Referees
Every match has a referee, and no two referees are alike. Each has two qualities that shape his decisions: strictness, how readily he reaches for his cards, and awareness, how much he sees. The match report names the referee, and his record shows what kind of referee he is.
Strictness
When a player makes a bad tackle, the referee always has a word with him. A strict referee is far more likely to go further and show a yellow or red card, while a lenient one lets more players off with a warning. A strict referee does not see more fouls: how many fouls there are depends on how aggressively the teams play.
In the premier games strictness also decides what happens once a referee sees a foul in the box, or spots a dive:
- A strict referee points to the spot more often.
- A strict referee is more likely to book a player he catches diving, rather than just warn him.
Awareness
Awareness matters in the premier games, in the penalty area:
- A referee with good awareness sees more of the fouls in the box. One he misses is waved away, and no penalty is given.
- A referee with good awareness spots more dives. One who misses a dive is fooled into giving a penalty.
Who is more likely to be booked
Some players have shorter tempers than others and are booked more often, whoever the referee is, and a team that plays aggressively commits more fouls. Against a strict referee, think about toning down your team's aggression, especially if a key player is close to a ban.
The game settings can also make referees stricter or more lenient across a whole game: the Referee Cards setting on the game info page shows how hard the referees are in yours.
Referee records
Click a referee's name in a match report to see his strictness and awareness and his record this season: games, penalties, warnings and cards, and how often he sends a player off.
In the premier games, Standings > Referees lists every referee in your league by division, with charts of the cards shown this season.
A referee's strictness and awareness do not change, so his record is a good guide to how he will handle any match he takes charge of.