Risk of Sports Injury?

At first take, who looks more likely to have a significant injury, or three, during their football career?

Jack Wilshere (right) of Arsenal and Fernandinho of Manchester City battle for the ball

Jack Wilshere is a talented professional player but his record of injuries do not bode well for this future, especially if one looks at his body mechanics (kinesthetics). Wilshere looks awkward, unbalanced and ungainly.

Aesthetics plays a huge part in a professional athlete's long-term performance, sustainability and longevity. Just look at tennis legend Roger Federer, a wonderfully graceful athlete who has avoided major injuries throughout his long career while performing consistently at the highest level.

Let's not forget how Alex Ferguson regards athletes too (plus he is known to have a good eye for choosing winning racehorses).

Writing in his autobiography in 2013, Ferguson painted the scene in the Manchester United boardroom, prior to Jordan Henderson’s £16 million move from Sunderland to Liverpool (reference):

“We looked at Jordan Henderson a lot and Steve Bruce was unfailingly enthusiastic about him. Against that we noticed that Henderson runs from his knees, with a straight back, while the modern footballer runs from his hips. We thought his gait might cause him problems later in his career.”

Jordan Henderson, running style

So, from a refereeing perspective, match officials should also pay attention to their body mechanics, running style and movement. Referees are athletes and can also benefit from understanding and improving themselves aesthetically. 


Reference

Arsenal star Jack Wilshere complains about three refereeing decisions from Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City in a statement: 'These are facts'  (Daily Mail)

Referees live in fear as grass-roots game spirals out of control

There is an article from The Telegraph highlighting results from a survey of over 2,000 grass-roots referees in England. There needs to be a much better and improved version of the Respect campaign.

Respect 2.0 please!

LOTG and Laws of Physics

The following two incidents occurred during the EPL match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 15 May 2011. The match finished 0—2.

The Referee was Howard Webb (see Webb Scrutiny, where HKRef mentions hope that Webb can bounce back for the remainder of the season). Of these two incidents, one was a poor decision and the other was a half-good decision. One is concluded directly from the Laws Of The Game and the other is determined from the Laws of Physics.


Luis Suarez's Petulant Kick

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez is a fantastic player. He also has a reputation for sometimes doing stupid things. For example, whilst at Ajax this season he was given a seven-match ban for biting an opponent's shoulder (see Liverpool's fine young cannibal).

On Sunday, Suarez did another stupid act; he kicked an opponent who was down on the ground. This was foolish and completely unnecessary. Credit to Spurs defender Michael Dawson for not reacting in kind to Suarez's petulant kick.

Webb was probably close enough to see Suarez kick Dawson

It is not 100% clear whether Webb saw the incident, but one good thing is that he was helped by the fact that Dawson and other players did not become needlessly involved. Players from both teams allowed the Referee to decide on the sanction, if any. This is the ideal: Allow the Referee space and time to manage and make a decision without any unnecessary interference and pressuring by players. So what did Webb do?


Webb cautioned Suarez. Did Webb in fact see the incident? Was Webb's decision correct in Law?

A famous example of this kind of stupidity and petulance is David Beckham's kick on Diego Simeone during the England and Argentina match in the 1998 World Cup. No one could justly complain when Referee Kim Milton Nielsen sent off David Beckham. These days, it seems we could do with more Referees who have courage to make the correct decisions, no matter how tough it may be at the time.

Instead, many Referees mistakenly believe they have to be touchy-feely and pally-friendly with players.

Notice also Webb's characteristic hands-on approach (or the touchy-feely method). Webb certainly does like to touch and handle players (compared with, say, Phil Dowd who prefers not to get needlessly involved).


John Flannagan's Charge

A fair charge is a shoulder-to-shoulder and side-to-side barge whilst attempting to gain space and control of the ball. Any other kind of charge is unfair and therefore a foul.

In the 55', Webb awarded a penalty against Liverpool right-back Flannagan who challenged with Spurs midfielder Steven Pienaar. Here are the freeze frames:

Was this a fair charge?

Many commentators and news reports said Webb's penalty decision was dubious and questionable (see BBC Sport, Guardian Football and Telegraph Football), with the emphasis that the challenge was a fair shoulder barge. Secondary to that, the challenge is claimed to have occurred outside the box. From the benefit of analyzing the freeze frames post-match (which all match Referees do not have in real time), Webb's decision was only half correct. It was a foul (i.e. an unfair charge) but contact was in fact outside the penalty area.

Take a look at Pienaar's body movement following contact with Flannagan. After the collision, is Pienaar's body moving sideways or is he falling forward? If sideways this would mean he was charged shoulder-to-shoulder and side-to-side. If falling forward this would indicate that he was charged from behind. From the freeze frames, although it may look as if contact between the players was shoulder-to-shoulder, on closer inspection Pienaar is actually just in front of Flannagan and because of this Flannagan's right side is pushing more of Pienaar's back rather than his left side. This is the force that pushes Pienaar's body forward (and also rotates it), indicating that he was pushed from behind. In contrast Flannagan's body continues to go forward (and not sideways), further indicating that there was no equal shoulder-to-shoulder collision.

In many incidents that involve players colliding, Referees should pay attention to the reactions resulting from the collision. Observing the collision of moving bodies can be revealing. The Laws of Physics really can help Referees.

Now, notice where initial contact was made. At the moment of contact, Pienaar's feet are clearly not in the penalty area and since contact was more to his back and left side, it is reasonable to conclude that contact was made outside the area. Contact did not continue in to the area because both players "bounced" off each other immediately after initial contact.


All this is pretty hard for Referee Howard Webb to see, particularly since there is a Liverpool player possibly hindering his view of the incident. Webb however can perhaps see the way Pienaar falls to ground. Therefore, Webb got the foul right and the location of the foul wrong.


SUMMARY

As mentioned above: Of these two incidents, one was a poor decision and the other was a half-good decision. The former can be concluded directly from the Laws Of The Game, while the latter can be determined from the Laws of Physics.


Related Post

Sometimes, Referees Have To Rely On Intuition Alone

LOTG and Laws of Physics: Part 2

Recognizing Player Behaviour: 1991 FA Cup Final

In addition to knowing team tactics, it is also important for Referees to understand individual player behaviour. This blog has previously mentioned the importance of the former (see Referees in Tune With Team Tactics), but the latter can be useful for Referees too.

I was reminded of this recently when I read Paul Gascoigne's poignant remarks, in an interview leading up to this year's 2011 FA Cup Final on Saturday 14 May, about his feelings as a 23-year-old English star footballer immediately prior, during and after his self-destructive 1991 FA Cup Final appearance for Tottenham Hotspur. Here are some important quotes from Gazza, that gives some insight into player behaviour and on-pitch value judgements, who was speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live:

"... before Wembley we got the pillows out in my hotel room and were kicking them all over the place. Bouncing off the bed as high as we could and then trying to do tackles on pillows, two-footing lamp shades and half-volleying anything we could get our hands on. Getting a bar of soap out and doing a cross volley into the window."

"I remember lying in bed and the doctor came in and said, 'Look Paul, we've heard the noise, you're going to have to take these tablets'. It was a nice feeling. I think that's how I ended up in rehab!"

The tablets were Valium (or it may have been an injection, depending on which interview of Gazza one listens to), so no wonder Gazza had a "nice feeling".

Anyway, this reveals the youthful, irresponsible and uncontrolled mindset of professional footballers in the 1980s and 90s. They did not know what the word "professional" meant. These were young men—immature men—who needed guidance and quite often a good kick up the backside, rather than more money and adulation. Footballers caught up in the whirl of celebrity and the whole media circus were ill-equipped to handle the crash-course in opulent and excessive lifestyles that their working class and poorly-educated backgrounds could never practically prepare them for.

Paul Gascoigne was a poster boy for the generation of professional footballers in England who did not know how to behave like a "professional". At that age and stage, it would not be surprising if Gazza had thought he had had it all—and that it would last. Gazza was simply excited about the prospect of playing in Wembley for the FA Cup, which was possibly every English schoolboy's dream at that time. He never thought about taking care of himself and taking steps to prevent himself from picking up serious injuries. At that age and stage in his career, Gazza simply felt invincible.

In the opening seconds of the Cup Final, Gascoigne sunk his studs into the chest of Nottingham Forest's Garry Parker. Here are the freeze frames:


Gazza said:

"I wish I'd got sent off for the first tackle on Parker. I remember he'd clattered me in one game but I waited two years to get him back."

"He was one of their playmakers and what you try to do is injure his legs. If you're going to challenge him, make sure he can't kick a ball as well as he can if you hurt his feet or legs. But I nearly took his windpipe out! It was a terrible tackle I suppose."

This is how some footballers, nurtured from a tough street-smart insecure-adolescent background and surviving in tough "British-style" physical football matches, view the world around them. If a player perceives that he has been the victim or loser of previous encounters, or believes that his macho or footballing reputation has been sullied and tarnished (especially in front of his peers), oftentimes he will seek retribution on the football pitch.

Similarly, in his autobiography (ghost-written, naturally), Roy Keane famously admitted to seeking revenge on Alf Inge Haaland. Here's Keane's quote:

"I'd waited long enough. I f***ing hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***. And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries."

"Even in the dressing room afterwards, I had no remorse. My attitude was, f*** him. What goes around comes around. He got his just rewards. He f***ed me over and my attitude is an eye for an eye."

These are extremely powerful on-pitch value judgements that some players harbour, often for a long long time. Referees need to be aware of this as best they can; but primarily coaches and those closest to players should be more aware of these powerful emotions in players. All players, particularly those who play each other regularly, have a built-in tit-for-tat counter. Some counters, whether based on factual sleights or perceived sleights, become skewed and may make a player snap, just like that.
[Note: as an outside observer, watching Emile Heskey suddenly snap last weekend made me think of the possible reason(s) for his "uncharacteristic" behaviour. It may have been Alcaraz that set off Heskey, but there may be a deeper-lying cause too; we simply don't know. It could also be non-football-related. Perhaps with time, the truth will out?]


Back to Gazza:
Minutes later [following the chest-high collision with Garry Parker] Gascoigne lunged wildly at Gary Charles and ruptured his own cruciate ligament in his right knee. In the words of the great Jimmy Hill: "He [Gazza] just takes a fly-kick at his shins. Whack!" Here are the freeze frames:


Gazza's move to Lazio was put on hold while he was out of the game for a year. Gazza said:

"I didn't go into that challenge to try and really hurt Gary Charles. I said sorry afterwards and wanted to make sure he was alright and still had a career ahead of him, and he appreciated that."

"I tried to get a good challenge on him to let him know he was in a game. I just mistimed it. It was daft and I'm gutted about that. I'm just probably one of those players who couldn't tackle. When I see the challenge I cringe myself. It's the biggest regret of my career."

So, for Referees, it is important to have an understanding of the footballing culture of the country, region or locale where one is officiating in. What things upset players and what things, within the Laws, can players accept? And why players make certain challenges. During a match, if a Referee can sense something is definitely up in a player or between certain players, it would be proactive to try to sort it out before it blows up.
Disclaimer: This advice does not apply to the minority of players who are just plain idiots who cannot learn to control themselves. But, for the majority of players who are willing to listen, what's the worse that can happen to a Referee who is trying to manage the match?

The Referee for the 1991 FA Cup Final was Roger Milford. His reflection on the events of that Cup Final are interesting too. A future post about that beckons, I reckon.


FOOTNOTE

An excellent contrast to Paul Gascoigne would be Ryan Giggs. By the time Gazza was in his early 20s, it was probably too late for an authority figure to control and manage him. However, when Giggs emerged on to the scene as a wiry and talented teenager, Alex Ferguson was shrewd in allowing Giggs to be exposed to the excesses and dangers of his celebrity. Sir Alex Ferguson is to be applauded for the way he carefully developed Giggs from his teens (Cristiano Ronaldo and others have benefited from this in their early professional years too).

Stubborn Sexist Sky Sports Presenters Will Not Change Their Attitudes

Much outrage has appeared following the leaking of off-the-air sexist comments from Richard Keys and Andy Gray, football presenters at Sky Sports. Links of this outrage are given at the end of this post.

Suffice it to say sexist comments, like all other discriminatory views, are unwelcome and are to be actively discouraged from football (as well as in all walks of life). It should be common decency that a person should be judged on their ability and talent, rather than on unfounded preconceived guesses handed down, and accepted, by ignoramuses.

25-year-old Sian Massey, one of only two female officials operating as an assistant in the English Premier League, was the subject of sexist comments from Sky Sports presenters [Pic from AP]

Keys and Gray deserve all the criticism they get and then some. One of their targets Karren Brady, who is currently West Ham vice-chairman, said:

“It never would have occurred to me that they had those views, whether public or private".

Well Ms Brady, this is not an isolated incident. The sexist attitude of Keys and Gray, who have been presenting football for Sky Sports for nearly two decades, has been around from the very beginning. This latest incident only serves to reveal that their bigoted views will not change. For example, here is a videoclip of this pair of clowns back in 1998, when they could not contain themselves (smirking, guffawing, etc) while watching highlights from the 1998 Women’s FA Cup Final.

Andy Gray & Richard Keys Laughing At Women's Football





Apart from Sky Sports deciding to suspend the pair of clowns for one night, let's see what (if any) other punishments will be meted out to Keys and Gray.


ASIDE (since this is a Refereeing blog!):
If you watch the 1998 Women's FA Cup Final highlights carefully, two Arsenal goals perhaps should have been disallowed and this would have meant that unfashionable Croydon would probably have won the 1998 Women’s FA Cup.
The first Arsenal goal perhaps should have been disallowed for a push in the back (0:38); and the third Arsenal goal maybe could have been offside (1:36).


References:

Sky presenters in the firing line over sexist jibes at female match official

Richard Keys and Andy Gray stood down from Sky game over sexism row

Sky Sports presenters Andy Gray and Richard Keys say sorry after mocking lineswoman during Liverpool victory

Sky Sports presenters Keys and Gray score an own goal as microphone picks up sexist diatribe against female linesman - and Apprentice star Karren Brady

Linogate: the fall-out begins... Sky say sorry as Andy Gray and Richard Keys foul up

Sky sexism was no surprise but prejudice needs punishment

Premier League - Sky football presenters in sexism storm

Food For Thought: Fabio Capello On Mistakes

The following incident occurred during the World Cup group match between England and USA on Saturday 12 June 2010. The match finished 1—1.

[England's Robert Green fumbles the ball to gift USA a goal. Pic courtesy Getty Images]

On Robert Green's goalkeeping blunder, England coach said Capello:

We have to accept the mistakes of the keeper in football, just like we have to accept the mistakes of the referees or the forwards.

On reflection, just how easy is it for the media, fans, players, managers and commentators to "accept the mistakes" of referees compared with those made by football players?

Foul and Abusive [English] Language

One consequence of the overblown media circus surrounding England is the reaction and response from the general football community towards England’s actions. The latest reaction is news that World Cup referees, who are not native English speakers, are learning English swear words (see below).

FIFA spokesman Alex Stone is quoted as saying:

“There was no requirement for referees to know obscenities in languages other than English.”

Part of the fun in learning about different cultures is the local use of colourful obscenities, otherwise why travel if not to help broaden one’s knowledge?

[England's Wayne Rooney hurling an "English obscenity" at the referee, earlier this week. Pic courtesy Michael Regan/Getty Images]

World Cup referees learning English swear words (Associated Press)

Thu Jun 10, 2010

The Brazilian referee and his assistants who will work the England-United States match at the World Cup have been studying English-language obscenities the players might use.

Carlos Simon will referee Saturday's match in Rustenburg, assisted by Roberto Braatz and Altemir Hausmann. They want to ensure players can't get away with abuse.

"We have to learn what kind of words the players say," Hausmann told Brazilian broadcaster Globo Sport. "All players swear and we know we will hear a few."

Braatz says they aren't learning them in "11 different languages, but at least we have to know the swear words in English."

FIFA denied reports that match officials have been given lists of swear words to listen for, but did say proficiency in English was a requirement for referees and assistants working the World Cup.

In addition, refereeing officials briefed all teams about the rules, including the potential for players to be cautioned or sent off for abusive language or gestures.

"There should not be any surprises to any members of the teams," FIFA spokesman Alex Stone said.

Stone said there was no requirement for referees to know obscenities in languages other than English.

Wayne Rooney received a yellow card during England's warmup match against South African club Platinum Stars on Monday for swearing at the referee.

"In this day and age I think it's important to show the referees some respect," England captain Steven Gerrard said. "You don't use any language because then you'll be booked and the whole team suffers. You don't want to fall into that trap ...

"We've had experience of losing big players at important times."

Some Observations From England’s Final Friendly Before 2010 World Cup

The following observations are from a friendly match between England and local South African side Platinum Stars on Monday 7 June 2010.

Although only a friendly, it was still interesting to see how the referee Jeff Selogilwe performed, and the way he handled celebrity players. No doubt, all World Cup match officials will have been watching the various friendly matches as part of their final preparations.

[Colour clash. The Platinum Stars goalkeeper is wearing a yellow shirt and black shorts, which is similar to the match officials.]

[Kick off. Referee Jeff Selogilwe signals the start of the match.]

[England's Jermain Defoe slots the ball past the referee goalkeeper. Pic courtesy Reuters.]

[Positioning. During a penalty kick, the referee stands amongst the England players.]

[The referee cautions England's Wayne Rooney, after Rooney says "F@# You" to him.]

[Referee Jeff Selogilwe comes face to face with his favourite player Wayne Rooney. Pic courtesy Michael Regan/Getty Images]

For his performance, the referee Jeff Selogilwe received Wayne Rooney's shirt. The referee publicly warned Rooney that he risked being sent off if he used similar foul and abusive language in the World Cup.

Rooney's England and Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand, who is out of the World Cup through injury, responded by saying: "I'm sure [Wayne Rooney has] said a lot worse to other referees in Premier League games."

No doubt Ferdinand is correct!!

Some Observations from Pre-World Cup Friendlies

Japan 1-2 England
The following incident occurred during the Japan and England friendly on Sunday 30 May 2010.

Encroachment
Players continue to encroach, and it appears referees continue to allow players to enter the penalty area before the penalty taker kicks the ball.

[England’s Frank Lampard (red #8) hasn’t kicked the ball yet, and Wayne Rooney (red #10) is already about 6 or 7 yards close to the ball. Two Japan players (blue #22, #2) have also encroached. Pic Getty Images.]

Q: The penalty was saved by the Japan goalkeeper. Within the laws of the game, what should referees do in this situation?


Australia 1-0 Denmark
The following incident occurred during the Australia and Denmark friendly on Tuesday 1 June 2010 at the Roodepoort Athletics Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Offside Player Involved in Active Play
Law 11 states that a player in an offside position is penalised if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee involved in active play.

[Australia’s Josh Kennedy (yellow #9) should have been penalised for being offside and interfering with an opponent. Video link here.]

The above five freeze frames show that when the ball is crossed from the right, Kennedy (yellow) is in an offside position. The ball is then deflected up and, because the defending team has not yet brought the ball under control, Kennedy should be regarded as "interfering with an opponent". ARs must watch these situations closely.


Related Post (Law 14)
Europa League Penalty Kicks and Encroachment

Related Posts (Law 11)
Some Observations of the 2010 Europa League Final

Offside and Consistency

Offside and Optimum Officiating

Referees On Wheels!

This is what managers believe referees need!

[Mark Halsey on a Segway (pic courtesy Sun News Group)]

Ref revolution is wheely great (The Sun)

1 April 2010

Sam Allardyce last night gave the thumbs up to an amazing 'ref-mobile'.

The Blackburn boss believes the motorised two-wheeler will keep referees up to speed with the game's fastest players.

Football authorities have been secretly testing the Segways - and they will be used in the Blue Square Premier next season.

With players like Theo Walcott, Gabby Agbonlahor and Aaron Lennon capable of incredible speeds, it is hoped this new innovation will help refs keep up.

Allardyce said: "Players are athletes and we can't expect refs to keep up with them for a full 90 minutes, so this gives them a real edge.

"We can no longer say the referee was nowhere near the incident because, with this, he will be.

"Finally refs and managers are listening to each other."

Top referee Mark Halsey said: "Not only does the innovation help referees keep right up with play it will also mean older, more experienced refs will not be lost to the game.

Read the rest of the article (click here)

Note: Sloof Lirpa

A Suspicion Of Offside

In the League Cup second leg semi-final between Manchester United and Manchester City, HKRef believes there may be a hint of offside for the first goal. Interestingly, none of the sports articles or football reviews about this match mentioned anything suggesting the possibility of offside.

Nevertheless, this incident may prove to be a useful exercise to review and consider Law 11_Offside.


In this first sequence of 4 freeze frames (camera view from the halfway line), Giggs (red) is at the top of the frame and outside the penalty area. Carrick (red) is on the 6 yard line, and Nani (red) is on the 18 yard line. As Giggs plays the ball to Nani, and as Nani pushes the ball forward, it is important to consider Carrick's position relative to the second-last defender (blue).

In this second sequence of 5 freeze frames (camera view from behind the goal), it is important to consider when Nani played the ball and whether Carrick is still in an offside position.






Thereafter, Carrick plays the ball to Paul Scholes (who appears near the 18 yard line) and his shot goes in for the match's first goal.

For Consideration: was Carrick offside?
Did Carrick gain an advantage from being in that position? By considering this incident carefully and rationally (something that is difficult to do during actual match time), HKRef hopes that referees can reflect more and perhaps improve their awareness of similar incidents in future matches.

Reference
Law 11_Offside