[Positioning] The referee's body orientation, watching the goalmouth before the cross is delivered

Look at the referee's body orientation. While the ball was still on the left, Hiroshima already had seven players in front of goal, and there was a high probability that the player on the left would cross the ball and attack the goal. From this situation, the referee appears to have anticipated that the next likely event was a battle for position inside the penalty area, and to have set their body so they could watch the goalmouth even before the cross was delivered. What a referee can see at any one moment is always limited, so they gave priority to watching the penalty area, where something was most likely to happen. This preparation has two benefits. First, it allows the referee to check whether players in front of goal are pulling at each other before the cross is delivered. Second, as there is no need to turn the body round after the cross is delivered, the referee can move straight on to watching the goalmouth and changing position. In this scene, look at the moment the loose ball from the cross is shot. The referee moved quickly to a position from which contact, a handball offence or a touch could be judged, secured a view of the shot from directly behind, and was able to stand still and watch. It is likely that this smooth movement was possible because the referee had already turned towards the goalmouth before the cross was delivered. One more point. After the goal, when Hiroshima players went to retrieve the ball, the referee did not switch off and kept watching with a wide field of view. Given the score and the stage of the match, with Hiroshima wanting to draw level, the referee was also paying attention to whether a confrontation might break out, which is well worth noticing. This scene shows clearly how preparing the body orientation before the cross leads to better observation and smoother movement afterwards, and it is a valuable example for match officials.