Ref Base – Mentor Evaluations

Your positioning and movements were generally good throughout the game. There were a few moments when you were walking that could have been better served with a brisk jog to stay closer to play. Overall, your position was generally deep when needed with a good work rate to keep play to your right. A good example of this was in the 15’ when you called a penalty kick for Atletico. Your position was just above the penalty area giving you the angle and proximity to make the correct call.

You mentioned you have officiated in the past and are getting back into it again. Your previous officiating experience is certainly apparent. I do recommend that you review the Laws of the Game for more recent law changes. Laws 12 and 14 offer a good starting point and some examples from the match. In the 30’ you correctly awarded a penalty kick for Rapids and issued a yellow card to the opposing goalkeeper for DOGSO committed in the penalty area. As we discussed after the match, the decision to arrive at the yellow card is not based on player intent, but rather on the referee awarding a penalty kick coupled with the goalkeeper committing a “soccer foul”. During the taking of the subsequent penalty kick, you had the penalty kick retaken due to encroachment by the attacking team. This would have been the correct decision under past versions of the law. However, Law 14 was recently changed requiring the encroachment to have “impact” before it can be sanctioned, which was not present in this situation. Also noted, your foul selection was good throughout the game with acceptance from the players. There was also a moment in the 43’ when you correctly allowed play to continue after an obvious foul when it was more advantageous for Rapids to continue their attack.

Examples of good referee team communication were seen throughout the match. You involved your ARs and had awareness of what they were doing. Examples included: 11’ – AR2 raised flag for ball out-of-play for a corner kick; 13’ – Referee and AR2 worked together to sort out the correct direction for a throw-in; 20’ – AR2 raised flag for offside; 29’ – AR2 raised flag to indicate ball out of play for a throw in.

Very nice center referee mechanics throughout the match including those for corner kicks, goal kicks, throw-ins, fouls, and the penalty kicks. Your crisp signaling made it clear what you were calling. You also talked with players (example, “No pushing!”), which helped with your match control. Regarding substitutions, you made good effort to check the halfway line for substitutions at most stoppages. Instead of using your voice to call for substitutes, use your whistle – two quick blasts while pointing up and towards the technical area where they should be standing near the halfway line. Similarly, let everyone know play is restarting with a quick whistle “tweet”. This will particularly be needed on larger fields where not everyone can hear your voice.

The referee presented a professional appearance.

Ian – This was a very competitive match for its level and on top that you had a lot going on – heated coaches on both benches, three penalty kicks (including ending each half on a penalty kick), potential DOGSO situations, and a spectator ejection. Through all of this you kept a calm demeanor and continued to manage the game without looking rattled. As a general guideline, and particularly in heated matches such this, try to limit coach interactions. I do not know what was said during the discussions with coaches at halftime and after the match, but the perception would be that these conversations were prolonged. Concisely say what you need to say and then move away. If a coach wants to argue after the match, thank them for the game and wish them a good afternoon – no need to get drawn into further argument or justifications. The injury stoppage in the second half is another example. You correctly beckoned the coach onto the field to attend to his injured player. Recognize this as a critical moment as the coach is now on the field with your permission and could direct inappropriate conversation towards you. It is best for the referee to move away to avoid interactions with the coach in these situations. In summary – you did a very nice job managing this heated match. Lastly, I want to recognize your pre-game efforts in the earlier 9:00 AM match where you were assigned as AR1. The referee arrived late to this game and did not have a whistle. Prior to the referee’s arrival you had already identified a roster issue and properly involved league officials. You also quickly offered your whistle to the referee just before start time. Your efforts in this regard were directly responsible for allowing the 9:00 AM game to start on time.

I think Ian felt a little beat up after this game, but he handled the match well. I would recommend Ian for center referee on a full-sized field, such as for U13. My concern would be fitness, which I wasn’t able to fully gage on the smaller field.