The head referee or on-field referee is responsible to enforce the laws and rules of the game. This includes keeping track of the time, calling penalties, stopping play for an injury, checking that the ball meets the proper requirements, and even providing a match report after the game. Below are the hand singles you will see from the head referee as the officiate a match.
Yellow Card
If a player receives a yellow card, this is considered a warning. If a player receives a second yellow card, this is equal to one red card, and the player is ejected from the field.
The referee takes the card out of their pocket, points it at the player, and then points it in the air. After this, they write the details of the offense in their notebook.
An example of a yellow card offense is a harsh tackle where the tackler didn’t make any contact with the ball.
Red Card
A ref gives a red card for severe offenses or for multiple yellow cards. If the ref gives the player a red card for receiving 2 yellow cards, the ref will point the yellow card at them first, followed by the red card
The referee will point the red card at them and then hold it straight up in the air, just like with a yellow card.
An example of an offense for a red card might be a player punching another player. A player that receives a red card is ejected from the field and is allowed no further part in the game.
Play On / Advantage
The referee puts out both of their arms parallel in front of them, pointing towards the goal of the team that has the advantage. It’s important to note that the referee does not blow the whistle for this signal.[1]
An advantage is played when one team has committed a minor foul, but the other team is perceived to have an advantage. Therefore, instead of calling foul, the referee lets the play continue and shows the advantage signal.
For example, if a defender fouls the attacker, but the attacker still has a chance for a shot at goal, the referee shows the advantage signal.
With more severe fouls, the referee stops the play immediately and gives a free-kick to the team that had the foul committed on them.
Direct Free Kick
The referee blows the whistle and, with the hand that is not holding the whistle, they point (at no specific angle) in the attacking direction of the team that is receiving the free kick. Make sure to only stop play if the ref blows the whistle.
For example, the referee may award a direct free kick to a team if a player on the other team, who is not the goalkeeper, touches the ball with their hands.
This is the most common form of signal you see during games. Referees award free kicks for minor/mid-level fouls, where the ref judges that receiving team does not have an advantage.
Indirect Free Kick
For this signal, the referee blows the whistle and, with their free hand, points directly towards the sky. The referee then explains who is receiving the free kick and what for. They will also hold their hand up in the air for a few seconds while they explain which team is receiving the free kick.
Indirect free kicks are different from free kicks in that you are not allowed to shoot at the goal. If you were to score from an indirect free kick, and the ball had not touched someone else on the field, the goal would not count.
Indirect free kicks are much less common than direct free kicks. However, one example of how one may be awarded is if a team passes the ball back to their goalkeeper, and the goalkeeper touches it with their hands.
Penalty Kick
To indicate a penalty kick, the referee blows the whistle and points directly at the penalty spot of the team that has been awarded the penalty. Listen for a long, firm blow of the whistle, rather than a short sharp blow.
Penalty kicks are relatively rare in soccer. The ref awards them to the attacking team when a foul is committed in the goal box.
In a penalty kick situation, the attacking team gets a shot at the goal 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper, from the penalty spot.
An example of a penalty offense would be if someone touched the ball with their hands in the soccer net.
Goal Kick
The referee points to a corner of the goal area from which the kick is to be taken.
An example of when you see this is when an attacker takes a shot missing the goal and the ball goes out of bounds over the goal line.
The referee will point to the corner closest to where the ball went out of bounds.
Corner Kick
The referee points down at the corner spot. They do not blow a whistle when they do this.
As an example of when you see this is when an attacker takes a shot at goal and a defender deflects the ball out of bounds behind the goal.