First of all, while it is common to call the men in stripes "referees," there is actually only one official who uses that title. You also have a back judge and a line judge and an umpire, for example. Formally, they are known as the officiating crew. (This is just information to use to really impress your friends. It's not a big deal to call them "refs.") While the NFL and any televised collegiate games will have a microphone on the official, who can then tell the crowd (and viewing audience) what the call is while making the hand signal. Lower profile games don't have this luxury.
The most important signal, of course, is two arms straight above the head. It means a either a touchdown, extra point or two-point conversion, or a field goal. If the official waves his arms in front of him, crossing one over the other, it means that the kick was no good or a pass was not caught.
The most frequently called penalties are "dead-ball foul" calls. A dead-ball foul is committed either immediately before the ball is snapped or after the whistle has blown to officially end a play. These penalties include: offsides (official will put his hands on his hips); false start (forearms rolling over each other); illegal motion (looks like the arm saluting from chest level); and delay of game (arms folded over each other against the chest). All of these penalties are five yards, replay the down. A dead-ball foul after the play has ended is almost always a personal foul. There are few crimes worse than hitting a player after the play has ended (personal fouls are also called for fights or taunting that has gotten out of control). The official will cross his arms at the wrists above his head, when making this call. It is a fifteen yard penalty. If called on the defense, it is an automatic first down for the offense. If called on the offense, it is fifteen yards from the spot of the ball when the play ended. Dead-ball fouls are the type that give coaches gray hair. These are the moments of the game when a team must be most disciplined, and these calls, perhaps more than any other, can change the momentum of a game.
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