Dear Marge When umpiring my last match, having awarded a penalty stroke, I proceeded to ask both goalkeeper and striker if they were ready and, after receiving verbal responses from both, I blew my whistle. I was informed by my colleague after the match that the requirements regarding asking players if they were ready were removed from the rulebook in 2004 and all that was now needed was for the umpire to blow their whistle. I must admit that I have not read my rulebook for some time please could you advise. Uninformed Uninformed
Dear uninformed Your colleague was right; however the requirement was removed from the rulebook to alleviate language problems especially in international matches. Because most of us are not involved at this level we are advising all umpires at local level to continue as before. Time is stopped and therefore no time is wasted in asking if both players are ready and awaiting their verbal response. By doing this you can be sure that everybody concerned knows what is about to happen and no confusion arises. On another note I would advise all umpires to read their rulebooks on a regular basis, especially the parts referring to interpretation, by doing this we will improve on our consistency and therefore improve the game for all.
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