I'm a new ref and have a couple of questions stemming from some recent games. Question 1: How do you determine the amount of physical play in a game. Considering the play is all legal, do you let the game continue on as long as there is no danger to the safety of the players irregardless of age? Question 2: Do you call a handball when for instance a player put's his/her hands up to protect their face and the ball hits them there? Here's another scenario I ran into last night. The attacking team kicked the ball into the other team's goal area. The ball the ricocheted off of the arm, (which was right next to the body), of the attacking team's teamate then hit the back of a defender and, wrong-footing the keeper, went in for a goal. Should I have called that a handball? Thanks in advance for your help.
As far as the hand ball goes remember this.. In your opinion, did the ball play the hand, or did the hand play the ball. One is a foul and the other isnt. In regards to your game, it falls under one of those you had to be there to see it.
Congratulations on becoming a new ref and welcome to the group. Regarding your first issue, the amount of physical force should be limited to a REASONABLE amount. As you mention, you need to consider the level of the game, the age of the players, and the size of the players (since puberty prompts growths spurts at different times for different people). The is where the ART of refereeing comes into play. Yes, it is subjective, but you must judge it keeping in mind that it must be kept fair not only in your perception but in the perception of the players as well. If you don't protect the players, they will do almost anything to protect them selves or seek revenge. As for "handball," may I suggest that you start to think of it as DELIBERATE HANDLING instead. It is only a foul if it is DELIBERATE. Therefore, if the ball strikes a player's arm in a natural position, there probably is no foul even if the ball drops or goes to a position that is to the benifit of that player. Rule of thumb: ball hits hand - no foul; hand moves to & hits ball - probably a foul. When considering a player moving his/her arms to protect the face, look at how far apart was the kicker and the person protecting the face, how hard was the kick, how old were the players, what level of play was involved, and did the player trying to protect the face have time to move or play it another way. The more reaction is a factor instead of deciding to play it that way, the less it probably should be sanctioned as a foul - deliberate handling. Hope this helps.
Kid, welcome to the ranks of the unliked. Your calls cannot satisify everyone so be sure to satisfy yourself that they are right. The other answers are correct but I will add a little flavor to help your understanding. If you feel a player is protecting themself by putting their hand in the path of the ball and is in a purely defensive position, then don't call deliberate handling. When it is close, I tell the players "you can defend yourself or attack the ball but you can't do both". As to physical play, you know you are over-calling it when the teams complain that you are taking away their advantages and you are under-calling it when there is even a hint of retaliation. Beyond that, judging the amount to call comes with experience. Of course when a single play is noticeably more extreme than the others, you are likely correct to call it. Try to be your own worst critic but have fun.
Never having seen the Myths of the Game video, does it cover handballs? It's amazing how much people scream at any contact between the ball and a hand.
Yes and it is well done. Now if I can only get all those screamers to watch the video before the game starts!
Yea, for physical play as previously stated, totally depends on the game, besides the factors already pointed out, I would add gender, men's games are 10x rougher than women's. This skill is picked up pretty quickly and easily. Normally, as refs gain experience, the games become bigger, more important, and more physical, so it should be easy to gradually adjust.