"Instant Replay" Sanity

... and I am NOT talking about what FIFA is up to with a VAR ...

I am talking about MLS "Instant Replay" which can be found here, courtesy of MLS.

This show continues to highlight excellent clips that all referees should view. Fortunatly in 2016 we now have Brian Dunseth providing sanity over these clips and not Simon Borg.

Give me Brian Dunseth all day and Twice on Sunday Instead of Borg.

Take a look here from Week 3 with Brian v. MLS Cup 2015 here from Simon and you be the judge.
Volume aside, Brian is just way more knowledgable about the game than Borg ever will be IMO.

Injection of some much needed sanity into commenting on MLS officials.

Please vote now!!!

FIFA seems to be looking for feedback on the concept of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Want to be heard. Vote Here ==> http://quality.fifa.com/en/VAR/

A MUST SEE for parents of US Soccer referees

A worthy 5 minutes of your time for parents of referees of all types, but especially US Soccer referees. Take a look here, you will not be disappointed.

Drone-Gate?

Some NFL Teams Are Being Probed for Using Drones to Film Practice

National Football League teams have taken to the skies in their search for a competitive edge, launching drones to film their practices.

“You can coach better. You see hand placement, you see where they have their feet and where they have their eyes,” said Jason Garrett, coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

The problem is, it’s illegal to fly the unmanned aircraft for any commercial purpose without first getting a Federal Aviation Administration waiver. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Bloomberg.

Kicking Back Comments:

Alright guys ... start the deflate-esque comments now =)

I think I am going to fly one of these for "educational" purposes for the next assessment I do.

FIFA Resists!?!?

FIFA resists video help for refs, then red-card issue in EPL

HOLYWOOD, Northern Ireland (AP) — Faced with soccer's "biggest decision ever," FIFA said on Saturday it would not be rushed into approving — or even testing — video technology to improve the accuracy of referees' decisions.

But an incident in the English Premier League then highlighted just why the English Football Association pushed FIFA to embrace technology beyond existing goal-line aids, at a meeting of the game's rule-makers on Saturday. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of USA Today.

Kicking Back Comments: My threshold comment is FIFA resisting doing anything is a good thing. While my tongue is clearly in my cheek I do happen to believe this. Now this article cites the recent ManU v. Sunderland match where there was a consensus that Wes Brown should have been, and ultimately was, sent off ... however not everyone saw it that way.

Listen folks, I hate to break to everyone but referees are fallible (my comment is not in reference to the ManU match) and video review, reading it in the most positive light, will correct those rare errors.

Now, the reality is I fear it will invite inappropriate meddling. While the NFL uses this to good effect, that game is designed for such reviews ... stop and go ... commercials and "chalkboard" analysis.

Our game has no such interruptions and can not and should not be held for a review of ANY type. It just invites too much of an interruption.

Of course I am nonplussed on the intrusion of the referee team ability to manage a match as well. Guess what ... cameras don't catch everything either and when someone is stepping up to take a penalty, we can't wait 5 minutes for a decision that may never come from a video review.

I'm glad FIFA is not rushing into a decision ... but would like it better if they dropped it all together.

A Nichol for your thoughts?

Now I've done it.

I have put myself right between a rock and a hard place with this entry. To refresh our recollection, take a look at Should We Punish the Innocent? which details allowing referees in the EPL to administer (what I called) "speculative cautions" if they think (feel?) a player is cheating.

While I did not like the idea generally, I was offered a good discussion by an Anon commentator, and even doubled back on myself with regard to offside decisions, in thinking that "when in doubt, keep the flag down."

Now here we have Jim Boyce, VP in FIFA who took over for the still warm seat of Jack Warner when he was launched from the position, looking for video review post-match of diving incidents. His suggestion honestly is not unreasonable in this day and age, and is used in other contexts in many places today.

See "FIFA VP call diving a 'cancer'" for the complete article.

Critical incidents after a match are reviewed in some leagues, some disciplinary committees review on field incidents to stiffen, or loosen a suspension at times. All of this seems reasonable to me, what about diving?

Well, I am less clear on this one, and here's why. Besides characterizing diving as a 'cancer', which to me acts to trivialize the disease (I personally like plague much better), it puts some guy in a glass booth right in the path of altering the outcome of a match by making a decision that should be left for the referee.

Not on the surface this sounds like hubris, and I don't deny that is a factor. However, lets play out a common scenario and see where it goes.

• Player had ball and carries it to opponents penalty area.
• Defender challenges the player with the ball and contact is made which is not a foul.
• Player with the ball simulates a foul.
• Referee awards a penalty (incorrectly).
• Team of fouled player converts penalty to win the match.

Pretty common right?

Now give the review is POST-match, does the result of the match stand? Why not only take action on the individual player, but also the team by not counting the goal? But wait, if there was no goal, how would the rest of the match gone? Was the converted PK the goal that broke the defending team?

I hate video review honestly. I do. I think it starts to sap the life out of any game that uses it to alter action on the playing surface. To me the most egregious is the NFL who is just one step away from doing something like American Idol, where they show the TV audience the play, and for .99 everyone votes on it during a commercial break. Popular vote gets the call.

MLB with balls hitting foul poles and the like I think is the best use as the distances are so far, and motion so slight, that this makes good sense to me.

I do agree with the use of video after the fact for suspensions and violent conduct after a match. In these cases the referee has made a decision and it is the length of time or fine that is changing, not the decision itself generally.

So for me, doing something like this after the fact just opens the box for tinkering with on pitch incidents that can have massive adverse effects to results. I would think we want to minimize the outside interference and "let them play", not wind up with 10's of people reviewing every inch of film only to have to wait a week for a decision on something that was done in an instant inside the field.

Take particular look at the video clip as well, Steve Nichol makes a great point of what a managers role is in such diving incidents. For those who have never had the pleasure of working with Steve in a referee-manager situation, it demonstrates what a class act he truly is.

This is cool ...

Every Microphone is live

This my friends is a lesson to remember for us all. Especially in the face of everyone having a device on their hip that can record video and sound in High Definition at a moments notice.

I personally have been caught more than once either "communicating" to a player in a direct manner (damn field mics), or slacking off at a game I thought no one was watching and somehow the tape made its way to US Soccer.

Always, always, always, assume you are being recorded when refereeing. It will just go easier for you in the long run.

Bad things can happen if you forget, as was evidenced recently by Tatyana Limanova being caught on camera "communicating" when she thought the video was off.

Russian newsreader Tatyana Limanova makes insulting gesture at Obama

A top Russian female newsreader has caused a stir after appearing to offensively show US President Barack Obama her middle finger during a live newscast.

Online footage of the incident, which occurred earlier this month during an afternoon news bulletin on the privately held REN TV channel, is being avidly viewed in both Russia and the United States.

In the footage, Tatyana Limanova, an award-winning senior newsreader at the channel, can be seen briskly reading out an item about how Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has just assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Asia Pacific Cooperation organisation. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Telegraph.

Smile. You're on candid camera.

For anyone unfamiliar with the reference, back in the late 40's arose a hidden camera television show named Candid Camera, where people would be filmed without their knowledge doing all sorts of embarrassing things, and later, these embarrassing things aired on TV. This is a little different than todays reality television, where people go in to the situation (such as living together on an island) knowing they are going to be filmed, and the antics eventually aired for all.

A soccer match can be like candid camera too ...

At professional matches and the like, you go in with an expectation a match will be filmed and you'll have a guy with a parabolic microphone following you around. It is an easy lesson to learn, as you find yourself at this level tripping over A/V equipment often. It is also a lesson that if you forget, you re-learn quickly as you hear yourself on the tape review after the match saying something inappropriate. Or better still having those comments heard by US Soccer officials during a live broadcast.

I'll tell you that one later ...

Well in this glorious electronic age I remain amazed at the number and types of affordable recording equipment that is used by the every day person to capture their local youth match. It is fair to say that at just about every level today, you can assume the referee will get recorded on video. In fact you should make that assumption. I am also sad to report that some folks will do so for a "gotcha" moment to catch referees too. I have been witness to several such video clips coming into local, state, and regional soccer boards and tournament committees. Also, while I have no direct knowledge, it would not surprise me if they made their way to the US Soccer brass at times.

The author of these clips often opine about the injustice that just occurred in the local U-6 match where Johnny or Mary was just deprived of an opportunity by a referee, and that referee should be tarred and feathered in the town square as they young player is now scarred for life and can not play on the National team in the spot waiting for them to just grow up.

I am exaggerating ... but not too much in some cases. I actually heard a mother say that her 10 year old daughter was the next Mia Hamm and it was the referee's fault a goal was not awarded in a particular case.

At times this video evidence can be useful however as referees and players who intentionally cross a line, need to be dealt with. Video is such a compelling "remembering" device in those cases. I have no pity for those who abuse their authority in any way, and even less if they deny and get caught doing so by a showing of the tape.

So here comes my favorite question ... why am I spouting all of this?

Two reasons, based on an incident that occurred when I was coaching Jr.'s match the other day.

First, if you are refereeing a match at any level, go in with the expectation that you are going to be recorded during the match, and that such a recording may be used, rightly, or wrongly in the future. I say this not to make referees nervous as watching tape is a tremendously successful tool to getting better, just be aware it is occurring. My suggestion is to smile a lot.

In my case there were several video cameras at Jr.'s match the other day recording a very average youth match. (Cue dramatic music)

Second, video tape cuts both ways, and referees are not the only target. As I was coaching Jr.'s team the other day, it was, by all accounts a pretty average match. After the match however a couple of parents alerted me to the fact that, well, both I and the head coach of the team were roundly criticized during the match for some of our coaching decisions. Our provocateur was a parent of a child on OUR team, in this U-10, local league. Yeah. You just can't make this stuff up folks.

So being fairly critical of sources of information I dug in a little, and was presented some video tape with the aforementioned comments in context. Sure enough, it was true.

Now while I personally just don't see the value in doing anything except letting this particular issue drop, it was a further reminder that people are going to criticize anyone who stands up and makes a decision generally. It does not matter if you are a referee, coach, teacher, officer, executive, fry cook, etc.. If you make a decision, be ready to have it questioned, politely or not, as there is always a pin head inquisitive individual out there who will not like it.

Referee's are in this spot often, so I would suggest being ready for it as best you can.

To boil it down to its very essence the message is clear.

Smile, you are on candid camera.