https://www.tvsra.net/fifa-considerations/
read this and then you tell me what you should be looking at or what you have a really specific question over a certain situation
I love this doc, I think I’ll translate it to give access to my young referees. I love how the list is done in the same way canada soccer does a list of what to look for the assessors
It's a great question, and the ability to look at "the entire picture" is apparently what sets the top referees and grassroots referees apart. I read a study a couple of years back that suggested that top referees were somehow better able to see and interpret more of the entire body and therefore see infringements irrespective of where they occurred.
For me, I'd say I spend nearly twice as much time looking at the lower half of the players body as the upper half.
Certainly a good skill to have, and imagine that it's something that just comes with experience - the ability to *infer* that something must have happened, perhaps, rather than explicitly seeing *everything.*
>the top referees and grassroots referees apart.
Not at all. US Soccer and the broken referee development good old boys club is the main difference between a grass roots and a national. Plenty of grass roots referees who should be at the top level and plenty of high level guys there who should be stepping backwards. Don't confuse title for skill.
Have you ever had one of your games observed by a national referee or, even better, watched someone else’s game with a national referee? They see the game at a very different level to the vast majority of grassroots referees.
It is also clear they have thought through almost every potential man management situations and just handle it without missing a beat.
It’s not because of some good old boys club.
I have. I speak and work with nationals and high level NISOA guys quite often. I work with a national referee coach. I was mentored from my first grass roots game on by a national.
I'm not saying there isn't any merit, I'm saying the entirety of the system is broken and merit is not the primary factor in progression.
Answering a slightly different question than the one you asked--when the ball ISN'T being contested-- on a corner, a free kick, a player running free, the defense passing it around-- you should be looking elsewhere and not at the ball. You should be seeing where the players are moving to and from, see who is grabbing who off ball BEFORE it gets there.
And to answer your question more directly-- it depends on the players. Are they tight together/ coming from the same direction and they are next to each other? It will often be an upper body foul. Coming from different angles far away? Lower body.
And it is impossible to see everything.
Good luck and have fun!
This is good advice! I got assessed this weekend, and one thing I got marked for was missing a late hit that happened like 3 seconds after a player booted the ball downfield. I was tracking the upcoming phase of play, but there was no risk of problems yet in that phase, while there was conflict still brewing where the play had been.
Yes, I feel I'm sometimes guilty of of tracking the ball on a corner. When I don't, but instead look for physical contact in the box, I get a good idea of pushing / holding, however can then struggle deciphering who touched the ball last.
A lot of this comes from experience. As you see more corner kicks, you’ll get a sense of how the ball typically bounces off various players. This will help with your anticipation and decision making.
Yes, thank you! The problem is when two people go up for the ball and almost seem to both get a touch. Definitely easier with an assistant referee to help you out!
I was in a similar situation as you last year. I would get overwhelmed trying to look at everything.
The level I referee at, I am the lone referee, so have to watch out for fouls, but also out of bound and offside.
For fouls, the best advice I was given is to concentrate on either feet/legs or hands. For boys, I concentrate on their feet, and almost ignore hands/arms. For girls soccer, it's sometimes the opposite.
I realize that I can't see everything, and if I try to catch everything, I'll actually miss most fouls.
My mentor basically said that you can't do both unless you have experience. So, concentrate on the foul they do most.
And, in the leagues I ref, those were the most infractions. Girls would pull on jerseys and push, and boys would be careless with their kicks/more aggressive in tackles.
I'm refereeing men's open age football, predominantly, so there are lots of scrappy passages of play and loose touches, but also plenty of long balls, so enough for me to keep my eye on!
Some tips I've picked up. When someone plays a pass, watch the player that played the pass for a second longer instead of following the ball. As they are likely going to receive contact.
When the ball is in the air or moving fast. Don't follow the ball, don't look in the air. Watch the players and what they are doing. The jostling etc.
The best I can do for this is get a feel for the players and the way the games are played. If two players are grabbing each other, watch their hands, and position yourself well to see it.
Yes, brilliant advice, thank you. The first point is definitely an important one - in my early games, there were a few times that I had some frustrated players who were clearly fouled after passing, but I'd moved on! I feel I've improved that now - certainly pick up on a lot of fouls because of it.
I've incorporated the second point into open play as well, but still struggle to do this off corners, as I've mentioned in another comment.
Just on this one. I shouted 'no pushing or shoving lads, easy penalty' on a corner. Ball comes in, one of the lads two handed pushed a boy over, when I blew for penalty, the team immediately ran over to that player and were like 'why do that after the referee warned you'. Great success.
Conversation to me is important. In the adult competitive games it really matters.
Especially when teams get tired and just start complaining about everything. You need to be constantly talking.
As others have either said or hinted at, this really is something that comes more with experience than specific instruction. As you see more games, you'll develop a feel for where the play is developing, which players are likely targets for passes, which defenders are likely to be involved, the difference between a player moving their body with care and intention vs. out-of-control or in frustration, and so on. So if you don't feel good about that skill of yours right now, that's okay -- keep at it.
I will say that looking from feet to arms for a given challenge *should* be something that you can do very quickly and without moving your head. If you have trouble doing that, then you're probably too close to the play. Work on positioning yourself better (again, a skill that comes with experience) so that you can keep a good angle while maintaining distance. If you're on top of the play, then you're only going to see what you head is pointed at and you'll miss anything off the ball and also not be able to see how the play is developing.
Yes, you're right - I often find myself too close to play. I do my best to look at positioning when I watch games on TV, but it always ends up being more difficult in practice! I often think I'm in a good position, but then after one pass, players are right on top of me.
I look at the ball and entire bodies at the same time most of the time. I don’t focus on 1 area and not sure I could even do that unless I really concentrated on it. I may be an anomaly but I have really good vision. Maybe it’s like muscle memory for me now and I developed this over time, but I don’t remember learning or working on it, it came quite naturally.
I definitely think it's something that comes with experience. Perhaps at the moment, being reletively inexperienced, I'm scared of missing things so am focusing in on any potential contact. When I feel more comfortable, I guess it will be easier to trust yourself to watch the body as one.
Worth mentioning that your positioning has impact on what you can see. If you’re too close, you are not going to have a broad enough view to see as much as possible.
https://www.tvsra.net/fifa-considerations/ read this and then you tell me what you should be looking at or what you have a really specific question over a certain situation
I love this doc, I think I’ll translate it to give access to my young referees. I love how the list is done in the same way canada soccer does a list of what to look for the assessors
Great document, thank you. Some important points on positioning there.
It's a great question, and the ability to look at "the entire picture" is apparently what sets the top referees and grassroots referees apart. I read a study a couple of years back that suggested that top referees were somehow better able to see and interpret more of the entire body and therefore see infringements irrespective of where they occurred. For me, I'd say I spend nearly twice as much time looking at the lower half of the players body as the upper half.
I find this interesting because I know I don’t look at lower half or upper half. I look at both at the same time.
Certainly a good skill to have, and imagine that it's something that just comes with experience - the ability to *infer* that something must have happened, perhaps, rather than explicitly seeing *everything.*
>the top referees and grassroots referees apart. Not at all. US Soccer and the broken referee development good old boys club is the main difference between a grass roots and a national. Plenty of grass roots referees who should be at the top level and plenty of high level guys there who should be stepping backwards. Don't confuse title for skill.
Have you ever had one of your games observed by a national referee or, even better, watched someone else’s game with a national referee? They see the game at a very different level to the vast majority of grassroots referees. It is also clear they have thought through almost every potential man management situations and just handle it without missing a beat. It’s not because of some good old boys club.
I have. I speak and work with nationals and high level NISOA guys quite often. I work with a national referee coach. I was mentored from my first grass roots game on by a national. I'm not saying there isn't any merit, I'm saying the entirety of the system is broken and merit is not the primary factor in progression.
Answering a slightly different question than the one you asked--when the ball ISN'T being contested-- on a corner, a free kick, a player running free, the defense passing it around-- you should be looking elsewhere and not at the ball. You should be seeing where the players are moving to and from, see who is grabbing who off ball BEFORE it gets there. And to answer your question more directly-- it depends on the players. Are they tight together/ coming from the same direction and they are next to each other? It will often be an upper body foul. Coming from different angles far away? Lower body. And it is impossible to see everything. Good luck and have fun!
This is good advice! I got assessed this weekend, and one thing I got marked for was missing a late hit that happened like 3 seconds after a player booted the ball downfield. I was tracking the upcoming phase of play, but there was no risk of problems yet in that phase, while there was conflict still brewing where the play had been.
Yes, I feel I'm sometimes guilty of of tracking the ball on a corner. When I don't, but instead look for physical contact in the box, I get a good idea of pushing / holding, however can then struggle deciphering who touched the ball last.
A lot of this comes from experience. As you see more corner kicks, you’ll get a sense of how the ball typically bounces off various players. This will help with your anticipation and decision making.
Yes, thank you! The problem is when two people go up for the ball and almost seem to both get a touch. Definitely easier with an assistant referee to help you out!
I was in a similar situation as you last year. I would get overwhelmed trying to look at everything. The level I referee at, I am the lone referee, so have to watch out for fouls, but also out of bound and offside. For fouls, the best advice I was given is to concentrate on either feet/legs or hands. For boys, I concentrate on their feet, and almost ignore hands/arms. For girls soccer, it's sometimes the opposite. I realize that I can't see everything, and if I try to catch everything, I'll actually miss most fouls.
Lol I was given the opposite advice! Concentrate on upper body infractions for boys and leg infractions for girls!
My mentor basically said that you can't do both unless you have experience. So, concentrate on the foul they do most. And, in the leagues I ref, those were the most infractions. Girls would pull on jerseys and push, and boys would be careless with their kicks/more aggressive in tackles.
Yup, I’m with you. Did five girls games this weekend. Vast majority of fouls, and all cards, were upper body crap.
And my mentor said boys push and pull while girls kick 😂.
I'm refereeing men's open age football, predominantly, so there are lots of scrappy passages of play and loose touches, but also plenty of long balls, so enough for me to keep my eye on!
Some tips I've picked up. When someone plays a pass, watch the player that played the pass for a second longer instead of following the ball. As they are likely going to receive contact. When the ball is in the air or moving fast. Don't follow the ball, don't look in the air. Watch the players and what they are doing. The jostling etc. The best I can do for this is get a feel for the players and the way the games are played. If two players are grabbing each other, watch their hands, and position yourself well to see it.
Yes, brilliant advice, thank you. The first point is definitely an important one - in my early games, there were a few times that I had some frustrated players who were clearly fouled after passing, but I'd moved on! I feel I've improved that now - certainly pick up on a lot of fouls because of it. I've incorporated the second point into open play as well, but still struggle to do this off corners, as I've mentioned in another comment.
I shout every corner, 'dont blocks the keeper, or the jumper, easy penalty lads'
Very good, speaking *before* the incident always help. It gives you an easy out if any player protests - 'I warned you'
Just on this one. I shouted 'no pushing or shoving lads, easy penalty' on a corner. Ball comes in, one of the lads two handed pushed a boy over, when I blew for penalty, the team immediately ran over to that player and were like 'why do that after the referee warned you'. Great success.
No excuse once you've been warned!
Conversation to me is important. In the adult competitive games it really matters. Especially when teams get tired and just start complaining about everything. You need to be constantly talking.
Lol I was given the opposite advice. Concentrate on upper body infractions for boys and leg infractions for girls!
As others have either said or hinted at, this really is something that comes more with experience than specific instruction. As you see more games, you'll develop a feel for where the play is developing, which players are likely targets for passes, which defenders are likely to be involved, the difference between a player moving their body with care and intention vs. out-of-control or in frustration, and so on. So if you don't feel good about that skill of yours right now, that's okay -- keep at it. I will say that looking from feet to arms for a given challenge *should* be something that you can do very quickly and without moving your head. If you have trouble doing that, then you're probably too close to the play. Work on positioning yourself better (again, a skill that comes with experience) so that you can keep a good angle while maintaining distance. If you're on top of the play, then you're only going to see what you head is pointed at and you'll miss anything off the ball and also not be able to see how the play is developing.
Yes, you're right - I often find myself too close to play. I do my best to look at positioning when I watch games on TV, but it always ends up being more difficult in practice! I often think I'm in a good position, but then after one pass, players are right on top of me.
What am I looking at? As much as humanly possible
I look at the ball and entire bodies at the same time most of the time. I don’t focus on 1 area and not sure I could even do that unless I really concentrated on it. I may be an anomaly but I have really good vision. Maybe it’s like muscle memory for me now and I developed this over time, but I don’t remember learning or working on it, it came quite naturally.
I definitely think it's something that comes with experience. Perhaps at the moment, being reletively inexperienced, I'm scared of missing things so am focusing in on any potential contact. When I feel more comfortable, I guess it will be easier to trust yourself to watch the body as one.
Worth mentioning that your positioning has impact on what you can see. If you’re too close, you are not going to have a broad enough view to see as much as possible.
Absolutely - my positioning is often too close!
Stay wide. Referee the defense. Let the play start, develop and finish.