Your personal assessment

First, this web site and the advice and answers to any questions are not sanctioned by or affiliated with any governing body of soccer. The opinions expressed on this site should not be considered official interpretations of the Laws of the Game. Although the content of the latest Laws are included on this site, the majority of the content is my opinion and opinions of other referees through research in books, magazines or other web sites.

These are the things you should be asking yourself during the match, at halftime and after the match in order to assess yourself. Remember, if you want to improve your game, you must work hard at it. If you are being informally or formally assessed, these are the questions I would ask. Additionally, I’ve highlighted ones that I felt were, not so much, more important, yet those things which would distinguish a higher level referee from a more recreational one….ones that, after some experience, you should begin to master in order for the game to appear easy, even in a difficult match.

Appearance

Are you appropriately dressed? Is their first impression positive? (25% of your game and reputation is from how you look). Do you have the correct equipment and is it clean and pressed? Are your shoes clean?

Did you enter the field of play in a confident manner?

Did you check the other team colors, and keeper jerseys, before starting the game?

Did you summon the captains in a confident and assertive manner?

Signals

Were decisions indicated clearly by your signals?

Was the whistle generally loud enough for all the players to hear it and was it suitably varied to denote the severity of an offence?

Was the whistle used unnecessarily (e.g. when the ball is obviously out of play)?

Were arm signals clear and definite?

Were direct and indirect free kick signals distinguishable from each other?

Were indirect free kicks correctly and clearly signaled?

Were any signals over-demonstrative, focusing attention on yourself?

Were subtle gestures used as an aid to effective communication?

Were the players ever in doubt about your decisions?

Stoppages

Were all decisions given with confidence and without hesitation?

Was play restarted as quickly as possible?

Were injured players dealt with as required by Law?

Did you monitor injured players while at the same time keeping the rest of the players in view?

Were players who delayed restarts correctly punished?

How well did you seek the co-operation of the players when they were trying to waste time?

How well did you estimate 10 yards in all parts of the field of play? Did you turn your back to the kicker when estimating?

How well were 'defensive walls' controlled?

Were substitutions controlled correctly?

Was the play restarted at the correct place on the field of play?

Did you allow sufficient time in each half for all stoppages? How much time did you add and why?

Advantage

Was it clear to all the players that an advantage had been allowed?

How clear was the approved arm signal?

Was the voice used as an effective aid to communicating your actions to the players after allowing advantage?

If appropriate, was further action later taken against players?

Did you carefully select offences upon which an advantage was likely to develop? Generally speaking, but not always, advantage is not gained in the defensive third. Be careful, though, as a defender can gain advantage by a long pass out of the back to a streaking forward.

Was the clause invoked following serious offences and thereby possibly threatening player control?

Did you use the clause following offside offences when appropriate?

Did you sense the moods of the players when invoking the clause?

Were ground conditions and the skill level of the players taken into consideration before allowing advantage?

If an advantage did not immediately develop, did you stop the game and penalize the original offence?

Co-operation with Assistant Referees

Were assistant Referees fully briefed before the game?

Did all three (or four) of you walk on and off the field together?

Were the assistants used effectively?

Were the assistants allowed to influence your decisions in a positive manner?

Was action taken, when appropriate, on the advice of the assistants?

Was there clear acknowledgement of the signals given by the assistants?

Did you consult with the assistants when appropriate?

Did you give visible support to the assistants when they were under pressure?

Was the overall co-operation and teamwork of a satisfactory standard?

Did you regularly make eye contact with them during critical points of the game?

Application of the laws

a) PENAL OFFENSES

Were the actions of the players correctly and consistently recognized?

Were the offences penalized correctly and consistently?

Did you distinguish between unfair challenges of a careless nature and those that were reckless and/or committed with excessive force?

Did you distinguish correctly and consistently between deliberate and accidental handling of the ball?

Was further action taken if appropriate?

b) TECHNICAL OFFENSES

Was dangerous play correctly identified and appropriately punished?

Did you distinguish between unfair impeding and holding an opponent?

Were offside offences correctly judged and penalized?

Were technical offences by the goalkeepers correctly identified and penalized?

Were illegally taken throws-in correctly identified and punished?

Did you ensure that all restarts were taken in accordance with Law?

c) MISCONDUCT

Were players approached in a firm yet friendly manner that ensured their co-operation when dealing with misconduct?

Did you follow the correct procedures when cautioning or sending off a player?

Were players who showed dissent by word or action correctly punished?

Were persistent offenders identified and punished accordingly?

Were players who used offensive or insulting or abusive language or actions correctly dealt with?

Was violent conduct correctly identified and dealt with?

Were players who denied their opponents obvious goal or goal-scoring opportunities dealt with as required by Law?

Did you take the correct action in Law in terms of misconduct at all times during the game?

Positioning and Movement

Did you show a good sense of anticipation in open play?

Could you accelerate to keep close to the action when necessary?

Was the action kept between you and the assistants at all times?

Was an adapted diagonal system of patrol in evidence?

Was your back turned on the action in open play?

Did you move into advantageous positions to see midfield challenges from the side?

Did you follow the action into the penalty areas and toward the goal line when necessary?

Did your follow through mean that too much ground had to be made up for the next phase of play?

Did you become mixed up with the player/players?

Did your positioning cause offenses to go undetected?

Did you feel that you demonstrated the required level of physical fitness to meet the demands of this game?

Did you use the time that the ball was out of play to move into advantageous positions for the next phase of play?

How well did you select viewing positions at set plays in order to monitor the Law and to be well placed to view the next phase of play?

Did you keep the action in view after awarding goal kicks, goals, etc?

Notwithstanding the prevailing weather conditions and pattern of play, did you feel that, overall, you were in the right place at the right time?

Control and Authority

Did your actions inspire the respect of the players?

Were you assertive when approaching players?

Did you ever seem hesitant when making decisions?

How well did you deal with major issues?

Did you appear to be confident and at ease through the game?

Was there a particular action by you that turned control in the match official's favor?

Did one particular incident have the converse effect on player control?

Did you manage any confrontations in a sensible manner?

Were you called upon to use initiative or common sense to resolve a difficult situation?

Did the tolerance level of you remain consistent at all times?

Did you maintain an appropriate level of concentration throughout the game?

Did you judge the level of involvement to suit the needs of this game?

Is there any advice that you would offer yourself to improve match control in the future?

General Remarks and Constructive Advice

You may wish to comment on the degree of difficulty, the weather conditions, the moods of the players or spectators, in fact anything that contributed to the overall impression of the game.

Did you consider that this game was a true test, bearing in mind the present level and the degree of difficulty of the game?

Did you leave the game feeling that an efficient and capable Referee had successfully controlled it?

Please give yourself credit if, by the manner in which you went about the tasks in hand, the game appeared 'easy' to control.

Happy assessing!