One of the problems that the umpires have is their incorrect use of the whistle, especially since the concept of "advantage" has applied.
Hockey, soccer and rugby all have an advantage rule whereby a penalty is not applied until an offending team gains an advantage from a breach of the rules. The whistle is not blown when the breach occurs but rather when an advantage is obtained by the offending team and then the ball is brought back to where the breach occurred. The umpire/ref does not have to call anything out but might indicate by hand signals that the breach was spotted. Players always play on until they hear the whistle.
In football the umpires blow the whistle, some players will stop to see which way the umpire is pointing. Another player might believe that he has the advantage and play on. If he is correct, the umpire calls "play on, advantage" and the others who had stopped are further disadvantaged. If the player playing on is incorrect he gives away a 50-metre penalty (Richo in the Dreamtime game last year). If the umpires were instructed to use their whistles the way other sports do, they would save themselves a bit of energy on coaching instructions, be able to concentrate more on what they're there for and allow a more freely moving game to be enjoyed by players and spectators alike.
Hockey, soccer and rugby all have an advantage rule whereby a penalty is not applied until an offending team gains an advantage from a breach of the rules. The whistle is not blown when the breach occurs but rather when an advantage is obtained by the offending team and then the ball is brought back to where the breach occurred. The umpire/ref does not have to call anything out but might indicate by hand signals that the breach was spotted. Players always play on until they hear the whistle.
In football the umpires blow the whistle, some players will stop to see which way the umpire is pointing. Another player might believe that he has the advantage and play on. If he is correct, the umpire calls "play on, advantage" and the others who had stopped are further disadvantaged. If the player playing on is incorrect he gives away a 50-metre penalty (Richo in the Dreamtime game last year). If the umpires were instructed to use their whistles the way other sports do, they would save themselves a bit of energy on coaching instructions, be able to concentrate more on what they're there for and allow a more freely moving game to be enjoyed by players and spectators alike.
