HBS + World Cup == World Cup Leadership Lessons

Very interesting article here, courtesy of the Harvard Business School.
Kudos to Dennis McCarthy for tweeting this one.

Be the duck

Have you ever watched a duck cross a pond? Looks pretty effortless, just seemingly calmly gliding across the water without a care in the world. We look across and sigh in satisfaction that all is at peace with the world. Calm, serene, relaxed. Look under the water however and it is a different story. Cranking, churning, hard working webbed feet are pounding away at the water getting away from that raccoon that just tried to eat it. Not so serene.

So what is the difference here?

One answer is fairly simple in that it is a matter of perception. If we see the calm, gliding duck we have a very relaxed feeling, the viewer feels relaxed by watching the duck glide by. If we turn the duck upside down (or look under the water), it is a whole different story. Frantic thrashing, splashing, chaos, and general discontent.

Think about refereeing, and how people (players, assessors, coaches, fans) will react when they watch you referee. Are you one who brings a feeling of serenity and calmness to a situation, or match. Are you one who raises the tempo or stirs things up? Trust me, as an assessor, I am looking at that.

Don't get me wrong, there is no one right answer, and the best do both, and other variations of temperament in between. There is a time for frenetic conduct, anger, comedy, sarcasm, and the host of other emotions that comprise the human experience. All I'm saying is to learn when to bring those out, and how to wrap the match in a sense of calm confidence is a very successful way to approach and conduct a match. Look at some of the best referees today (I'll let you pick), their calm, measured approach goes a long, long way. Particularly in the more difficult situations.

My thought ... be the duck.

FIFA brings out the big stick

Ladies and Gentlemen, your referee for the pivotal 3rd group match between USA and Algeria, Mr. Frank De Bleeckere. A referee since 1984, and FIFA since 1998, and appointed to the 2006 World Cup. See here for his FIFA profile.

He is one of the most respected referees in Europe and has several international and international friendlies to his credit. This includes 2002 World Cup Qualification, UEFA 2004 Qualification, 2003 FIFA World Youth Championships, UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 World Cup Qualification, 2005 FIFA World Cup U-17 Championship, 2006 FIFA World Cup. UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification, UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup, and a host of international friendlies.

A complete list as well as other details can be found here.

So what kind of referee is he? Well it would seem clear that discipline is critical to him. Take the following statistics into account:

From the 2006 World Cup:

Event	Games
2006 FIFA World Cup	4	19	0	0

From European play since 2007:

Event	Games
European Play	23	95	0	6

This is an average of 4.22 cautions per match and .26 send offs per match.

Keep in mind, this is just a number. More importantly, by the respect he is given in European circles, he knows how to use the misconduct to manage the players.

What may show more is his approach to the game on Wednesday. Here is a quote from him:

“I don’t look at reputation or anything that has gone before (...) I will watch the previous games of USA and Algeria to help me understand their tactics and work on my positioning. But I will watch ‘Gladiator’ first.”

(Full article from Yahoo sports is here).

Clearly both FIFA and De Bleeckere are preparing for a Gladiator style match on Wednesday as the USA takes the grounds against Algeria. We shall see who comes to fight that day, where De Bleeckere will act as summa rudis. One shall be named victorious and awarded a palm branch, possibly even a rudis, the other, likely goes home.

It's a matter of perspective ...

For those of us who have followed, and follow the adventures of the star ship Enterprise, the image to the left may be familiar. It is from the second season, and is episode #33, broadcast on October 6, 1967, Mirror - Mirror. A full briefing can be found here.

This episode goes into an alternate universe Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Uhura and their mis-adventures on the ISS Enterprise (as opposed to the USS Enterprise).

I can see the eyes rolling now, both from my wife and a certain FIFA AR that has been checking this blog out recently and understands my love of Trek lore, and asking ...

What's the point?

Things can look polarized at times, really one way, and not the other. But, if you stop and change your perspective, it can open up a world of possibilities.

Here is a little bit of a disclaimer, and a little bit of a glimpse into a behind the scene look into what is going on here at Kicking-Back. Both can be handled in one bite.

From a disclaimer standpoint, I want to be clear that I am not intending to give out any sort of referee advice that is sanctioned by US Soccer or the National Office. (Your crazy if you listen to me anyway) A far better forum for technical questions is here. This is a tremendous site that is moderated by who I would consider is one of the great minds of the game in the US, Jim Allen. He has quite a staff behind him too as noted in the about page. This team of folks have helped shape the referee program at the National level for some time, and is an excellent resource for questions about the laws and their application.

This blog is not intended to be instructional in nature in any official capacity. I do wear that hat when I am asked to referee a match or provide an opinion and advice to other referees and soon-to-be referees from an assessment standpoint, and maybe (likely) an instructional one.

This fora was originally conceived (over 50 posts ago!) and continues to be a free exchange of ideas that relate to refereeing in the context of the game, and the greater game of life. While it will contain specific advice and reference about the LOTG, it will in every aspect attempt to be technically correct and consistent with the advice given to us as referees ... and more.

I do hope however it provides more than text of the laws, or interpretations that are well understood. It is my intent to make people think about how small things, seemingly meaningless details at times, can make a big, big difference in the game, and life outside of the lines. There are others when it will be a repost of some event that may be relevant to what we are discussing at that time, or just something out of the blue that seemed fun. In all cases however, it is intended to be worth the read.

In short, I'm trying to get everyone to think a little off the beaten path. Sometimes it is just in the form of a reminder, sometimes it is just the ramblings of someone who has been there ... as so many of us have. We are after all, one community with many common experiences.

In all cases take the posts with the grain of salt they are intended to have standard with them. As a great assessor once told me, "Take what you like and use it. Just throw away the rest".

Referee designations for matches 33-40

See here for the complete list, courtesy of FIFA.com.

For anyone curious about the USA v. ALG match before looking at the link, here is a hint:

... and the country this referee hails from is particularly known for its waffles.

A full analysis soon, but at a glance FIFA clearly wants to put the final results from the group C matches beyond all doubt. See the brief, but highlighted story here, courtesy of FIFA.com.

Sir ... drop the sandwich

So there I was minding my own business the other day at a match when I hear, "Sir, you can't eat here. Drop the sandwich."

I actually thought it was a joke at first. After a second though it was clear that the sandwich police were in no laughing mood as I was told again in an increasingly irritated and increasing in volume tone that I can't eat on the "synthetics" (i.e. the turf fields).

Resisting my generally smart remark self, understanding I was there in an official capacity, I complied, despite the really rude and remedial tone the field marshal took with me as he further lectured me to toss my chips and 7-Up as well. There is no justice, is there.

During the course of the match I proceeded to the other side of the "synthetic" field and behold, what did I see but kids doing what kids do in the hot sun ... eating ice cream!! It was great, they were having a blast watching the match and eating their treat ... and getting it all over the field. Ah, sweet sticky justice was mine.

Honestly I had to laugh out loud as here was a great example of one part of the field where something was enforced, and another where anything goes. Now for anyone who shares the view of the sandwich police, I understand why there is no eating on the fields, and I am familar with the principle of Ignorantia juris non excusat so I am not condoning my sandwich offence, or the marshals churlish behavior, just using it to make a point about refereeing.

That point being a referee has to be consistent across the whole field, throughout the whole match. If certain offences are not called in a particular part of the field, the players will (a) take advantage of that until it happens, and (b) lose respect for the referee as they are allowing things for some and not for others.

Have you ever seen a referee call a hand ball? Sure, lots of times right?

Now take that same situation and move it inside the defenders penalty area. Have you seen the referee make THAT call? Yes ... but less frequently I would opine.

WHY?

Do the laws of physics change in that 792 square yard space? Why are fouls harder to come by?

I'm not really sure. Maybe a referee does not want to change the outcome of a match by making a call in there understanding what the consequences might be. I can appreciate that. As I stated before, it can take courage to make a match altering decision, like send a player off, or give a PK.

You have to do it though. You will lose the respect from the players if you don't give that foul, or move it outside the box if it was close. Let me give you a hint here, if its on the line of the penalty area, it is a PK. Take a look at Law 1, page 6, for the answer.

To fail to apply the law consistently across the whole field, will lead to issues with players as they will get frustrated and show it in actions or words. They are the ones who need to believe in your decisions as they are the ones who will decide how the match is going to go that day.

Make the tough call if you need to, regardless of where they are on the field. While it may go the wrong way for some players, if it is the right decision, the players will respect you for it.

Thanks To Dads Everywhere

So on this Father's Day, I found this post particularly fitting. I have experienced, and am learning, the role a father, or such a figure can play in a young referee's life. It is clear from below that Ravshan Irmatov understand this very well.

Referee Reveals Debt to Father

It is not just the footballers of South Africa and Mexico who will be pinching themselves when they step out inside Soccer City Stadium today. For Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov, his selection from a strong list of candidates to officiate at the Opening Match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ is the stuff of dreams also. ...

Full story here, courtesy of FIFA.com.

Time to pack his bags?

With the results of the USA v. SVN behind us, there is a burning question in my head. Are we going to see Coulibaly controlling a match again in this World Cup?

I'm not going to answer it though, or even hint at an opinion. Some of you may cry "FOUL" to this, but as I said before, I am not there, have never been in that particular spot, and did not see what he saw, or did not see. I can not in good conscious second guess a referee that was meters from the play.

Lets let history be our guide. Does anyone know a guy names Esse Baharmast? Does anyone recall what occurred in the 1998 World Cup match he presided over? Well since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is one that some may recall.

You see, a referee can go from villain to hero in a short time. For those interested, the full story is here.

So just to reiterate, I am emphatically not sharing an opinion about the decision in the 86' which pulled a USA goal out of the net. I am however going to talk about how at times assessments can be uncomfortable things. I will opine that this assessment will be uncomfortable for the entire refereeing team.

So there you are, had a big match of some type, and you are being assessed. During the match there was some type of controversy that maybe only you saw, or maybe everyone EXCEPT you saw. The match ends and you and your assistants go to the locker room among shouting fans and players.

You know an assessor is coming ... it was a tough match ... you don't want to get criticized about it. What do you do?

1. Be calm. Assessors (believe it or not) are there to help, not to berate you. Engage in a dialog to understand where the assessor is coming from, and where you as referee, are coming from.

2. Be honest. If you blew it, say you blew it. If you did't, say you didn't. If you don't know, say you don't know. Nothing will get you into hotter water faster than saying something that is obviously not true to an assessor. Some may buy the BS ... the best will know better.

3. Ask - What would you have done? You might just get a blank look indicating they have no idea. Other braver assessors may say they don't know. The best will have a thought for you to ponder, as a single correct solution rarely presents itself in this game.

4. Say - Thank you. Assessors, as I said before are there to help, not just hang around. You can disagree with the assessment, think they got it all wrong in all aspects, and that they were a blind, clueless, ex-referee trying to relive their career through you. That might be true, every word ... but they took the time to try and help. Appreciate that fact if nothing else.

5. Think about it. There are times when a point in an assessment will not make sense until much later in life. Review those older assessment and rethink about that situation and how you would solve it the next time. It may just happen again.

6. Be your worst assessor. I became an assessor at a young age to try to think like an assessor and understand what they were after. I would perform my own self-assessment and try to come up with the questions they would ask. Sometimes I got it right, sometimes I got it wrong, but in all cases I was thinking about the match, and how I could make my performance better next time.

Remember, learning about this game is an evolution, not a destination. Nothing impresses this assessor more than honest introspection and a desire to get better next time out regardless of the previous result. I suspect this is the same for most assessors out there today.

That's netting to joke about

Earlier we spoke about the critical need to inspect the ball, not only before the match but also during any change of a ball as required by the Laws of the Game [LOTG] (see pages 13, 21, and 77). Doing this small thing can save a match from going into disrepute.

Today, a quick comment regarding pre-game inspections and goal safety. While some areas of inspection are less critical than others, one that requires early scrutiny is the condition of the goals used during a match. Particularly, if these goals are properly anchored down. Here too this is a requirement of the LOTG (see pages 9 and 77).

This one is not about a game going into disrepute, this very simply is to save lives.

Don't believe me, look here for a blog entry from Mary Ellias of Virginia detailing the death of her 10 year old son Hayden tragically killed by a goal that fell on him. This post states in part , "What I remember seeing was our son lying face down lifeless on the ground".

A series of law suits were filed, and one of the named defendants was USSF. You can bet your badge that whoever was refereeing that match was asked some very upsetting questions.

That discomfort however is meaningless in comparison to the tragic loss of a young boy and the pain to his family and friends.

Next time your out refereeing, take an extra second, just one, to make sure the goals are anchored and appear safe. If they do not, my opinion is not to start that match until they are, or abandon it, if they can not be made so.

Check a goal - Save a life.

FIFA's got bugs???

For the soccer geek and just plain geek ...


Malware Watch: Adobe zero day attack, malicious FIFA-themed spam, exploit serving Virus Alerts

Researchers from WebSense are reporting on three currently active malware campaigns, attempting to trick end users into opening malicious HTML files, or automatically exploiting vulnerable PCs relying on the recent Adobe zero day flaw (CVE-2010-1297). ...

Full story continues courtesy of ZDnet.com.

1 + 1 == 10

It can take great courage from a referee to send a player off. It can take even greater courage from a referee to give a player a second caution which results in a send off.

On 13-JUN in the ALG v SVN (report) and SRB v GHA (report) match we saw send offs for second cautions. I am not here to critique the decisions ... the referees are there, I am not. To get the larger refereeing community thinking however, I offer the following.

Lets recall first where this comes from in the LOTG. See page 35 in Law 12 which states that:
"A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off if he commits any of the following seven offences: ...
... receiving a second caution in the same match."

So, reflecting on the recent post about cautions, and my comment about getting something back in return, lets extend the thinking in this context as to why this is critical.

Look at the results from the two matches, the cautions, and second cautions. Both second cautions were for "run of the mill" cautionable stuff, not anything "over the top" (theatrically speaking). This makes me reflect on why and how the initial caution was given to each player, and while I will not go into great detail here about it, there is a relevant general point.

Make sure a player "earns" their cautions. In the two cases here, both of the first cautions were for fouls, both the second cautions were for handling the ball inside the penalty area. Once by an attacking player, once by a defending player.

These were earned cautions in all (4) cases. Imagine if one of the cautions was trivial or "ticky-tack" in nature. The level of dissent, which was none in this case, would have been much more pronounced.

Think about a local match when a player is having a bad match and says something in frustration ... maybe even something that could be worth a caution. How about kicks the ball away in frustration. Should it be a caution? Well ... maybe ...

Let's say you book them, and later in the match, they do something really dumb that mandates a caution, like not retiring the distance on a free kick ... red card? The LOTG say yes, but does that do the player, the game, or you as referee any justice? Again my answer is maybe ...

If a player has earned the cautions, no matter how dumb they may have acted, you are required by the LOTG to act. If a player puts themselves in that position, they have earned what was coming to them. Look at GHEZZAL today for ALG. A shirt pull to bring a player down right when he came in as a substitute, and later trying to control a ball with his arm when attacking in the penalty area. No doubt, no question, one, two, done.

There are times when it will not be so easy and the player does a couple of things that mandate a caution. Those are the breaks. As a referee you can not excuse behavior that mandates a caution in the LOTG, but you should work with players to let them know when they are treading on thin ice regarding discretionary ones.

Send off those players who have earned the shame of going home early. Do so however based in their own behavior. Don't be forced into sending a player off by not thinking through what each misconduct really means to the game.

Simon Says ...

... get something back.


So what do I mean by that?


I mean if you give a caution to a player, you better get something back for it.


Simon did ... lets see how.


Take a look at the official match report, you can get it here. There are a couple of things that stand out. First, there were what I would call an "average" number of fouls for the matches played so far. We will see in the month ahead if that stays true to form. Second, we saw with (6) cautions what is an "above average" number of cautions thus far ... in fact this now places FRA, ENG, and USA in a tie for 1st for cautions. Were so many needed? Lets review what they were. 


In the 26', MILNER was booked for Persistent Infringement. Did anyone catch the referee holding up two fingers when he was booked? He was letting everyone know this was his second foul, and as it turned out, his last of the match.


By the way, did anyone catch who he fouled? It was CHERUNDOLO. Hang on a sec, that's important.


In the 39', CHERUNDOLO was cautioned. Sound familiar? He committed that one foul and that was it.


So, Simon says stop with a caution to (2) players, and neither commits another foul in the match. I would say he got something for those.


In the 47', DEMERIT knocked down a ball with his hand and got exactly what he deserved, a caution. That as cautions go, was an easy one. But note, if Simon does not give that one, his World Cup experience I predict would have ended early.


In the 60', CARRAGHER landed a nasty over the ball tackle on FINDLEY. While the caution was warranted, I was wondering if Simon was thinking red given the challenge. Remember who was fouled here too.


In the 61', GERRARD goes over the ball onto the knee of DEMPSEY (the goal scorer).


By the way, after these cautions, neither player committed another foul the entire match (keep in mind they still had 30' to go plus stoppage time). Not bad ... certainly got something there.


Even Harkesy when calling the match on ABC was saying after the GERRARD foul, that it changes the mindset of the defender after a caution ... the part he did not say was if the caution was the right decision, and was delivered with effect.


Finally, in the 74', FINDLEY (the recipient in the 60') finds GERRARD with a tough tackle, and yes, that too was his last foul called of the match, but I am sure wanted it to count on a guy that just really tackled one of his own.

So in looking over the cautions that Simon gave, he got something back for each and every one of them. He either got (a) that player to stop, (b) set an example for OTHER players to stop, (c) did not allow retaliation to go unpunished so there would not be more, and (d) protected the integrity of the game from silly stuff.

So, the next time you are ready to raise a caution in the air for all to see, stop and think ...

What are you going to get out of it that will help your game that day?

If the answer is nothing, don't even take it out of your pocket, it would be meaningless.

Got your game on?

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup upon us (schedule can be found here) there are some neat media items floating around that some geeks and fans of the game alike might find interesting in keeping up to date.

This is particularly important to me as (a) I was just informed that I have to take the kids exactly during the same time that the USA's 1st match is on, and (b) I will be traveling a bit and need to be up to date about what is going on, to in part, report it here.

Some examples of good sources, to follow the World Cup on Twitter are at http://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCupTM or check out #WC2010, or #MNT for all the action!

Each of these others (and more) can be found on iTunes.

First, is the official soundtrack for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Listen Up! Some seem to love it, some seem to hate it. Please don't shoot the messenger.

Second, is a free iPhone app from ESPN that has news and match tracking for ongoing (and possibly) played matches. There may be one for the iPad too for those who have one.

Finally, there is a free podcast from ESPN reporting on news and match events from the World Cup. Content so far is good and if you have a drive to work (like me) may be worth a listen or two, especially on match days.







How about some links? We got 'em. Check these out:
SOURCE: When Saturday Comes

World Cup College Clever lads, these. Not only do they preview the games thoughtfully, they approach football from impossible but entertaining angles too, for example looking at why Zeno's paradox means that John Terry's lack of speed won't be an issue. Sample quote: "Because we are cognitively predisposed to relate our personal circumstances to external events and occurrences, we have little difficulty developing an affinity with a group of people (that we've never met) representing us, via shared nationality, in a sporting tournament." That's why you blindly love England.

FIFA official site It may sound obvious, but FIFA's official site is, as official ones go, the full ten yards better than any of its sister sites. There are few better places for historical stats, or up-to-date news on less-covered countries like Honduras and Paraguay. Even its features bravely attempt a slightly more original angle than the mainstream media, although the prose is in that clunky territory you might generously say is aimed at a global audience. And don't expect any probing investigations of corporate backhanders. Sample quote: "This year the prize for the most original motivational approach surely goes to Japan, who rounded off their build-up in Switzerland with a visit from members of Japanese boy band Exile. During the event, Takeshi Okada's men were presented with a banner and some origami cranes in the team's colours." It will be the origami cranes wot win it.

AllAfrica.com There are, apparently, environmentally friendly vuvuzelas made out of South African seaweed – that's the kind of priceless fact you can pick up at this site devoted to the tournament's six African participants. The ugly design is ten years out of date, but again this is a good location for non-mainstream news and features in what sometimes reads like quasi-poetic, dictionary English. Sample quote: "Already the exclusion [from Nigeria's squad] of Victor Anichebe and Ikechukwu Uche is causing ripples, while that of the former has taken an international dimension with his club, Everton Football Club of England, knocking Nigeria for misinforming the world about the player's physical condition." Although the world may have just missed that story in the light of the BP oil catastrophe, the perpetually jittery financial markets and Israel's attack on the Turkish aid ship heading for Gaza.

Got more? Send them along and we'll post them here.

History Repeating Itself?

So on my way to work this morning bombing down I-95 in Providence, I saw this sign. The little one on the left (sorry about the rainy shot).

Now I am a fan of sport (in general) and can understand the inclusion of 1950 and obviously 2010 on the banner ... but 1776?

Is Saturday a prelude to war?

One person that may be thinking so is Carlos Simon, the referee. One way he might handle it is through the use of misconducts. Look at the following AP article for some thought on what we may see ...

Card shark: Ref for England-US loves yellow
Source: AP

We may need this ...

In poking around the FIFA site I ran across the "Official Documents" Section. It can be found here.

All the documents looked interesting, two of which caught my eye right away and figured I would share.


First, is the 2010 FIFA World Cup Fan Guide (download here).

The second is the FIFA Disciplinary Code (download here).

I have to believe we will get good use out of both in the month ahead.

US Soccer Referee Directive: Dissent (Viewer Warning - Explicit Language)

Hey Rooney, F*%@ you too! This may have been the thought of the referee the other night when England played a friendly against Platinum Stars and was mercilessly berated for his efforts.

Recently guardian.co.uk reported on an incident of a foul mouthed Wayne Rooney during a "friendly" in South Africa that have lead some to paint him as a target to get sent off by inciting him to eruptive dissent. From the cited story, "The USA, England's first opponents on Saturday, have already suggested they might play on Rooney's perceived fragile temperament with this an indication that the player can be on edge. "Rooney insulted me," said Selogilwe. "He said: 'Fuck you.' He is a good player when you see him on the television, but when you see him on the pitch he just keeps on insulting the referee."

So lets get local about this ... what do you do when you are faced with dissent?

Remember we were talking about all these neat memorandum and position papers being online for the world to see at US Soccer. Well, here (.pdf download) is the one for dissent. It is a good read in spots, in particular it goes into the three reasons why dissent must be managed. From the memo:

• Erodes the authority of the referee;
• Reduces the enjoyment of other participants and spectators; and
• Can spread if left unchecked.

Further it goes into what three elements can be considered when determining an action for dissent. Again from the memo:

• Public

• Personal

• Provocative

Now, while the LOTG require a caution when dissent occurs, there is a subjective element when one referee feels that threshold has been breached. It can change under the circumstances, even in the same match.

Lets take some examples to illustrate these points.

In a Saturday match somewhere in Podunk USA, a player misses a shot in a one goal game and immediately after shouts "Oh (insert favorite one or two word explicative here)".

Dissent? Lets think ...

Does it erode authority of the referee or match control? Probably not.

Does it affect the enjoyment of the match for all? Probably not.

Can it spread? Probably not.

Was it public? You bet - everyone heard it.

Was it personal? No.

Was it provocative such that others will be incited by the matter? Doubt it.

Is it dissent and therefore deserves a caution? I don't think so. Just some frustration. I would probably respond by publicly jogging over and having a quiet word, maybe not even about the explicative, just to show some presence and acknowledge publicly that I will deal with it.

How about this one. In a Saturday match somewhere in Podunk USA, a foul occurs and immediately after shouts "Oh ref, that (insert favorite one or two word explicative here)".

Ask yourself the same questions as above, what did you get?

How about now. In a Saturday match somewhere in Podunk USA, a foul occurs and immediately after shouts "Oh ref, YOU (insert favorite one or two word explicative here)".

How about this. In a Saturday match somewhere in Podunk USA, a foul occurs and immediately after shouts "Oh ref, YOU (insert one minute trade without and foul language here)".

Same answer? I don't think so. I may be able to excuse the first as frustration, but the second is getting personal, and if done openly, loudly, and publicly, for me likely gets a caution. The third gets a caution. If a player can not calm himself down after a short period of time, he needs help to do so.

Last one. In a Saturday match somewhere in Podunk USA, a foul occurs and immediately after shouts "Oh ref, YOU'RE MOM (or other relative) (insert favorite one or two word explicative here)".

Here, they are done, send them home for foul and abusive language. Something so personal regardless of loud, soft, public, or not must be dealt with. To not do so invites big trouble. Get rid of that player or coach, the game does not need them, and neither do you.

There are lots of ways to dealt with these issues before they even become issues, and the position paper lists these well and we will deal with these later as well. Here is one now. Do some homework. Case in point:

Look at what the USA is planning, to make Rooney pop. Get him under a caution and you neutralize him for part of the match. Send him off and get a huge advantage.

Do you think Mr. Simon is thinking about this leading up to his match on Saturday?

Bet on it.

We'll watch together how he deals with it.

Show me the money!!

I caught an article the other day where this very satirical cartoon of Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, President of FIFA came from. It goes into some interesting detail about how much money FIFA is theoretically going to make in the 2010 World Cup. This article from playthegame.org, estimates FIFA will make between $3.2B and $4B (yes Billion with a B) over the course of the tournament.


Now a disclaimer, and it is above and beyond the Legal Stuff disclaimer. I am not knocking FIFA for making money, and I certainly do not agree with everything the linked web site states about this, or some other topics they report on. I have spent a significant amount of my life attempting to attain membership into this organization as a referee, and if really lucky I may be able to do so via another avenue someday. So believe me when I say, I am not knocking them.

It did get my wheels spinning however regarding the inflection point of money and refereeing at the local levels. For the remainder of this post, please ignore the professional level on up. It is a given that money plays a role and just how much we will explore sometime later. For now it is worth exploring to the youth and amateur referee some places where money plays a role.

So think about your local matches on Saturday. What does money have to do with them? Well, I live in a town that has a really nice athletic complex, and to offset that cost, there is a fee that we pay, per player, per registration. So I have sunk several hundred dollars into each of my little cherubs before they even get to the field. When they get there, I really appreciate when a referee shows up, on time, and in a uniform, any uniform.

This has nothing to do with their competency as an official, it has nothing to do with being fair or that little Jimmy and Jenny are having fun. It has to do (for some) with, I paid for this? 

Sounds harsh huh ... it is. This is a whole new level of being judged for a referee ... a monetary one.

Here is another one for you.

So State Cups are going on in just about every state right now, and from there some will earn a spot to their Regionals, and for a very few from there, the Youth Nationals. Guess who is at these tournaments ...

College recruiters.

Did you know that a private college these days costs about $26,000 per year?

That is insane.

What may be even more insane is the large number of high school players that are competing for the small pool of scholarship monies, and the lengths parents will go to make sure their kids get a shot at it. There is a reasonable argument that this is something good parents do while not taken to the extreme. [One day I will relate the story about a local youth meeting I was in where a mother jumped to her feet and exclaimed, and I mean *EXCLAIMED*, that her daughter was going to be the next Mia Hamm. Her daughter was 5 and the mom's complaint was about how poor the coaching was at that level ... no BS, true story]  If I am ever faced with the situation I will let you know what I decide as as I sit here tonight writing this, I can't say with certainty what I would do.

So what else is at stake in such matches?

Coaches jobs.

Yep, even some youth club coaches do exceedingly well for a salary and losing a Regional Championship match may be a ticket to getting fired. That was tough to get my head around at first. Here I was 19 or so years old and I was told that a coach could lose a job because of my decisions.

It was a lot to consider back then.

My only though is be aware of it at the level you are refereeing at. For the referees in South Africa now, their country is on their shoulders and that weight is far more than someone losing their job. In some cases it can be much, much more. (Remember Andrés Escobar?) From there it trickles down ... all the way down to that 6 v. 6 match in the park on Saturday morning.

Doesn't mean as referees you should change a thing for this reason, certainly not any calls. It is just something else to be aware of and think about when you are out there.

Take me out to the ball game ... what ... wait a minute

Fenway Park to host soccer game July 21

The Boston Red Sox have announced that Fenway Park will host an exhibition soccer game between Celtic FC of the Scottish Premier League and Sporting Clube de Portugal, commonly called "Sporting," on July 21.

The Fenway Football Challenge will be the 19th soccer game at Fenway, but the first since 1968. It will be broadcast live on NESN, with kickoff at 8 p.m.

Tickets ($20-$120) will go on sale at noon on June 22 at tickets.com.

Story courtesy of Boston.com

World Cup 2010 Opening Match Referee Decided

FIFA’s Referee Committee today assigned Ravshan Irmatov from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as referee for the Opening Match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ held in Johannesburg Soccer City at 16:00 between France and Mexico. (Full story on FIFA.com)

Did you want the four or the five sir?

As some have seen, there has been some controversy regarding the World Cup, even before the first match is played regarding the construction of the ball being used. Here is an interesting article from the AP regarding the Adidas “JABULANI”, and the concerns it is raising.

More locally as we are on the cusp of State Cup play in most states I was reminded of an incident some years back regarding a match ball, and the havoc it wreaked on a youth team, parents, administration, and referees. It was so notable that the story even made Sports Illustrated.

Long story short, while the match ball is not an issue for tournaments like the World Cup, or down through MLS who use a common match ball (I will one day write about why officials have to show up 2 hours before a match ... I am convinced it allows time for the 4th official to check the 20-something balls required in a match), it can very much be an issue for youth tournaments like Regionals, and certainly State Cups where such stringent control of match balls is generally not enforced.

From Law 2 of the 2009/2010 LOTG, we know that the ball is several things, including: "of a circumference of not more than 70 cm (28 ins) and not less than 68 cm (27 ins)"

Which after you unwind the math, is a size 5 ball.

Uh ... but don't some younger players use a size 4, or even a size 3 ball ...

Yes, yes they do.

A very astute, or administratively minded referee or assessor may ask, "Where do local associations get the authority from FIFA to change the ball size then?"

Glad you asked.

Your answer is on page 3 of LOTG and states:

Modifications:
Subject to the agreement of the member association concerned and provided
the principles of these Laws are maintained, the Laws may be modified in their application for matches for players of under 16 years of age, for women footballers, for veteran footballers (over 35 years of age) and for players with disabilities.

Any or all of the following modifications are
permissible:
• size of the field of play
• size, weight and material of the ball
• width between the goalposts and height of the crossbar from the ground
• duration of the periods of play
• substitutions

So all this for what?

To keep a referee from potentially invalidating a match result based on using the wrong ball size and underscore how very critical it is to assure that the match ball you start with, is the one that you play with, and is the one you finish with, unless the referee authorizes a change.

Authority to check and change the ball is in Law 5, and will be discussed another time.

In a youth match, things can get crazy, a ball goes over the fence, and a new one comes it. A ball gets caught in the sidelines, and a new one comes in. To hurry play, a coach put several balls in play that have not been checked.

This could spell DISASTER for a match, and a sure fire failure for an assessment, where it is amazingly easy to deal with.

Here is a simple checklist to consider:

1. Check the ball before the match for safety (are there any lifted panels?) size, weight, and pressure. Note that all are critical, but size may matter the most in this context.
2. Keep that ball with you before the match, and I do mean physically keep it under your arm until the match is ready to start.
3. Continue to use that ball throughout the match, and only THAT ball.
4. If that ball is unavailable or becomes defective, repeat #1 for the new ball.
5. At the end of the match, get possession of the ball, and I do mean physically keep it under your arm, and return it to the person it belongs to.

Sounds simple, almost remedial, but has been the subject of at least one national story and a group of very disappointed 12 year old players and parents.

Don't make that mistake ... check, and recheck the competition rules and assure yourself you have the right size ball for the age group you are refereeing.