Standard interpretation and application The conclusions apply to matches in UEFA competitions, and have been drawn up for the benefit of international football in Europe, in that they adopt a standard approach in terms of interpretation and application of the Laws of the Game.

UEFA Advanced Course for Top and First Class Referees & UEFA Introductory Course for International Referees 28-30 January 2003 Corfu

Attention is drawn to the following conclusions from the UEFA Referee Courses in Corfu 2003 for the benefit of international football in Europe by adopting a standard approach in terms of interpretation and application of the Laws of the Game.

Consistency in levels of punishment In determining the seriousness of a foul, referees were reminded that they should take into account: >• the element of intent or malice;
>• the speed of the player’s action (intensity);
>• the tackler’s chance of playing the ball;
>• the position of the tackler: on the ground or on his feet;
>• is it endangering the safety of the opponent?

Particular emphasis was placed on the elimination of challenges where a player gave no consideration to the safety and welfare of an opponent. Attention was drawn to the particular danger caused by a player jumping near an opponent and intentionally extending his arm in an unnatural manner (eg. causing danger with the movement of his elbow).

It was recommended that firm action be taken by referees when they identify uncontrolled physical challenges made at speed and without thought of the possible consequences and safety of the opponent. Brutality (actions involving excessive force) must always result in dismissal (red card).

The duty of referees in respect of protecting players from unfair play was emphasised strongly. However, referees were reminded that they must allow hard/fair challenges, and only punish unfair actions, but it must not be forgotten that a player who exaggerates the effect of a challenge in order to have an opponent punished more severely is guilty of unsporting behaviour.

Simulation In connection with simulating actions, intended to deceive the referee, referees were reminded such offences committed anywhere on the field of play must be punished as unsporting behaviour (yellow card).

It was recognised that acts of simulation to deceive the referee may occur:
>• when there is no contact between players;
>• from an attacker using a slight contact with an opponent;
>• following a player initiating a contact with an opponent;
>• by a player anticipating a possible contact from an opponent.

Unfortunately there has been an increase in this type of misbehaviour by players making the task of the referee more difficult. However, referees must remain alert to these incidents and punish offenders strictly in order to eliminate simulation from the game.

Dealing with dissent/protests After viewing some video incidents from recent matches, the participants agreed guidelines to help in future.

Benefit was seen in referees being pro-active (prepared for such possibilities) and discussing the role to be played by assistant referees and the fourth official if such an event occurred.

If after giving a decision the referee finds himself surrounded by a large group of players (“mass confrontation”), he should try to diffuse the situation by quickly identifying the main protestor/aggressor and isolate him for appropriate disciplinary action (yellow or red card). Dialogue should be kept to a minimum; the referee must remain calm, firm, maintain eye contact with the player concerned and be in total command. He should then re-start play as quickly as possible. The time lost by the delay in dealing with the situation must be allowed in the normal way.

In such situations the referee may be assisted by the nearest assistant referee entering the field of play. The other assistant and fourth official should observe and record the details of the incident.

Co-operation Referees should remind themselves of the conclusions from the 2nd UEFA Seminar for Assistant Referees - circulated September 2002 and available on uefa.com website under Training Ground/Refereeing.

It was agreed that referees should help prepare assistant referees to co-operate fully in a match by giving adequate and detailed pre-match instructions even if the team of officials has worked together on many earlier occasions. The adoption of a standard approach was recommended to ensure greater consistency in the application of the Laws of the Game and in particular with offside. As the leader of the team in any match, the referee must accept the final responsibility for decisions taken.

It was re-emphasised that if an assistant referee is not totally sure about an offside offence, the flag should not be raised (ie. in case of doubt, benefit must be given to the attacking team).

The “Wait and See” technique for assistant referees was again commended and the criteria to be considered were re-confirmed.

a) Movement of the ball (direction, speed, distance, any deflection, etc).
b) Involvement of the player in active play by:
>• Interfering with play or
>• Interfering with an opponent or
>• Gaining an advantage.

Participants agreed that “involvement in active play” is not restricted to merely playing the ball but should also include involvement by interfering with an opponent, for example being in offside position in the direct line of vision of the goalkeeper and perhaps jumping over the ball etc.

In the rare situation where the referee is convinced that a player is in an offside position and involved in active play, and the assistant does not raise his flag, the referee must take the ultimate responsibility to punish the offside offence. Similarly in the rare situation where an assistant raises his flag for an offside offence and the referee is of the opinion that the player is not involved in active play, the referee should acknowledge the flag signal and allow play to continue.

Attention was also drawn to the UEFA Referees Committee decision that the electronic beep signal should only be used to supplement the flag signal already given.

Positioning The course participants recognised the benefit of using a flexible and wide diagonal as recommended by the UEFA Referees Committee. The key principle of positioning (play between referee and assistant referee) should in general be respected whenever possible, in order to improve the angle from which incidents are viewed, whilst maintaining eye contact with the assistant referee.

At free kicks near the penalty area, the referee should be seen to measure the 9.15m distance and then take a position to the left and not to the right (i.e. he once again moves on to his wide diagonal). The participants felt that by taking up this position there was less chance of misjudging or missing incidents.

NOTE This document should be read in conjunction with previous recommendations and guidelines produced by the UEFA Referees Committee after the Referees course in Monaco February 2002 and Assistant Referees seminar in September 2002, which were circulated previously and are both available on the uefa.com website under Training Ground/Refereeing. The UEFA Referees Committee believes that national associations will find that this information will also be helpful to referee instructors locally and assist in improving the uniformity of decision making throughout Europe.

>February 2003 >