Why am I a football referee?

Yes, that it a question I ask myself sometimes. Why am I a football referee? This year, I have asked myself that question more times than other years. And I can not really put my finger on why, why more this year than others? In general, the matches have been the same the other years as well. On the other hand, I think that mutual respect between players, leaders and referees is worse and continues to get worse. What responsibility the players and leaders have, we can talk about that over and over again. I focus more often on what I do wrong and what we referees can do, because that is where I as a referee can make changes.

I'll talk a little about the last match I had, a match at the top of men's division 5. In advance, it's a match with some yellow cards and a heated atmosphere. In our matchplan before the game, we prepared for it, but chose to focus more on what can we do so that it does not happen? We chose to go through our warm-up, what do we say to leaders and players, we can talk and joke with the players and leaders we know and we will do it. We put even more emphasis on it, right now than we usually do! And during the match, we prevent even more. We are there, we are close, but we do not breast up, we rather sink down - when we can. And shows authority when needed, then sinks down again. And it worked! Maybe not just because we did as we did, but it definitely had a contributing factor. It takes a lot of energy and you need to be mentally involved to make it work. You need to go through each situation twice before taking the dialogue or tackling a situation. It should also take 0.5 seconds before you make the decision and decide what to say.

It worked so well, that match, that I got the feeling that “This, I want to thank the teams for. After this signal, I also want to say thank you and clap my hands as a thank you for the match, and show fair play from us as well”. Why do we referees never do that? Why should the players thank the referees, each other and the audience and then give us a high-five? Why can not, or why should not the referees also say thank for the match? So we did! We said thanks for the match and oh my god what a good climate it was. The match ended 1-2, a tight match with some situations where it usually whines more. And only two yellow cards without discussions.

I usually take a situation as an example and here comes one from that match. We continue to focus on this with the fact that we all make mistakes, and we are all just human. A player in the home team gets a free kick against him, he thought it was cheap. He reacts and shouts "NO" quite loudly but does not have his reaction "above the shoulders", but almost. Then he is calm and nice, directly after that. I see it, let it go and take a new position. In the run after the free kick when the goalkeeper has the ball, I on the way to my next position get close to the player and talk to him. I say "Just like that, just like that, as a player I had also reacted to that free kick. You react in a good way and then you let go and move on, so you are not getting anything else. And just like that, just like that, I want it. Reactions and emotions but at a good level”. I get a smile back and a high-five. Lovely and a good climate!

So. Why am I really a referee then? Because I think it's fun!

I end this blogpost with a mistake I made, two previous games in a row! I'll write about it so hopefully I will not make that mistake again. Seems to have settled down as a routine almost. A warning to a player for verbal offenses  and I blow my whistle and give the other team the ball, via a ball-drop! It is an indirect free kick to the other team. Of course. Get yourself together Ted and next time, take an indirect freekick! Read below what applies and we may learn something new today.

Rulebook page 80 rule 12 (Swedish rulebook)

Indirect free kick

An indirect free kick is awarded to a player:

• plays in a dangerous way
• prevents the movement of an opponent without making any contact
• commits deviant opinion, uses offensive, insulting or insulting language and / or gestures or other verbal offenses
• prevents the goalkeeper from playing the ball from his hands or kicks or tries to kick the ball when the goalkeeper is about to play it
• commits another offense, not mentioned in the Rules of the Game, for which the game has been stopped to warn or expel a player.

An indirect free kick is awarded if the goalkeeper, within his penalty area, commits one of the following offenses:

• has the ball under control of the hand / arm for more than six seconds before the goalkeeper releases it
• touches the ball with his hand / arm after the goalkeeper has released it and before it touches another player
• touches the ball with his hand / arm, unless the goalkeeper has clearly kicked or tried to kick the ball to release it into play, after: it has been intentionally kicked to the goalkeeper by a teammate, receiving it directly from a throw-in by a teammate.