🦵 OSM Tackling Guide: Match Your Tackling to the Referee
Updated: · Figures: the free Counter Engine's 54 public recommendations, computed when this page was built.
Set tackling by the referee. A strict referee punishes hard tackles with cards, a lenient one lets you play harder. The Premium engine sets tackling from the referee's strictness and moves it one step harder when pressing is low.
What tackling changes
Harder tackling wins more duels and breaks up attacks, but it collects fouls and cards. Careful tackling keeps eleven players on the pitch but lets the opponent through more often.
The referee decides
OSM shows each referee's strictness by colour before the match. A strict referee turns hard tackles into bookings and sendings-off; a lenient one rarely does. The referee guide explains each colour.
How the Premium engine sets it
Tackling follows the referee's strictness. When pressing is low, the engine moves tackling one step harder, so the team still wins the ball back. The free engine focuses on formation, sliders and lines; tackling is part of the per-match Premium calculation.
Common mistakes
- Reckless tackling under a strict referee. One red card costs more than any duel wins back.
- Ignoring the referee completely. Check the colour before every match.
Frequently asked questions
- What tackling should I use in OSM?
- Match it to the referee: harder with a lenient referee, more careful with a strict one.
- Does low pressing change tackling?
- In the Premium engine, yes: with low pressing tackling moves one step harder to keep winning the ball.