Just like the last time, this is about injury.
We will repeat. If you suspect a serious injury, just stop the game. Even if a team is about to score, a suspected serious injury is of higher importance and priority. Err on the side of caution. If the player turns out to be not seriously injured, it is good news. We would rather you stop a game for being careful than the other way round.
When a player is injured, quickly check on them to see if they are seriously injured. Law 5 states that if a player is seriously injured, the referee will stop the game. How do you know when a player is seriously injured?
Usually head and abdominal injuries can be serious. You may not see any blood but if a player is not moving at all on the ground, you should suspect a serious injury. A player who rolls on the ground 6 times while looking at you and asking you to blow your whistle may make the scene look dramatic but does not mean they are seriously injured.
Take a look at the video below. A blue attacker falls onto the ground after colliding with two opponents. The referee continued the game for 12 seconds, until the ball went out of touch. The referee MUST stop the game in this situation. Even if a team was about to score, just stop the game. Err on the side of caution.
A soccer game is 90 minutes in length. But so-called effective playing time (how many minutes the ball was actually in play) may be as low as 60 minutes or even far less. This is why as referees, we must prevent time wasting by players. But sometimes we contribute to time wasting.
Look at the video below. The referee correctly calls a foul (although he misses the tactical nature of the offence and fails to issue a card) and brings the ball back to where the restart should be. Even though the wall is clearly too close, he moves away. A few second later, he comes back to move the wall back. This resulted in about 30 seconds of time lost.
In this situation, there was no quick free kick to be taken. It was going to be a ceremonial restart. The referee should have moved the wall back once the ball was set.
The Laws of the Game provides standard and approved signals for both the referee and assistant referees. Not using these signals can be confusing to players, spectators, and even members of the referee team.
For example, what is the approved signal for offside for the referee? On TV, you may see a top-level referee drawing an imaginary line with the finger as if to trace the offside line. But it is not the approved signal. The referee should instead blow their whistle and raise their hand to indicate that the restart is an indirect free kick.
Watch the video below. Ask yourself. Do you use these non-standard signals? Do you have these bad habits?
