I wonder what Newton thought?

Well friends, now comes the hard work. Work where we take apart a match and see what we as referees could have done differently, or better.

As before I am not going to share an opinion here about how Webb did specifically. I will reserve this one for a piece I am writing side by side with a National coach that will be posted on www.massref.net in the days ahead breaking down the final (report here). Today, I will ask a simple question, with what I believe is a very complex answer.

Do the laws of physics change for matches like these? In other words is a foul in a "regular game" the same as a foul in a "big game"? Should these matches be called the same way?

Take the following example:
I was sitting in Fat Patty's last week with the whole Region I crew after a steamy week of matches. We were having lunch and watching the URU v. NED match (report here). At one point in time, a NED player bicycled a kick and cracked a URU player in the mouth. Almost immediately there were cries of "RED CARD", "SEND HIM OFF". In reply there were cries of "WHAT, ARE YOU KIDDING? THIS IS THE WORLD CUP".

Now here was a group of very experienced referees who saw the same incident and came to two very different conclusions. Some, wanted to apply the laws as they exist and deal with the player for what they did. Others saw the pageantry in the match and just assume let the player off with a caution. What is a referee to do?

I would opine this is an untenable position for a referee at times. While the referee is certainly charged with applying the Laws of the Game in Law 5, and is also impliedly charged with upholding the Spirit of the Game, where are referees charged with upholding the pageantry of the Game? When is a foul not a foul, or a misconduct not a misconduct for the entertainment value of the game?

Granted I am oversimplifying an extraordinarily complex answer at levels such as the World Cup. I do believe however these answers become simpler the further down the "food chain" the match is. Let me use it as a spring board to make a point about matches we do everyday.

With the incident above from the World Cup final, I believe Webb painted himself into an untenable corner. For those players in that match, the bar was set that the foul in the above picture was a caution. So anything up to and including repeat offenses of this foul would receive no more than a caution. I believe the players responded accordingly in this match.

Take the incident local now. Would you allow this as a caution? Why or why not? As a referee you must always be aware of what the "tone" or "level" the match is at. There is a line that you draw as referee that if players dance over it, action must be taken. Depending how far over the line they go, will dictate the response from the referee.

A minor incursion may provoke only a mild rebuke, a look, a quiet word. A more substantial one, an "ass chewing" or misconduct. Go way over the line, and you have little choice in the matter. As referee, YOU set where that line is and how to deal with folks who go over it. Note that the line can and does change from match to match, and can even change within a match depending on how things are going. Sometimes the players need the ball taken away ... sometimes they need the ball more.

Understand that the tools you have such as cautions and send offs give cues to the players as to where that line is, and what the "tone" of the match will be. Players are looking for these cues from you, just like you as referee are looking for cues from players. Work with the players to help them understand where your "line" is, and your match management will show well for it.

Do I believe the laws of physics change for matches such as the World Cup Final? Yes I do. But I also believe that all the way up to that point everyone did just fine with the Laws as they were meant to apply. For a match, this single match, to contort the Laws, and the person charged to apply them, certainly did defy physics. History should remind us however, as it did here, that funny results can occur if we defy the Laws of Nature, and the Game.