When dealing with dissent, referees have to be aware of how the player is dissenting from the decision. Is the player passing close by you and saying in conversational tones "How the hell did you see that, ref?" or shouting the same question from 30 metres away? In the former, the player can be quietly told to get on with the game, but in the latter the player will need an obvious warning that dissenting from the referee's decision will not be tolerated. By doing so, it gives a clear signal to the other players that the referee is dealing with the dissent. If this is done early in the game, the players will soon realise that the referee means business, especially if a yellow card is shown. What can be a problem is the persistent whinger who moans about the most trivial thing e.g. the pressure of the ball. The referee must be positive in curtailing this whinging early in the game as it will soon spread amongst the other players. This can be achieved firstly by using the quiet word, followed by an obvious warning if necessary or ultimately a caution if the player is stupid enough to persist.
In general, referees who are fit and keep up with play will be giving their decisions close to the action. The decisions will be more credible and less likely to attract the dissenter. Having given a decision, referees should not dwell by the incident but move to cover the next phase of play i.e. give and go. This is less likely to attract dissent.
