Signal
To signal a holding the ball decision, the umpire first blows his whistle. Then, he crosses both arms in front of this stomach with his hands open. He leans forward, and in a smooth motion, simultaneously swings both arms around in front of himself until they are outstretched to his sides.
The action is slow, takes a second or two to signal, and has a certain dramatic aura about it. Cries of "Ball! Yeah!" are amongst the most intense in a game and fans will cheer the holding the ball free kick more boisterously than anything except for a goal, win, or specky.
Read more about this topic: Holding The Ball
Famous quotes containing the word signal:
“Change begets change. Nothing propagates so fast. If a man habituated to a narrow circle of cares and pleasures, out of which he seldom travels, step beyond it, though for never so brief a space, his departure from the monotonous scene on which he has been an actor of importance would seem to be the signal for instant confusion.... The mine which Time has slowly dug beneath familiar objects is sprung in an instant; and what was rock before, becomes but sand and dust.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
“Certainly the effort to remain unchanged, young, when the body gives so impressive a signal of change as the menopause, is gallant; but it is a stupid, self-sacrificial gallantry, better befitting a boy of twenty than a woman of forty-five or fifty. Let the athletes die young and laurel-crowned. Let the soldiers earn the Purple Hearts. Let women die old, white-crowned, with human hearts.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929)
“Perhaps having built a barricade when you’re sixteen provides you with a sort of safety rail. If you’ve once taken part in building one, even inadvertently, doesn’t its usually latent image reappear like a warning signal whenever you’re tempted to join the police, or support any manifestation of Law and Order?”
—Jean Genet (1910–1986)