A New Look at Advantage?

If the referee applies the advantage clause and the advantage which was anticipated does not develop at that time, the referee shall penalise the original offence.

The essence of the advantage clause is fairness: the award of a free-kick to a team should not benefit their opponents. But, in applying the Laws to ensure fairness, the referee must consider many factors, including the attitudes of the players. Can they "play through" a foul, accepting the referee's decision to continue play as the fair result?

Young players (division 4 and younger) generally can't do this. They lack the maturity to understand the award of advantage. If a young player is tripped and the referee gives advantage, the player thinks "That was unfair, and the referee didn't do anything about it." However, if a goal is immediately scored, the concern vanishes. When the referee then says "I let play continue because I didn't want to stop your team's goal", the player learns something. Few other situations involving advantage seem fair to young players. So, the referee at this level should avoid awarding advantage unless there is a strong chance of an immediate goal.

Beginning in division 3, the referee can apply advantage more broadly, while bearing in mind Ken Aston's dictum: "Never use advantage to your own disadvantage." The referee must judge what the players will regard as the fair result of a foul and act accordingly, mindful of the potential loss of control.

How, then, should the change to IBD 7 affect our refereeing? This new IBD gives us greater freedom to apply the advantage clause more liberally, because we now have the authority to change our decision.

When deciding to apply the advantage, we should consider the same factors as always. Having given advantage, the referee must consider, during the subsequent two or three seconds, whether the presumed advantage was realized. If not, IBD 7 now instructs the referee to penalize the original infraction.

A classic "advantage situation" involves an attacker who, despite being tripped, retains his footing and has an opportunity to shoot on goal. As he stumbles, the referee allows play to continue. Under the revised IBD 7, if the player eventually falls as a result of the foul, the referee can now blow the whistle and penalize the trip.

With this new IBD, the International Board provided some guidance for special situations. If the ball goes out of play during the period in which the referee is watching the advantage situation develop, play is restarted accordingly (goal-kick, corner-kick, throw-in). Also, if a second offense is committed by the team that committed the first one and play is stopped, the referee must penalize the more serious offense.

To summarize: the revised IBD 7 gives the referee a new tool. If used sparingly, and primarily with older players, it can help the referee to make the game more fair while keeping it safe, so the players will have more fun.