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                               1996 MEMORANDUM

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Decision (7) -- New Text -- Replacing Present Text

(7) If the referee applies the advantage clause and the advantage which was
anticipated does not develop at that time, the referee shall penalize the
original offense.



Reason:

The amendment seeks to indicate a timescale during which the referee may
penalize the original offense if the anticipated advantage does not develop.



The above-mentioned new text now gives the referee the possibility of
waiting to see how an advantage situation develops and if it does not
develop after a short while, e.g., two/three seconds, then the referee has
to immediately stop the game and penalize the original offense, provided
that the ball is still in play (if not then play must be restarted in
accordance with the Law). Furthermore, should a second offense be committed
by a player of the offending team during the time the referee is allowing
for the development of the anticipated advantage, then the referee must
sanction the more serious of the two offenses. In any case, this does not
exempt each offending player from being dealt with appropriately (caution or
dismissal) by the referee.



ADVICE TO USSF REFEREES: The next text brings the letter of the Law into
agreement with the practice of "waiting to see how play develops" commonly
employed by most veteran officials. This revised Decision now provides
referees with the power to apply the advantage clause upon seeing a foul
committed if at that moment the terms of the advantage clause (which have
not changed) were met, and to return to and penalize the original foul if,
after a short while (e.g., two/three seconds), the advantage situation does
not develop as anticipated. If the ball goes out of play during this time,
then play must be restarted in accordance with the Law. Referees should note
that the "advantage" is not defined solely in terms of scoring a goal but,
more generally, in terms of advancing the ball toward the goal (which may
involve other team members).



[Several examples of play situations are given. Two in particular indicate
that either of two approaches may be used:

call advantage and then stop play if, within the following 2-3 seconds, the
advantage does not develop, or

delay announcing an advantage call 2-3 seconds to see what happens -- make
the call if the advantage does develop but refrain from making the call if
it does not

The final example indicates that the advantage might consist of being able
to continue (or having a teammate continue) to play the ball.]



ADVICE TO USSF REFEREES [regarding changes to Law VI, Assistant Referees]:
The new wording also brings Law VI into agreement with common practice by
specifically assigning, subject to the instructions of each individual
referee, the duties described in paragraph c and d above. Moreover, although
for many years Law V, I.B.D. 5 has instructed referees not to "consider the
intervention of a linesman if he himself has seen the incident", the
circumstances in which linesmen were to offer information were never
addressed. The new text now instructs assistant referees not to signal for
infringements they observe which occur within clear view of the referee.



II. OTHER DECISIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS TAKEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL BOARD

Instructions to Encourage an Increase in the Actual Playing Time

ADVICE TO USSF REFEREES [regarding measures to increase playing time]:
Referees should strive to implement this practice [of having several balls
placed around the perimeter of the field and of having persons appointed to
retrieve balls and to return them to players] whenever practicable. When
more than one game ball is to be used, the referee must inspect all the
balls to be used during the match to insure that each conforms to the
specifications of Law II. If ball-boys [to retrieve balls and get them to
players] are to be employed, the referee or fourth official should meet with
them at some point prior to the commencement of the match. All balls must be
returned to the proper authority following the match.

2. The Board also wants the national associations to instruct their referees
to speed up the substitution procedures, so that no unnecessary time is lost
when players are exchanged.



ADVICE TO USSF REFEREES: The Board is requesting referees to speed up the
substitution procedure to reduce time lost during this procedure.
Unnecessary delays such as the calling for a substitution immediately prior
to a player placing the ball back into play after it has been out of play
for a few seconds or a substitute who is not ready attempting to enter the
game, should not be tolerated. In no way should this instruction be
construed to imply that referee or assistant referees should dispense with
the substitution formalities required by Law III. In all competitive matches
the player being replaced MUST leave the field BEFORE the referee beckons
the substitute to enter.

[Two further instructions are noted regarding actions which reduce playing
time. The Board emphasizes the importance of implementing the rule governing
the number of steps a goalkeeper may take between taking control of the ball
and releasing it into play. The Board also accepts that players and teams
wish to celebrate goals "but the demonstration must remain reasonable" and
"referees have to caution players" who engage in "exaggerated behaviour."]



New Text of Paragraph 5 Law XII - 1 Replacing Present Text [in the English
Version]

(1) Playing in a manner considered by the referee to be dangerous (example
to be deleted as it is no longer an appropriate example since the
introduction of the terms "careless" and "reckless" into the Law in 1995).

ADVICE TO USSF REFEREES: The action of "attempting to kick the ball while
held by the goalkeeper" previously described as an example of "playing in a
manner considered by the referee to be dangerous" should now be deemed a
major foul as it should be seen as a "careless" or "reckless" act punishable
by a direct free kick under the 1995 changes in Law XII.



Further Instructions

1. The FIFA Medical Committee has drawn the attention of the Board to the
fact that there are numerous injuries due to incidents of tackling
(challenges) made from behind with little or no attempt to play the ball. It
is once more emphasized that the current Laws of the Game forbid such action
and condemn it as serious foul play (which implies the expulsion of the
offending player).



ADVICE TO USSF REFEREES: The Board has clearly and unambiguously stated its
position (for the third year) that a player tackling an opponent from behind
with little or no attempt to play the ball has committed both a foul and
misconduct (serious foul play) for which the proper action is a send-off. If
the referee applies the advantage clause and decides not to stop play, the
foul has been properly called but the send-off must nevertheless be
performed at the earliest opportunity thereafter when play stops naturally,
or when play may be stopped without giving an advantage to the offending
team.



2. Regarding the implementation of Law XI (offside), the assistant referees
are requested to indicate a punishable offside position only if they are
sure that the player is offside. Therefore, in case of doubt, they should
refrain from intervening.



Statement of the Board

Finally, the Board once more reaffirmed that the rule according to which the
referee's decision on a point of fact connected with play is final, is
absolutely irrefutable.