Ten Minute Block Refereeing – by Keith Hackett

‘TEN MINUTE BLOCK REFEREEING’

I watched the vastly-experienced Referee Keith Stroud officiate the West Bromwich Albion vs Nottingham Forest game on Saturday. You will see in my review of games this weekend I have included this Championship game.

The referee’s performance was poor, with him failing to punish fouls and in one instance did not issue a red card for a knee-high Serious Foul Play challenge.

My suggestion would be for Keith Stroud to introduce ten minute officiating by adopting the procedure below.

Several years ago, I was sat with the group of Select Group (Premier League) Referees, many of them were also FIFA officials.
We listened intently to a presentation by two active referees Graham Barber and Graham Poll who were both at the top of their game at that time.

So, I want to suggest that this might be something that you referees should consider.

BLOCK	TIME
One	-5 minutes to 10 minutes
Two	11 minutes to 20 minutes
Three	21 minutes to 30 minutes
Four	31 minutes to 40 minutes
Five	41 minutes to end of first half
HALF-TIME	Review and discussion of performance
Block Six	45 minutes to 55 minutes
Block Seven	46 minutes to 65 minutes
Block Eight	66 minutes to 75 minutes
Block Nine	76 minutes to 85 minutes
Block Ten	86 minutes to end of the game

ADVICE TO GRASSROOT REFEREES ADOPTING TEN MINUTE REFEREEING

The objective is to ensure that your game management, concentration and teamwork will deliver a performance that reflects your aim and a positive outcome to the match.

Take the lead-up to the game following your arrival at the stadium with your colleagues. This is an important period because preparation prevents poor performance.

Walk your team out onto the field and understand the geography of the pitch.

Check the nets, ground markings and playing surface.

Go through your pre-match discussions briefly for the first time.

Use the warm-up and that time before kick-off to develop team spirit and confidence with each other. Keep them informed that you are a team player and a positive performance from each member of your team is important.

Your final pre-match instructions are briefly repeated and just before the bell, motivate your team.

Back to the ten-minute game plan.

 Block One – The five minutes before kick-off to minute Ten of the match

Players often approach this period of the game with a high intensity, often reacting to the crowd and the manager’s motivation and build-up to the game over several days.

You the referee need to maintain tight control to underpin your authority, particularly in this opening period. If you are too liberal then there is a risk that players will lose some of their own disciplines and test you by putting in that reckless challenge, thinking that they will get away with it later in the game, ‘Sorry Ref, First One’.
It is important to achieve a good 10 yards at that first free-kick, Management of the position of the thrower will all help your game-control in the latter stages.

With the game progressing towards the end of the first ten-minute period, you now involve your colleagues to deliver their view of how they see the game taking place from their off-field view.
Clearly, with a communication kit, your Assistants opinion can be relayed to you verbally.

They may state the following: –

a) Keep it tight – Same again next ten minutes

b) Looks good to suggest you free up a little allowing the game to flow more.

If you have no verbal communication, keeping it tight would be an understated visual signal between you and the referee.

a) Keep it tight would be signalled with a clenched fist and an up and down movement with the hand-arm at waist high-level

b) Free it up and let it flow would be a hand-arm signal again at waist-high level doing a circular motion with your hand arm

Managing a game in ten-minute blocks is an efficient approach and this process of communicating with your team helps game control and aids your concentration.

If during any of the ten-minute blocks the game becomes tense, player behaviour is poor or dissent starts to increase then you go back into your tight control mood. You might then blow for every free-kick and not be liberal with your use of the advantage.

You, in fact, go hunting and your interference level increases and your tolerance levels close down until control is again maintained.

Often when coaching referees, it is stated that “They need to put their foot on the ball” when slowing things down has part of your game management.

Through your authority and positive body language, your awareness increases and you demonstrate a step-change in your approach to the game once again until it calms down.

A substitution, a yellow card challenge, a penalty-kick award, a tight offside call, or even a refereeing error can heighten the negative reactions by players. Nowadays, VAR intervention could create a loss of concentration and a momentary loss of confidence if you are requested to change a big decision.

In the final five minutes plus added time at the end of each half you then go back into safety refereeing mode.

I have always said to my colleagues that when you are appointed to a match it is in fact two 45 minutes plus games.

It is important to have a conversation with your colleagues, invite them to discuss how they see the game during the half time period. Have they detected any raised tensions between any players? How do they see your approach? Get them to open up as part of your planning and preparation for that second half yes that second match.

Often a team that is losing will make a tactical change and you might come up against the player who has just been roasted by his manager. He might just want to vent his frustrations either in your direction or in his next challenge on an opponent.

In that second half you continue to use the ten-minute block procedure, allowing your colleagues to communicate how they see your control of the proceedings from the touchline.

And yes, if this weekend you are in the local park with no Assistants then you can still manage your games by operating a ten-minute block approach.

Keith Hackett
Honorary Patron of Far Post Header

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