You are the ref.. a quiz question

[Teddy]

It would be an interesting experiment though - to trial a completely rigid approach with no referee judgement.

For example an off-pitch official that gives you 15 seconds from the ball being made available to restart play - failure to do so equals a yellow regardless of other circumstances. Would throw up some mental decisions while people got used to it but end result would be all matches played at a real pace with far less pissing about.

Talking to myself now but…

An alternative system that would avoid excessive card giving etc would be that if you fail to restart play within the permitted window then the set piece (throw-in, free kick, goal kick etc) is awarded to the other team.

Would make a time wasting keeper think twice about taking his time with a goal kick if he new there was a risk of it being converted to a corner for the team chasing the game.

 

[WorkingtonBlade]

In the 85th minute, a player who’s team are winning 1-0 get a throw in. The player taking the throw dawdles and drops the ball for another player to take the throw in. It takes around 30 seconds and the player about to take the throw in is booked for time wasting. Play continues.

A couple of minutes later the team who are losing 1-0 get a throw in adjacent to the edge of the opposition box. The player is just about to take the throw in then gets a shout from his team mate to put the ball down and let the long throw specialist take it. The second thrower runs from the defence to where the throw in is, picks the ball up and puts a long throw into the box but it comes to nothing. The time taken for that throw in is also around 30 seconds.Does the second thrower get booked for time wasting ?

If not, then why not ?

I always think this is an interesting feature of the game, particularly as it relies on the referee’s interpretation of what each team considers a good result.

If we’re playing at Old Trafford and it’s nil-nil in the 85th minute, our player will get booked for taking 30 seconds to take a throw-in, but a Manchester United player will not. Unless, that is, it’s the last game of the season and we need 3 points to stay up. Then the rules would be applied differently again.

It’s a difficult aspect of the game for the referee. I think the problem with the suggestion of a fixed time to re-start play is that 15 seconds could be a long time in some circumstances, but a very short time in others. For example, if all the players are at one end of the pitch, and a long ball results in corner at the other end, it’s going to take time for the corner taker to get to the corner and the other players to get into the box.

You could say that matches will be 60 minutes long, with the clock only progressing when the ball’s in play. That would remove the incentive for some of the time wasting. However, a team which plays a high-pressing style may still wish to re-start play slowly to give their team breaks, and an away team in the lead may still wish to slow things down to take the heat out of the game and the crowd (which I think is often as much what time wasting is about as actually running the clock down).

Ultimately it’s difficult to see how to get away from it being the referee’s interpretation of what is deliberate time wasting and what is not.

 

[iBlade.]

I wasn't aware the referee could view still images.

 

[Rufus Smalls]

Talking to myself now but…

An alternative system that would avoid excessive card giving etc would be that if you fail to restart play within the permitted window then the set piece (throw-in, free kick, goal kick etc) is awarded to the other team.

Would make a time wasting keeper think twice about taking his time with a goal kick if he new there was a risk of it being converted to a corner for the team chasing the gam

It would be an interesting experiment though - to trial a completely rigid approach with no referee judgement.

For example an off-pitch official that gives you 15 seconds from the ball being made available to restart play - failure to do so equals a yellow regardless of other circumstances. Would throw up some mental decisions while people got used to it but end result would be all matches played at a real pace with far less pissing about.

The idea of say a 15 seconds rule on restarting the game seems logical - until you realise that not one official in the ground controlling the match is capable of counting to six once the goalie is in possession of the ball !

 

[Blade56]

I’d send the kit man off for leaving a red sock in the washing machine.

 

[jt64]

It would be an interesting experiment though - to trial a completely rigid approach with no referee judgement.

The point is not to have no referee judgment, it is to have referee apply their judgment consistently. If something is a foul, it is a foul whether it takes place on the halfway line or in the penalty box. If something is a yellow card, it is a yellow card whether it is the first minute or the 90th minute. If something is a yellow card, it is a yellow card whether the player committing the foul in question has a yellow card already or not. Not one ref applies those standards consistently. Similarly, time is wasted regardless of who is wasting it, and regardless of when. Personally I would just change the rules to ask the opposition the question of "do you want me to add on twice the amount of time the player is wasting", which would soon stop it completely

 

[Caveblade]

The point is not to have no referee judgment, it is to have referee apply their judgment consistently. If something is a foul, it is a foul whether it takes place on the halfway line or in the penalty box. If something is a yellow card, it is a yellow card whether it is the first minute or the 90th minute. If something is a yellow card, it is a yellow card whether the player committing the foul in question has a yellow card already or not. Not one ref applies those standards consistently. Similarly, time is wasted regardless of who is wasting it, and regardless of when. Personally I would just change the rules to ask the opposition the question of "do you want me to add on twice the amount of time the player is wasting", which would soon stop it completely

Couldn't agree more. Why is a foul in the penalty area treated differently from one on the halfway line?

The it's too early for a card is crazy.

 

[Yewsman]

Scenario Team B the away team have been using time wasting measures all the way through the game. Keeper taking ages over GKs and free kicks, players being subbed taking ages to leave field, timewasting at throw ins etc.. It’s pretty obvious they have come for a draw and to frustrate Team A the home team. Does ref add on extra minutes at end to take account of time wasting? Does he add extra 5 minutes? Let’s say he does to give Team A a chance of scoring by adding 5 minutes?

Team A scores in 90th minute (before extra time is called or starts). Does ref still add on time for time wasted by Team B? If he does Team B get the chance to score equaliser but only because Team B have wasted time throughout the game. Should he just allow to add for any proper injury time or add the extra 5 mins?

Discuss.

 

[Rufus Smalls]

Scenario Team B the away team have been using time wasting measures all the way through the game. Keeper taking ages over GKs and free kicks, players being subbed taking ages to leave field, timewasting at throw ins etc.. It’s pretty obvious they have come for a draw and to frustrate Team A the home team. Does ref add on extra minutes at end to take account of time wasting? Does he add extra 5 minutes? Let’s say he does to give Team A a chance of scoring by adding 5 minutes?

Team A scores in 90th minute (before extra time is called or starts). Does ref still add on time for time wasted by Team B? If he does Team B get the chance to score equaliser but only because Team B have wasted time throughout the game. Should he just allow to add for any proper injury time or add the extra 5 mins?

Discuss.

This is the dilemma and the point of my original post on time wasting.

The score line should really be irrelevant to the judgement of adding time on or whether the ref books someone he thinks is slowing the game down. There shouldn’t be a “In scenario A“ we have this rule on time wasting and a “In scenario B” we have another rule on time wasting, which is effectively what happens.