Fan footage caught the assistant referee giving Riccardo Calafiori advice on his throw-in technique on Saturday, with the left-back at risk of a foul throw.
Fan footage shared on social media following Arsenal’s weekend match against Nottingham Forest caught one of the assistant referees giving some advice to Riccardo Calafiori during a break in play.
The two initially started a conversation, before the assistant gave a visual demonstration of what to do and what not to do to avoid a foul throw.
For Calafiori’s part, he seemed receptive to the feedback, giving a couple of demonstrations in return. The discussion appeared to be light-hearted and constructive.
There have been plenty of negative incidents involving match officials and Arsenal in recent seasons, but this is a good example of officiating done right.
It’s fair to say that Calafiori had gone pretty close to crossing the line into foul-throw territory in the Nottingham Forest match, but instead of immediately penalising the first hint of a transgression, the officials made sure to give the player a warning and advice on how to alter his technique.
As the match progressed, there were no further examples of Calafiori risking a foul throw, so the strategy worked out for everyone.
It’s also good to see Calafiori taking the advice in his stride, which will serve him well both in his throw-in technique and in staying on the good side of the match officials.