's critical to come back and still count the foul due to how accumulated fouls are handled in futsal. Based on your example, yes I would say the GK has control/possession of the ball and needs to either release it or get across the halfway line within 4 seconds. I begin my 4 second count on a goal clearance when the keeper re-enters the PA with the ball in cases when he has to retrieve it. I will usually wait until it's in his hands if the play has just stopped and he is in the process of collecting it. However, if he's trying to buy more time by leaving it as his feet longer than necessary instead of picking it up, I will being my count. From my understanding, goalkeeper substitution is no different than any other player. The keeper must leave through the substitution zone and be off the court before the new keeper can enter the court. Better off doing this at half time or when the ball goes out of play and will take a few extra seconds to collect it. Again I am new to futsal so if any of this is off base please let me know!
Contact: No shoulder to shoulder is allowed, go on youtube and google futsal world cup and watch some games. Minimum contact is allowed as in, put out a hand to check the player. Standing side by side is fine, but one one player puts pressure on another to force them out of their space, call it. GK Control of the Ball: The moment the GK touches the ball he is considered to be in possession, he must relinquish control within 4 seconds. Goal Clearance: Use your judgement, if you see that the GK or any player stalling to put the ball into play start the count. Once you reach 4 seconds call it. Same for kick ins. For example: Player A fetches the ball and places it on the touch line than leaves. Player B subs in or comes from opposite side of the filed to put the ball into play. Start the count the moment the ball is placed on the touch line. The game of Futsal is a game of skill and speed with limited time. Edit: RefLI explained it better than me.
I find Futsal a lot more fun to ref than most of the indoor stuff done during the winter. It's certainly fast paced, and keeps your concentration level up! As RefLi mentioned, they try to keep the Laws lined up with outdoor as much as possible. Hence "Rule 6: There is NOOOOOOOOOO Rule 6." I don't worry too much about helpful fans. The emphasis we tell our referees is that "the ground is hard. It hurts when you get knocked over. Call it tight. The players/coaches will complain, but the fouling will stop. Especially after the 6th foul of the half." That little bump from behind? Call it. I wouldn't call a hand-check that quickly, but seriously, the point is to encourage technical play, not thuggery. Yes. The keeper has obtained possession of the ball in his own half with that first touch, so the 4 second count has started. He hasn't gotten rid of it yet. The ball is in playing distance. I'd call that still in possession. Again, next time, the keeper will get rid of it. On a Goal Clearance, I generally wait until the keeper has the ball and has a reasonable chance to distribute it. Usually as he is starting the enter the field from where he's gone off the shag the ball. That said, when the keeper is being a DB and dawdling, I start when the keeper would have been back had he not messed around. Similar to a kick-in. I'll give them every benefit of the doubt, but if they want to test my patience, they'll get to hear my whistle and defend a free kick from the arc. As above, that generally doesn't happen twice. So here's a situation where the FLotG run into local rules. We use a running clock, so we need to pay more attention to time wasting. The FLotG say that a substitute may replace the Keeper at any time during the run of play, it is just like any other sub. The "old" Keeper must exit the field through a substitution zone. The "new" Keeper hands off the bib before entering the field. If the "new" keeper enters the field before the "old" keeper has exited, it is a substitution infraction. Caution the "new" keeper and restart with an IDK for the other team from where the ball was when play was stopped. A player (not a substitute) and the Keeper may also change places at any stoppage after informing the Referee. Just like outdoor, there's no real provision to refuse the request, and we hold up the restart (and the count) for the exchange of shirts and such. This is obviously an area where a "clever" coach will find an opportunity to waste time. When that happens (and it hasn't yet), I'm going to find a reason to "tell" the coach that he is behaving irresponsibly. He can appeal if he wants. Finally, as you say, if a team has the restart and has timeouts left, they can call a timeout, and switch keepers during the timeout.
You cannot substituted _during_ a timeout. It must happen at the end of a timeout (using the proper substitution procedure... of course!)
Oy. You're correct, of course, but the distinction is just around what happens if you send someone off during the timeout, right?
Thanks for feedback guys! Quite a transition, from HS playoffs to Futsal. Sort of like slam-dancing and then a waltz comes on.
I suspect that's the reason (though, it doesn't explain my horrid typo in my original post ). I treat them much like a "hydration break" in soccer. It doesn't matter if you're on a substitution opportunity. You still have to go through the correct motions... at the end of the break.
Quick question. What is a "direct free kick without a wall" and when is it awarded? (New to futsal this year and so far this is the only thing that has confused me)
That's the DFK for 6+ fouls/half/team. No wall, kick must be an attempt on goal, no player may touch the ball after the kick unless/until it has rebounded from the goalpost or GK, or left the pitch. GK need not stay on goal line but must remain 5m from ball.
@elonpuckhog I'd recommend sitting down with a copy of the futsal Laws and walking through them side-by-side with the soccer Laws. Mark what's the same, mark what's different between the two. It'll give you a pretty strong grasp as to all of the little weird things.
Good advice, and if you're like me EPH a lot of what seems weird when you read the Laws will start to sort out once you do a couple games. Also, which Futsal are you doing, USFF or USSF? Good to make sure you're reading from the right sheet of music.
I'm a brand new Futsal referee. Ball is placed on the touch line for a kick in. The ball is kicked directly out of play. What's the restart?
Right in the Laws. This changed in the 14-15 Laws. Used to be a "retake". Note that this even applies if the ball is placed 25cm _behind_ the line (which means that potentially none of the ball is on the line). Ball doesn't enter the pitch? Other team gets the kick-in.
What kind of fees do you guys see for Futsal? Around here I'm seeing $12/ref up to U14, and $15/ref for HS-age. 20-minute halves. Curious to know how that compares. Guys I know who do indoor (i.e. not Futsal) make more, but the field is bigger and obviously the demands (including but not limited to patrol) are different.
I hope you're not doing it solo for those prices. Up here, all youth is $20 per match, two-man system, 20-22 minutes per half running clock.
It's the same here in Ontario -- pretty much everyone is $20 a match (2-ref system) or (typically) $25-30 for a single ref system (which is rarely used, and only by necessity).
Southeast Michigan is $20/game/ref. We used to be two man for all games, but the sport is growing way, way faster than the number of certified referees, so we decided to have solo referees for U8-U12, and duals for U12+. 24 minute running-clock halves. That first year, when we had five certified referees to cover all games was pretty interesting.