Pre Match Instructions

I have read a lot of discussion recently from referees of all levels regarding pre-match instructions to assistant referees. One such point that was raised was a question of how long should the pre-match briefing be? Perhaps a question of where this discussion should take place? In my opinion it is always better where possible for this discussion to take place inside the referees changing room. This takes away the chance on most occasions of being disturbed by somebody else and it also means the assistant referees are not standing thinking about how cold it is or getting wet from the rain and not concentrating fully on the discussion.

Each referee is different with their instructions and the length of time they take but it is important to make sure that you put across the points that as the referee you expect your team to follow throughout the game, it is important also for them to know what to expect from you as the team leader. In order to help in some way I have written below pretty much what I would say to my assistant referees in every game I officiate. This is irrelevant as to whether this is the first time I work with that assistant referee or whether this is an assistant referee who has worked in my team all season. The instructions are my time as well to make sure that I now focus on the game ahead. Below is not a script for referees to follow, it’s just an idea of the discussion topics I bring in to the pre-match chat and there may be some things in there that prove useful to you as a referee should you be working with assistants either on a regular basis or maybe for the first time in a semi-final or final.

1) THE GAME

Have either assistant referee had either team this season and if so what or who stood out if anything?

League positions are important in terms of how important the teams consider the match but recent form is more important for the referee. This will give a clearer picture of mindsets if players. The team that’s top could have lost their last three. The bottom placed side may have won their last three. So while on paper it looks a formality that may not be the case. It’s important to focus your team onto that point, never take anything for granted as a referee!  

Are we aware of any previous between these teams in their last game? Has the referee spoken to the person who refereed the reverse fixture? What did that referee say? It’s important to share this information with your team not only to focus them but also to focus your own mind. The idea of this is not to prejudge what will happen. As a referee the most dangerous thing you can believe is that you have prepared so much that you know exactly what’s going to happen. The moment something changes from what you expected you are then in danger of panicking as it is suddenly ‘off script’. It’s important to do your homework as much as media and the internet allow...most leagues are online and I’d say that even in youth football there is some way of seeing even the most basic of information that could help. 

2) TECHNICALITIES

“I cannot do this game without you today. You are both referees in your own right and your experience is vital to this team performing to the best of its abilities and every member of this team is just as important as the other.” 

During the pre-match I would cover areas of the match that I would want the team to be in tune with and understanding each other’s roles. I hear a lot of referees do this on the field of play so that the assistants can visualise the area we are talking about. That’s fair enough but I’d suggest the guys with you have seen a football pitch before and will have a reasonable idea where certain areas of the pitch will be from the comfort of the changing room. 

A) “It is impossible for us to referee this game throughout with the same level of tolerance. As the temperature and tempo of the game rises and falls so will our input into this match. What is vitally important is that when our profiles are raised and we may be having more input into certain decisions, we are consistent as a team at this time. It is just as important that at the times when we are allowing the game to flow we are also on the same wavelength as a full team.”

B) “During this game there will likely be three or four key decisions that will have an effect on the outcome of this game. The majority of decisions that we make today will be what most people would consider smaller and less important decisions such as throw-ins and small free kicks. We must remember that these smaller decisions are vitally important when it comes to our control of this game. It is the 200 or so smaller decisions that will allow us to build trust from players, coaches and spectators and the more of the small decisions that we can get correct as a team today the more the trust will increase in us as a team to get the big decisions right when they arrive.”

3) SET PIECES

“Throw-ins let’s generally have a split of your half and my half on the pitch. I will always signal the direction in my own half may not necessarily signal at your house but I will generally signal lower down and make eye contact where possible. Eye contact will not fail us today as some technology can so let’s stick to the basics. In front of the technical areas take our time as again this is a key area of the field in which trust can be gained a must in such a small decision. If you’re not sure make eye contact with me and I would rather take time to give the correct decision than to make a hasty incorrect decision that loses their trust.

Goal kicks and corner kicks in front of you the expectation is that you will lead on this from players so again be strong in your area to take control of the situation. Similarly free kicks in front of you, you are referees you know what a foul is so you do not need my permission to award a freekick. All I ask is that you are aware of our input into the game at that time and that it is consistent with our input at that stage of the game. Also be aware that if I play advantage make sure you move quickly to get back up with play.

The further away from you the offence happens the less credible the flag will appear, so just take a split second to look at my position and see what I’m doing at that time. If you feel disciplinary action is necessary inform me of a yellow card, if you are certain this is a red card your body language should first of all display this plus a big strong flag signal and if I have not taken this action please draw my attention and I will come and speak to you. At this point be very clear about what you have seen. Describe the action that has taken place, inform me which number player has committed this offence, and give me an outcome.

If you offer me disciplinary action at any stage and I choose to manage it differently then please do not be offended! I may just feel I can manage that situation. However the next decision may be another that you feel is a yellow card. Forget what happened before and tell me again that you feel it’s a yellow. Don’t go into your shell and think I don’t want your advice should that happen. I do want it!!

4) PENALTY KICKS

Penalty kicks are a match changing situation. It is imperative that in making a decision to award a penalty kick we are 100% certain. In my opinion a quality assistant will recognise an offence inside the penalty area, will then look to see the position of the referee, at which stage I’d like to think the majority of the time I would have seen this and either awarded or not awarded the penalty kick and would therefore not require your input either way into that decision. However, there may be times when you are best placed to make this decision and in those situations I would prefer you to take your time, see my position and be clear that I am unsure of this outcome, and at this point raise the flag and award a penalty kick. 99% certainty is not enough! If I am looking at you to make a decision and you are unsure please don’t do nothing. I would much prefer a shrug of the shoulders or a “I don’t know” As this tells me that you are not 100% sure. That’s positive information for me. 

If a penalty kick is awarded take your place on the goal line and if you require a penalty to be re-taken raise the flag and remain in place. I will support your decision but all I ask is that if you are saying this is a re-taken penalty kick you will be happy to be consistent should the goalkeeper commit the same offence again which would of course result in the goalkeeper being sent off. 

Assistant referee on the halfway line at this stage should never switch off. Should something occur on the penalty kick regarding a retaken penalty or any restart of play that is incorrect then I would expect one of our team including the assistant referee on the halfway line to make me immediately aware of this. There is no excuse for not being aware of basic law but should this happen then one of us in this team has to get this right.

On that point, if I award a penalty kick today and you and everybody else in this ground knows 100% I have made an absolute error, I expect you to tell me. For example if I award a penalty kick for handball but you can clearly see that it is the attacking player who handles the ball do not under any circumstance allow me to award a penalty kick. Call me across and have a discussion with me in those exceptional circumstances because there is nothing more credible than a correct decision no matter how messy or how bad the process looks in reaching it.

5) OFFSIDES

Offside is likely to be the big decision you will have the most input on today. I do not require a quick flag, I’m happy for you to wait and see, however if by waiting this could result in a physical challenge with for instance the goalkeeper and the attacker then please raise the flag quickly to prevent such an outcome. If the ball enters the goal and you feel an attacking player is standing in an offside position and may have affected the defenders ability to play the ball then please raise the flag and draw my attention to this. At this point we will talk, you have 50% of the information hopefully I have the other 50% of this information and together we can discuss to come to the correct outcome.

6) MASS CONFRONTATION

A mass confrontation can happen at any point today. The danger is that we feel we have the game in our pocket and all it takes is one small flashpoint and suddenly we have a problem. Should we get a mass confrontation come onto the field as far as you feel comfortable and take up a different angle to the rest of the team. If you see a red card offence at this stage make sure you say this to yourself repeatedly who the player is and which team and when this has died down we will come together as a team of three. At this stage we will deal with red cards and then yellow cards and manage the restart. The next five minutes or so after this incident is key. At this point it is not our duty to create an entertaining game of football for everybody here, it is our duty to control the game safely and make sure that we have the game back fully under control. If that means awarding small free kicks to prevent another such confrontation for a time after it then so be it.

7) TECHNICAL AREAS

You are not there to be my punchbag this afternoon. Engage with the benches as much as you are comfortable to do so but my preference is that I have your concentration and eyes on the field of play for the vast majority of the time. If you feel a manager or somebody in the technical area is causing you a problem and it’s gone beyond you managing this, I’m happy to come across. If you feel a bollocking from me at this stage is enough then I’m happy to do this if you feel it’s more than this is required then tell me what has happened and we will discuss the action to take. Don’t stand there and create conflict by trying to agree with everything that I’ve done during the game And every decision I have made, it may be that you have exactly the same view as the manager when the ball is on the other side of the pitch and you see what they see. If managing that situation means that you say to the person there I can see what you can see but the referee has a different angle then I have no problem with that whatsoever. Look after yourself in there but as I said at the beginning you are not there to be my punchbag so if there is a problem I am more than happy to come across and support you.

8) MOTIVATION

As I said at the very beginning, I can’t do this without you today. We will leave this changing room to go onto the pitch as a team, we will re-enter it as a team at half-time and at full-time we will leave it as a team. At the end of the game we will celebrate the performance together and if there is an incident that we need to discuss that we feel may be wrong then again we do this as a team in a constructive manner but most importantly with honesty. Please don’t leave the changing room today thinking something that we didn’t have the courage to say to each other at the end of the game. I will run through brick walls for you on that field today and for the 90+ minutes I expect the same from you guys in return. We will make far less mistakes than the two teams on this field so let’s not forget that and if you are unsure of the decision you have made it is important that we move on quickly to the next decision And we can discuss it at half-time or full time. Let’s go out there and give our very best as always and come back in here and celebrate the game together at the end of it.

Hope that helps in some way. What I can say is that never have I had a pre match that has taken two minutes or less. Personally unless you’re going to say “you do throw ins and I will do everything else” I really can’t see how that is even possible. Remember also, you may be the assistant referee. Give the instructions the same level of respect, attention and input as you would expect if you were delivering them to your team.