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Eight Ways to Control Behavior. Referees interested in becoming serious students of the game must be aware of the eight discretionary powers they have available to them to manage the game the officiate.
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Referees interested in becoming serious students of the game must be aware of the eight discretionary powers they have available to them to manage the game the officiate.
Achieving excellence takes knowing what your powers are and more importantly when and how best to use each to successfully manage a game. You have to know and use all the “Tools of your trade.”
A using of these referee powers is in their order of increasing power and effect on the behavior of the teams and players involved in the game.
The eight in order are: • Talk • Whistle • Advantage • Caution • Eject/disqualify • Suspend • Terminate • Forfeit • As you can see all except the first are clearly stated in the rule book
#1-Talk The right thing said to a player at the appropriate time can help avoid a problem later on. We often advise each other to talk to players throughout the game as needed to keep their behavior at an acceptable level, and to help keep behavior from crossing the line into misbehavior.
Advising a referee to talk to players to try to help them improve behavior is a good beginning at learning the technique, but doesn’t include pointers on how to judge when to do so and what to say. Realize whether or not your past efforts at talking to players have yielded good results, saying the right thing at the right time and in the right way.
A good example is a referee keeping a rough mental count of fouls called during a game learning that at times it helps to pass on the information as an informal and private word to a player who may be nearing being penalized for persistent infringement. Usually the player’s response was they were not aware and “Thanks ref for the heads up.”
One thing to remember about your discretionary power to talk to any player or team personnel is that no one expression or statement is a sure fire cure for a control problem with a player. However, it will very often make the difference in helping a player to improve behavior and stay in the game.
#2-Whistle • When and how we use the whistle to stop play for rule infringements can have a real effect, both good & bad on player behavior. • The judgment of when and what to whistle is the first problem. Judging a rule violation, offense, or misconduct is entirely subject to your discretion.
Once you accept the fact that it’s up to you to make the decision on each and every act you then need to observe, discuss, and practice recognizing the type of play that needs to be penalized for the sake of behavior control.
When you see an act and your senses tell you that it’s unfair, that’s your signal to whistle without hesitation and to try to correct behavior by the proper penalty to reassess your handling of violations, offenses, and misconduct is to realize that they all involve unfair play.
You have an obligation to enforce the rules and to ensure fair play. So long as you use your whistle to do so in a fair objective and consistent manner you will be successful in using this discretionary power.
#3-Advantage The application of advantage has always been a tricky technique: it is easier now that a referee can stop play if the advantage does not materialize and penalize the infraction.
Understand that once you allow advantage you are allowing unfair play to occur without penalizing it at that moment. Negatives relations by players who have been unfairly played against are probable. Therefore if the play requires a subsequent card (yellow or red) after the act and immediate play is completed, make sure you penalize at the appropriate time.
Make absolutely sure that as many of the players as possible hear and see your call and indication by signal of the advantage this will avoid the feeling among player that you have either not seen the act or that you did not recognize unfair play.
Advantages should never be a license to foul, use it sparingly in situations where there is an obviously good advantage to the offended team that would give them a good chance of realizing significant benefit such as a run on goal a chance at a shot on goal.
#4-Caution This is a strong power for the referee to use. It essentially lets you not only penalize for unfair behavior, but also lets you advise a player that a recurrence will send them out of the game.
When you issue a caution make sure the player clearly understands that they are ½ way out of the game. Avoid using confrontational or threatening language or expressions. Keep this procedure as short as possible and make it clear it’s up to the player whether or not they will remain in the game.
What you say and how you say it is important. The only requirement once you get the player’s number, team, time of occurrence, and type of misconduct is to inform player and coach of the caution and reason. It is best that the conversation stops at that, restart the game as soon as possible.
Often a cautioned player or coach will offer remark to justify the act or suggest that your judgment is wrong. Dissent is obviously your choice and should be based on what is needed to maintain control of behavior. Remarks made in a civil and respectful manner may be responded to briefly to try to quiet a tense situation.
#5-Eject/Disqualify This is the strongest power you have in disciplining player or coaches. It allows you to penalize by preventing that person from taking any further part in the balance of the game.
Your object in issuing the E/D is to order the player/coach off and see they leave the field as quickly as possible. Ejections require that you follow a formal procedure, follow it to the letter, and make sure that you prepare the necessary post game report to the proper authorities as specified.
Keep any conversations with those involved to an absolute minimum. Once you decide to E/D there is little need or value to any conversation at all other than the exchange required by rule book procedures. You should not restart play until you see all requirements are met.
#6-Suspend This refers to your discretionary power to suspend play for any cause you decide justifies a delay.
Should a game get to the point where poor player or team behavior has made the game dangerous to the participants, or becomes obvious that you decide justifies a delay.
Should a game get to the point where poor player or team behavior has made the game dangerous to the participants, or becomes obvious that your efforts at controlling player or team behavior at an acceptable level are not succeeding, you may decide to try to use a temporary suspension of play to restore the level of conduct and fair play to a satisfactory level.
A decision to suspend play might be taken after a number of cautions and ejections have not seemed to work. The temporary suspension is a power not often employed. There are two ways to proceed.
One approach would be approach coaches and ask their help in “quieting down” their players and encourage them to avoid further misconduct. Make this request brief and to the point and give them a short reasonable time to address their players.
Another approach is to make it clear to team captains that this is a last resort before a decision to terminate the game because of unacceptable behavior. No other conversation or warning is needed or advised. After a brief suspension, get on with the game as quickly as possible.
#7-Terminate A very powerful discretionary power, essentially you consider that the only course of action left in dealing with game misbehavior is to not allow the game to proceed to its normal end.
If you judge that player or team safeties are compromised due to unacceptable behavior, do not hesitate to terminate the game. You are the sole objective authority in the game and are responsible for each team’s safety in so far as the level of misbehavior affecting them.
Make sure you prepare and submit a written report to game authorities as specified. The ultimate responsibility for taking any follow up actions rest with these authorities.
#8-Forfeit The power to forfeit a game for specific reasons is the strongest power you can exercise as a referee. You are actually declaring one of the teams as a winner without their necessarily having the higher score at the time of forfeit.
The NFHS Soccer Rule Book allows as a reason for forfeit if a team has fewer than seven eligible player remaining, make sure if you declare a game forfeit to either team that the specific conditions of the rules have been met.
Summary The eight methods of controlling player and team behavior are the major powers referees have in order to control the game participants. It is hoped that you reflect on these powers and share your perceptions and experiences with other referees in an effort to achieve a higher level of refereeing excellence as a personal goal.
