[Positioning] The referee reading the attacking intention and stepping back to open up space

What to look at in this scene is the referee's movement. While Kashiwa Reysol's No. 4 still had the ball on the right, and before No. 4 had even looked towards the middle, the referee, in a central position, turned their head to check the situation. Then, as the pass came in from the right towards the middle, the referee took a step backwards. Kashiwa's No. 39 moved into the space the referee had opened up by stepping back, received the ball there and went on to break through and score. The referee had already noted No. 39's position when checking over their shoulder, and it seems likely that, having anticipated that No. 39 intended to use the central space in front of the defence, the referee stepped back so that the player could use that space. This is a very small movement, but the referee checked the situation by looking around, read the intention of the player and the team, and opened up space so as not to interfere with play. At the same time, it can be seen that the referee was constantly looking for a position that kept the player moving into that space within their field of vision, and this made it an excellent piece of refereeing.