1. GAME REPORTS AND INJURY REPORTING
January 29, 2016
GAME REPORTS AND INJURY REPORTING

2. OUTLINE Duties of the Referee What’s in a game report?
Detailed information REQUIRED on OSC
Understanding Concepts – Careless, Reckless and Excessive Force
How to write an accurate caution/sendoff description
Tools to help write your Game Report
How to write an accurate Injury Report

3. DUTIES OF THE REFEREE Include:
Acting as a timekeeper and keeping a record of the match
Provides the appropriate authorities with a match report, which includes information on any disciplinary action taken against players and/or team officials and any other incidents that occurred before, during or after the match.
As such the referee must follow through with their duties and provide the information to the league within 24 hours.
Referees must ensure the information is 100% complete and accurate – compare with fellow referees BEFORE leaving the field.
Err on the side of safety – we are dealing with YOUTH players
Ensure the players and your crew are having fun!

4. GAME REPORTS Tells a story of events that took place in your game
Only include the facts that YOU see
It is a LEGAL RECORD according to the Laws of the Game
Confer with crew regarding score, cards issued, injuries, etc.
Game reports from the same game SHOULD NOT have 3 different scores
Does the report make sense to you? If not, re-write it so others who will read it can understand it
Will be read by league administrators and sometimes coaches
IF YOU DID NOT SEE THE INCIDENT, YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE INCIDENT. DO NOT GUESS ABOUT WHAT TOOK PLACE OR WHAT YOU THINK TOOK PLACE BASED ON THE SITUATION. IF YOUR AR’s SAW THE INCIDENT, USE THEM!

5. GAME REPORTS Game and team information MUST be 100% correct
Click ‘YES’ to change information
Do not ignore if different teams played the game then what is listed on game report. As the referee YOU must change and submit the CORRECTED information
You are submitting a legal document which needs to be 100% correct

6. GAME REPORTS Please make comments regarding the condition of the field
Were the corner flags in place?
Were the goals properly secured?
Were the nets in place?
Include additional comments as needed as to the condition of the field. This information is EXTREMELY important to the League Administrators. If the information is not included in your game report, nothing can be done in the future to resolve the issue.

7. GAME REPORTS
An area referees have breezed through in the past is ‘overall conduct rating’ of the teams
Those teams which receive 5 cautions SHOULD NOT receive an overall conduct rating of 10!
Please take time to honestly and subjectively review the conduct of the team and rate them according to their behavior. Make sure the rating is appropriate to the misconduct they may have received. Provide detailed information about the overall conduct of the team and team officials.

8. GAME REPORTS
The last section of the game report is the Supplemental/Incident Report section
This is the place to enter any unusual or abnormal incident that might have happened before, during or after your game you think you should share with the assignor or administration.
This is your area to describe incidents of spectator misbehavior or referee security issues as well as issues regarding roster inaccuracies, player card inaccuracies or any other event or situation you feel should be addressed.
Each and every one of these reports gets flagged and is read.

9. REFEREE TOOLS
Referees should utilize these publications to write detailed descriptions and as support documentation
US Soccer’s version of the Laws of the Game
FIFA Laws of the Game and Interpretations of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees (found at
US Soccer’s Advice To Referees
US Soccer’s 7 Cautionable Offenses and 7 Sending Off Offenses
Any other media produced by FIFA and US Soccer
If you need any of these publications please me and I will send them to you

10. REFEREE TOOLS

11. UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS
3 terms to better understand and classify fouls:
Careless
Reckless
Excessive Force

12. UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS
Careless
A player has shown a lack of attention or consideration when making a challenge or has acted in a manner without the use of control.
When a player commits a foul of this nature, NO caution shall be warranted.
This is what you might consider, a ‘simple’ foul during the run of play.

13. UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS
Reckless
A player has acted with complete disregard to the danger to or consequences for his/her opponent.
When a player commits a foul of this nature, a caution (yellow card) MUST be shown to the offending player.
As a referee you blew the whistle because a player committed one of the 7 direct free kick fouls provided under Law 12.
When completing your game report, the term RECKLESS must be utilized to describe the nature of the foul. This supports your rationale for determining its severity and ultimately issuing a caution (yellow card)

14. UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS
Excessive Force
A player has far exceeded the necessary use of force and is in danger of injuring his/her opponent.
A player who commits a foul of this nature MUST be shown sent off (red card).
The player is guilty of serious foul play or violent conduct and your game report should reflect this.
The term EXCESSIVE FORCE must be used when describing the nature of the foul committed. This supports your rationale for determining its severity and ultimately issuing a send off (red card).

15. GAME REPORTS
Now let’s take a look at how these concepts can be translated into an actual game report that makes sense!

16. GAME REPORTS
Game Reports MUST include the following written out in the description:
Time of match the offense occurred (i.e 63rd minute)
Player Name, Number and Team (i.e. # 14 John Smith of FC Oregon)
Nature of the foul that occurred (i.e. reckless, using excessive force)
To whom the offense occurred (i.e. teammate, opponent, etc.)
A LEGAL DESCRIPTION according to the LAWS OF THE GAME
Utilize the US Soccer 7 Cautionable Offenses and 7 Sending off Offense Codes to create your game report and break down the reason for the USB, SFP, VC, etc. (also consult the FIFA Laws of the Game)
The result of the offense (i.e. caution or send off)
Where (location on field) the offense occurred
What was the restart? (direct free kick, indirect free kick, penalty kick, etc.)
Did the player(s) return to the match? Were they substituted as a result of the misconduct?

17. GAME REPORTS Here is an example of a caution entry on a game report:
In the 63rd minute, #14 Fred Jones of FC Oregon committed a reckless foul by tripping his opponent at the half-line after the ball was played. He was cautioned for Unsporting Behavior, shown the yellow card and play was restarted with a direct free kick to the opposing team.

18. GAME REPORTS Here is an example of a send off entry on a game report:
In the 75th minute, #9 Steven Smith of Oregon United committed a foul at the half line using excessive force by tackling an opposing player with his cleats exposed to the knee while attempting to play the ball. Steven Smith was sent off for Serious Foul Play and shown the red card. After a reasonable amount of time, Steven Smith gathered his gear and left the technical area. He was no longer visible by sight or sound. Play was restarted with a Direct Free Kick to the opposing team.

19. WHY IS ALL OF THIS IMPORTANT?
To ensure the game report is a true and accurate depiction of what took place on the field
To ensure coaches and clubs do not challenge or protest particular referee decisions and the League can uphold the charge against the offender
To ensure referees understand the Laws of the Game
To ensure the consistency with which all games are refereed in Oregon
To increase the fun and enjoyment level in all games!

20. GAME REPORT REMINDERS
Remember to include ONLY the facts about the game
You are reporting information for others to use in disciplinary matters
League administrators and coaches will be reading your game reports
Accuracy is very important!
Include as much RELEVANT information about the situation as possible
Game reports become the LEGAL DOCUMENT of RECORD for the game
Don’t guess on the score, player numbers or game situations…call your fellow referees on the game to get accurate information

21. INJURY REPORTING If you see it, you must report it!
Click ‘YES’ and fill in the
detailed description.
BOTH the center referee and AR’s MUST include in their game report, any player who demonstrates signs of concussion on OSC within 24 hours
As a USSF Referee and because you have taken the annual required training, you are able to recognize signs of a concussion. If any player must leave the game due to demonstrating signs of a concussion, you must include this detail in your game report!

22. INJURY REPORTING Use common sense when completing your game report
Stick to the facts of the situation
Refer to the incident in your game report as a ‘player in your game demonstrated signs of a concussion’.
Include in your injury report, the exact signs of a concussion you observed.
Be specific and do not include signs in which you did not observe.
If you did not see the incident, you CANNOT provide information about the incident.

23. EXAMPLE OF INJURY DESCRIPTION
During the 39th minute #10 Fred Jones of FC Oregon was struck in the side of head by the ball. Fred Jones was approximately 10 yards away as a player was clearing the ball from his offensive penalty area. Upon being hit Fred Jones immediately fell to the ground and did not move. I stopped play and beckoned his coach on to the field for further attention. After maybe 30 seconds he stood up, stumbled a few steps but started to walk off the field on his own. I asked him and his coach how he was feeling and he promptly responded indicating he felt dizzy. #10 Fred Jones remained out of the game for the remainder of the first half as well as the second half. Fred did not return to the game because he was demonstrating signs of a concussion. Immediately after the game I called the Referee Support Team to inform them of the potential concussion of Fred Jones.

24. EXAMPLE OF INJURY DESCRIPTION
If you have any questions or comments regarding the information presented, or would like me to send you any of the referenced material, please let me know. My
David Grbavac
Thank you all for the hard work on and off the field!