What do the referee colours mean in OSM?

There are five: green is very lenient, blue lenient, yellow balanced, orange strict and quick to book, and red the most severe — even a minor foul can produce a card. The colour tells you how hard it is reasonable to play in that match.

What are the tackling options in OSM?

Four: Careful, Normal, Aggressive and Reckless. There is nothing outside those — no 'very aggressive' or 'very soft' setting exists in the game.

What tackling should I use against a red referee?

We recommend Normal. Dropping to Careful concedes duels for the whole match to prevent a card that may never come, so holding the neutral setting and watching who is near a suspension is the more balanced trade. That is our risk preference, not a rule of the game.

What tackling should I use against a lenient referee?

We use Reckless against green and blue referees. Card risk is low there, which makes it the situation where the most aggressive setting costs you the least.

Does the referee colour change which counter-tactic I should play?

No. The counter-tactic for a matchup is decided by the opponent's formation, whether you are home or away, and the squad-strength gap. The referee is not one of those inputs — it sets how hard you play on top of that setup, not what the setup is.

Where do I see the referee colour in OSM?

It is shown with the fixture before kick-off, alongside the match details, so it is available while you can still change your Tackling setting. Checking it before you confirm the lineup is the whole point — afterwards the information is no longer actionable.

OSM Referee Colour Guide: Setting Your Tackling

Manager Guide · 2026-02-06 · 3 min

Not checking the referee before you set your lineup is the most common reason managers lose players to cards they never needed to risk. The referee colour tells you how strict the official will be, and it decides one thing directly: how hard it is reasonable to play.

Two Things To Get Straight First

OSM grades referees on five levels: green, blue, yellow, orange, red. The Tackling setting has four options: Careful, Normal, Aggressive, Reckless. There is nothing outside those four — no 'very aggressive' and no 'very soft' setting exists in the game, which is why this page no longer uses them.

Our Mapping

The table below is OSM Next Level's risk preference, not an official game rule. The game ships its own in-match recommendation and it does not always agree with ours — and you are the one carrying the card risk.

Green (very lenient): Tackling Reckless
Blue (lenient): Tackling Reckless
Yellow (balanced): Tackling Aggressive
Orange (strict): Tackling Normal
Red (very strict): Tackling Normal

Why Green And Blue Are Separate

We merged them into a single row for a long time, but the game grades them as distinct levels. Blue sits a step below green: still forgiving, not quite a free pass. We stay at the top setting for both because the extra card risk is small — while knowing they are not the same official.

Why We Do Not Drop To Careful Against A Red

Even against the strictest official we hold at Normal. Dropping to Careful means conceding duels for the whole match to prevent a card that may never come — a certain cost against an uncertain one. Holding the neutral setting and watching whoever is one booking from a suspension is the more balanced trade to us. If several of your players are on the edge of a ban, stepping down a level is reasonable.

Why It Decides Matches

A sending-off does not only cost you the rest of that match — it leaves the squad short for it and can take the player out of the next one too. That is a well-built match plan undone by a setting you could have changed in a second before kick-off. It is worth more attention than it usually gets, because unlike almost everything else in a fixture, this one is entirely under your control.

What The Referee Does Not Change

The referee decides how hard you play. It does not decide what you play. Which formation answers your opponent, and the Pressure, Style and Tempo that go with it, depend on their shape, whether you are home or away, and how your squad compares to theirs — the referee is not one of those inputs. So read the colour as a tackling dial layered on top of the setup, never as a reason to abandon it. Put the matchup into the Counter Engine for the setup, then set Tackling by the colour.

Where It Fits In Your Routine

Checking the referee is one step of the pre-match routine, and it is most useful in the order it appears there: pick the counter-tactic first, then set Tackling to the official, then make sure the eleven you actually want are fit, uninjured and not suspended. The full sequence is in the pre-match checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the referee colours mean in OSM?: There are five: green is very lenient, blue lenient, yellow balanced, orange strict and quick to book, and red the most severe — even a minor foul can produce a card. The colour tells you how hard it is reasonable to play in that match.
What are the tackling options in OSM?: Four: Careful, Normal, Aggressive and Reckless. There is nothing outside those — no 'very aggressive' or 'very soft' setting exists in the game.
What tackling should I use against a red referee?: We recommend Normal. Dropping to Careful concedes duels for the whole match to prevent a card that may never come, so holding the neutral setting and watching who is near a suspension is the more balanced trade. That is our risk preference, not a rule of the game.
What tackling should I use against a lenient referee?: We use Reckless against green and blue referees. Card risk is low there, which makes it the situation where the most aggressive setting costs you the least.
Does the referee colour change which counter-tactic I should play?: No. The counter-tactic for a matchup is decided by the opponent's formation, whether you are home or away, and the squad-strength gap. The referee is not one of those inputs — it sets how hard you play on top of that setup, not what the setup is.
Where do I see the referee colour in OSM?: It is shown with the fixture before kick-off, alongside the match details, so it is available while you can still change your Tackling setting. Checking it before you confirm the lineup is the whole point — afterwards the information is no longer actionable.

Open the Counter Engine →

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