Goalkeeper Offences in FUTSAL - Latest 2011/2012

An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team is a goalkeeper commits any of the following four offences:
- controls the ball with his hands or feet in his own half f the pitch for more than four seconds.
- after playing the ball, he touches it again in his own half of the pitch after it has been deliberately played to him by a team-mate without an opponent playing or touching it.

Interpretation: The goalkeeper cannot play or touch the ball if it is deliberately passed to him a team mate even if the ball has cross the halfway line unless it has been played or touched by an opponent.

- touches the ball with his hands inside his own penalty area after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate.
- touches the ball with his hands inside his own penalty area after he has received it directly from a kick in by a team-mate.

Page 129 FUTSAL LoG 2010/11: A goalkeeper is not permitted to touch the ball in his own half of the pitch:
- if he is in possession of the ball in his own half of the pitch for more than four seconds whether he with his hands inside his penalty area, with his feet in his own half of the pitch.

- if, after playing the ball, he touches it again in his own half of the pitch after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate without an opponent playing or touching it.
The goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball by touching it with ANY PART of his body, except if the ball accidently rebounds off him.

Muscle Spasm and Cramps

Read an article in About.Com about Muscle Spasm and Cramps. It is interesting as this is a common phenomenon among athlete especially football players and referees too. Muscle spasm and cramps can be very painful at times. Common areas affected are the back of lower leg (calf), back of thigh (hamstrings), front of thigh (quadriceps) and feet, hands, arms, and abdomen.
The causes of muscle spasm and cramps is still unknown but common reasons are due to altered neuromuscular control, dehydration, electrolyte depletion, poor conditioning, muscle fatigue or involving in a new activity. Heat and extensive sweating result in depletion of electrolytes like sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium which, are needed for muscle contraction.

Cramps usually go away on their own without treatment, but to help speed up the healing process it is advice to stop the activity that caused the cramp, gently stretch and massage the cramping muscle or hold the joint in a stretched position until the cramp stops.

Tips to prevent muscle spasm and cramps:
· Improve fitness and avoid muscle fatigue
· Stretch regularly after exercise
· Warm up before exercise
· Stretch the calf muscle
· Stretch the hamstring muscle
· Stretch the quadriceps muscle
· Most muscle cramps are not serious. If your muscle cramps are severe, frequent, constant or of concern, see your doctor.

Adopted from:
http://video.about.com/sportsmedicine/Muscle-Spasms-and-Cramps-.htm

FIFA Match Officials 2012

FIFA has accepted the nominees by Football Association of Maldives for the International Match Officials for 2012.
Referees:
Ali Saleem, Ahmed Aslam, Ahmed Afsah

Assistant Referees:
Ahmed Ameez, Ibrahim Thaufeeq, Mohamed Fareed, Mohamed Aneel, Jaufar Rasheed

As the country top referees they are expected to exhibit professional approach in maintaining their discipline, attitude, fitness level and performance. They will serve as the role model to other referees especially the younger referees, inspiring them to have the aspiration to achieve the highest level in refereeing. They should give their assistance in the development of refereeign in Maldives by their own performance and also guiding others to do so.

Going into Extra Time or Penalty Shoot-out

This post was written earlier in Maldivesref but I find it neccessary to re-post it with some additional guidelines. Carrying out a task is not merely carrying it out but to have it performed well is QUALITY performance. What is quality performance in the management of situation prior to the extra time period or penalty shoot-out? Quality is having done as professional as possible, as efficient as possible. Efficient = lowest time + least effort. Thus the CUSTOMERS will be SATISFIED. That is quality.
The moment the referee makes the final whistle and if extra time period or the penalty shoot-out need to be carried out, the match officials have to make sure that this is being managed with professional attitude and efficient management. The following chronology should be followed:
1. AR1 will ensure that no players leaves the field of play and no substitutes enter on the right side of the field.
2. The Fourth Official will attend to the team on the left side while waiting for the AR2 to come after having a drink or rest.
3. When the AR2 takes over from the Standby, he then goes to the AR1 to take over his task to enable him a rest or a drink.
4. Team officials (not substitutes) are allowed to enter to give drinks or discuss with the captain during this short break.
5. The length of this period is subjected to the referee's discretion.
6. Meantime, as soon as possible after the referee take a rest or drink, he will get both the captains for the toss.
7. Briefing to the assistant referees should have been done in the dressing room prior to the match or during the interval.
8. The referee will then have the restart of the extra time period or the penalty shoot-out taken as soon as possible.
9. If it is a penalty shoot-out, the referee choose the the goal.
10. AR2 takes up position at the goal line.
11. Goalkeeper of team taking the first kick behind the AR at the goal line.
12. AR1 monitor all the players of both teams in the centre circle.
13. Fourth Official can be in the centre cirlce or at the touch line.
14. As the kick is taken the AR1 make sure the next kicker is ready with proper attire.

Having a task done as required is effective management but having it done with the least time wasted, effort and professionally is efficiency in management.

Speed and Edurance Training

Speed and endurance are two elements in all sports particularly in refereeing. The combination of speed and endurance can benefit a referee when he officiate a match when these two elements are the strength of the teams. Many referees concentrate only on endurance with long distance running, long duration of jogging or running. With speed training added into his training schedule his level of performance will be much benefited and enhanced. Before entering into speed training, a referee should have a basic fitness level to run steadily for 20 – 30 minutes at an appropriate speed. In fact, most of the training dosage recommended by FIFA fitness training program involves interval training using speed and endurance as the key elements.

Speed and endurance training as in interval training will be quite strenuous and should be done not more than twice a week with two days of rest in between, active rest with lighter workouts. Interval training combines short, high intensity bursts of speed, with slow, recovery phases, repeated during one exercise session. An early form of interval training, "Fartlek" (a Swedish term meaning 'speed play') was casual and unstructured. A runner would simply increase and decrease his pace at will.

Interval training will improve both the anaerobic and the aerobic capacity of an athlete. During the high intensity run the anaerobic system of the body is improved and during the recovery or resting bout, the aerobic system is improved. Lactic acid secreted as a by-product during the high intensity effort will be used up during the recovery phase of the training. During the recovery phase, the heart and lungs work together to "pay back" this oxygen debt and break down the lactic acid. It is in this phase that the aerobic system is using oxygen to convert stored carbohydrates into energy

Interval training adheres to the principle of adaptation. Interval training leads to many physiological changes including an increase in cardiovascular efficiency (the ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles) as well as increased tolerance to the build-up of lactic acid. These changes result in improved performance, greater speed, and endurance. This will result in the referee ability to cope up with continuous fast attacking breaks by the teams during the match.

Interval training also helps avoid injuries associated with repetitive overuse, common in endurance athletes. Common overuse injuries are over-strain, plantar fasciitis, shin splint, heel spurs and Achilles tendonitis. Intervals also allow an athlete to increase training intensity without overtraining or burn-out. Interval training variables that you can manipulate when designing your interval training program include:

· Intensity (speed) of work interval - 50 meters (10 seconds), 100 meters (24 seconds, 200 meters (45 seconds) or 400 meters (90 seconds)

· Duration (distance or time) of work interval - distance or the time as above

Duration of rest or recovery interval - Working duration of 10 – 20 seconds will need longer resting or recovery interval like 1 : 5 or 1: 3, while longer working intervals will need shorter recovery period like 1:1, 1:2 or 1 : 3.

· Number of repetitions of each interval
Repetitions of 8 to 10 are normally carried out for shorter bout from 50 meter – 400 meter,
while longer worker out like 800 meter – 1500 meter will require lesser repetitions.

Source: Sports Medicine, About.com

Football Referees 2012 (Male)

All football referees in Male are invited to register as referees with the Football Association of Maldives for 2012 season. Forms can be taken at the FAM counter. Closing date is 1 January 2012.
Referees in Male are:
Ali Saleem, Ahmed Aslam, Ahmed Afsah, Ahmed Ameez, Ibrahim Thaufeeq, Mohamed Fareed, Mohamed Aneel, Jaufar Rasheed, Ahmed Shifan Abdul Raheem, Basil Nafes, Afeef Abdul Samad, Zaeem Ali, Mohamed Afrah, Mohamed Hashim, Ihusan Abdul Raheem, Ahmed Mohamed, Adam Fazeel, Mohamed Ali, Mohamed Fawaaz, Ahmed Anfal, Mohamed Nadheem, Mohamed Amir,
New Referees in Male are:
Ali Adil, Ali Waheed, Abdul Hafeez Ibrahim, Hussain Shinan, Mohamed Jaaviz, Ismail Rashad, Ibrahim Nazim,
Others who have not shown to be active or interested may also apply to be registered.

FUTSAL Laws of the Game

There are some slight changes in the FUTSAL Laws of the Game (LOG) that may need your attention for correct interpretation and application.
Kick In - kicks the ball must be stationary, either from the point where it left the pitch or on the ground outside it at a distance no greater than 25 cm from the point.
The ball is placed on the line or outside the line (not more than 25 cm away).

Corner Kick - If the corner kick is not taken within four seconds
- a goal clearance is awarded to the opposing team

Four seconds Rules is applied on goal clearance, corner kick, kick in, free kick, direct free kick beginning after the sixth accumulated fouls.
It is not applied for kick off and penalty kick.

FUTSAL Match Analysis DVD

FUTSAL match analysis DVD (2.7 gb) is available at FAM Referees Department. All futsal referees are encourage to copy into their PC or external HDD.
You will be given VIDEO TEST during this year Seminar for Futsal Referees in 2012. Your match performance, video test and theory test result will be judged to nominate you for FIFA FUTSAL Referee 2013. FAM will be applying to FIFA/AFC to consider Maldives for the eligibility to do so.

All the registered futsal referees will be categorized in to Class A, B and C based on their performance, capability and fitness test result. An official list will be released once the Referees Committee has approved it.

Wrong Position = Wrong Decision

Wrong position of the Assistant Referee resulted in him making a wrong decision by raising his flag for offside. The player in yellow is not in an offside position when the ball was played by his team-mate to him and he is neither offside when he received the ball.

Such situations often are the consequences of the lost of concentration of the AR and also not following the movement of the second last defender.

Making a wrong decision is part and partial of refereeing but making a decision that changes the result of the match is consider a bad one.

Advantage versus Offside

A foul was committed by a defender but the ball goes to a team-mate of the attacker. The referee signal for an advantage to be played. He then notice that the assistant referee has raised his flag to indicate that the team-mate was in an offside position and gained control of the ball.

Should the referee penalize for the offside or revoke his advantage decision and penalize the foul by the defender?

Handling Ball versus Offside

A pass was made by an attacker to his team-mate who was in an offside position but the ball was stopped with the hand by a defender. Should the assistant referee raise his flag for an offside or the handling of the ball by the defender?

You can post your answers to comment.

1000 meter in 4 minutes

1000 meter is a normal distance that most athlete will use in their training. This is either in an overloading approach when training for a 800 meter run or under-distance run, when training for 1500 meter or 2400 meter. In FUTSAL physical fitness test, 1000 meter run is to test the referees' ability to undergo speed endurance for 4 minutes. In fact it is consider as a very easy test to undergo.

Training for the 1000 meter run test: If 1000 meter is run in 4 minutes or 240 seconds, it means 24 seconds every 100 meter or 48 seconds every 200 meter. The concept of interval training can be used in ensuring a referee able to run 1000 meter below 4 minutes. To be able to run every 200 meter at 48 seconds, the following dosage of training is suggested:

Warm up exercise (20 - 30 minutes)

Dosage 1: Run 100 meter in 22 or 23 seconds x 10 repetitions x 2 sets. Rest in between each repetition is 60 seconds and resting in between sets is 4 minutes.

Dosage 2: Run 200 meter in 46 or 47 seconds x 6 or 8 repetitions, Resting in between each repetitions is 90 - 120 seconds. (Listen to your heart beat can be another monitor to make your next repetition).

Dosage 3: Run 200 meter in 46 or 47 seconds. Walk 100 meter in 1 minutes and continue to run 200 meters (46/47 seconds). Repeat for 8 to 10 repetitions.

You should try to listen to your breathing and know how intense the breathing is when you are running at a correct speed, too fast a pace or too slow a pace. This will prevent you from running according to your friends pace.

By the way, for those who can easily complete 1000 meter in less than 4 minutes this should not be a problem to you. Keep in training and try to maintain or improve in your speed of your run. It may be your plus point when you are taking the test when you are at an international level. It will definitely catch the eyes of the Referees Assessor. Good luck.

Detraining or Reversibility - Losing Fitness Level

Detraining – Losing Fitness

Many referees undergo training (at least 20 days) every year to prepare themselves for the FIFA Fitness Test held yearly as a pre-requisite for registration to most Football Associations. Training with proper schedule and discipline makes the test easy. Although there are those excellent quality or elite referees who continue to have regular training to maintain their fitness level, there are many who felt that they have already qualified and training is not a necessity any more. What will the effect be without regular training or the reduction of intensity in training? The effect is termed as deconditioning or detraining. When training ceases or decrease in intensity, the training effect will also stop or reverse. It gradually reduces approximately one third of the rate (Jenson and Fisher, 1972).

Detraining is simply losing fitness when you stop training. In one study, well-conditioned athletes who had trained for a year stopped exercise entirely. After three months, the athletes lost about half of their aerobic conditioning. Many people stop exercising at times for many reasons. Illness, injury, holidays, work, travel and social commitments often interfere with training routines.

Referees who find themselves not training when the football season starts have to find time to train either in the morning, evening or to get themselves into gym to maintain their general fitness. Otherwise, the effect of detraining will have a repercussion on their fitness level. When the fitness level dropped, the performance in a match will also drop due to the difficulty in keeping up with play, getting into wrong position thus not seeing incident and giving bad decisions. This is also one of the reason why many referees failed in the recent FIFA MA Elite referees course. Having the course in mid-season was aimed at maintaining the fitness level of the referees for the league as it is assume that all the participants will train for the fitness test during the course. This was much disappointing.

Decreasing training level also has adverse effect. If we reduce training due to time constraints, illness or injury the level of fitness will drop and this depend on the intensity, frequency and the time of the reduction in the training? The three variables in training need to be balanced in order to maintain the fitness level. If intensity is reduced, increase in frequency and time will balance it up. Below are suggestions from http://sportsmedicine.about.com to maintain fitness

Tips for Maintaining Fitness through Breaks
If you need to take time off from training the following tips can help you maintain your fitness.

· Don't quit completely. Try to exercise at least once per week.

· Cross Train through injuries.

· Use the Body Weight Workout (no equipment needed) when you travel.

· Use Circuit Training Routines for fast, high intensity exercise two or three times a week.

· Practice Efficient Strength Training methods.

· Use Fast Workouts to Maintain Fitness with Limited Time.

· Refresh You Motivation and Goal-Setting Skills and energize your workouts

· Remember that Rest and Recovery can be as Important as Training, so use this time to recovery.

· Add 30-Second Sprints to your outline for fast fitness

· Short, high intensity exercise burns more calories if you are limited on time.

· Maintain Endurance with Shuttle Runs

Adapted from:

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/Deconditioning.htm

Monitoring Heart Rate during Training

I think most people would realize that when you exercise, your heart beats faster. This is because the heart needs to pump more blood the rest of the body to meet the demand for more blood and oxygen by the muscles of the body. The more intense or faster is the activity, the faster your heart will beat. Many referees or athlete carry out their training daily or consistently but I am sure not many would know that the rate of the heart beat has a significant relationship to the training. Is the intensity of the training good enough to make the change or improvement in your performance? Do you know that running at a high speed that your can heart can manage is dangerous for you, running below the intensity will result in reversibility or your fitness level. So what intensity is enough when you set your training. No two person has the same or similar intensity that will benefit both.Therefore, monitoring your heart rate during exercise is important and can be an excellent way to monitor exercise intensity.

There are few terminology that you need to get familiar with before we go further. Heart rate is the number of heart beats per minute; the times per minute that the heart contracts. Resting heart rate (Resting HR) is the number of beats in one minute when you are at complete rest. Your resting heart rate indicates your basic fitness level. The more well-conditioned your body, the less effort and fewer beats per minute it takes your heart to pump blood to your body at rest. The best time to measure your RHR for one minute is in the morning when you wake up from your sleep.

You need to know your maximal heart rate (MHR) too, which is the number related to your age. As we grow older, our hearts start to beat a little more slowly. To estimate your maximal heart rate, simply subtract your age from the number 220. A 40 year old man will have a MHR of 180 (220 - 40).

When doing a good training we do not run till we reach our MHR but we need to set the target heart rate (THR) which is the number of beats per minute (bpm) at which your heart should be beating during aerobic exercise. For most healthy individuals, this range is 50 to 80 percent of your maximal heart rate. So, if your maximal heart rate is 180 bpm, the low end of the range (50 percent) would be 90 bpm, and the high end of the range (80 percent) would be 144 bpm.

To enhance your performance or fitness level you need to undergo an intensity where your heart will beat between 90 - 144 bpm for at least 15 - 30 minutes. To maintain the target heart rate or training heart rate at 120 bpm, your heart beat should be 20 beats for a 10 seconds count. Measuring Heart rate during exercise - this can be done by pausing for a moment during your training bout and place your index finger on your carotid artery and count the number of heart beat for ten seconds. The number of beats is then multiply by six to get the THR for 60 seconds.

Give it a try for a month and monitor your RHR again to see the difference in the heart beat. If it is lower than the previous measurement, then your training exercises have benefited or improved you.

Good luck.

MaldivesRef Alternative Blog

Dear friends and followers, I had problem in signing in to Maldivesref so it's been quite some time since I did any update to the blog. My eagerness to write hesitated me to start a new blog so that the aim of providing referees in Maldives and other followers articles and posting to enrich their knowledge on Football and FUTSAL laws of the game, its understanding, interpretation and application.
Hopefully, this blog will be better, enriching and interesting. Reference can still be made to the previous blog, Maldivesref. I hope all referees and other loyal followers will continue to give their support, comment to make this blog useful to all.