Just why you need to walk backwards at a free kick

Ceremonial free kicks may, to the innocent bystander, appear to be a relatively straightforward refereeing task. Free kick, walk the wall back, keep an eye on things and Bob's your Uncle right? Well no, not really, as Russian referee Eugene Turbin found out at the weekend when he mistakenly sent off Brazilian star striker Hulk.

 As we all know, you need to be on your toes for ceremonials, especially when they're in possible goal scoring range. Players often want to move the ball closer to the goal and sometimes further away from it to get a better shot. Defenders often want to goad and wind up opponents and a crowd of snarling, pushing players forms.
The practise of showing the kicker and the goalkeeper the whistle was introduced a few years ago to make it clear that the kick is not to be taken until the whistle is blown. The gesture also tells the defence that the free kick is not going to be taken quickly and that the goalkeeper has time to build his defensive wall.
Unfortunately, Mister Turbin didn't quite get this right during Zenit St. Petersburg's game on Saturday.
Hulk, wearing bright yellow boots, had hold of the ball with the referee standing next to him. As he put the ball down, Turbin moved away, pacing out the 9.15 metres, having to step around a couple of players who (deliberately?) got in his way.
Footage shows Turbin looking backwards for the first 2-3 yards, but then turning around and facing the goal. As he does this, the ball is kicked over the wall to another attacker. Turbin blows, stops play and decides that Hulk has committed the bookable offence. Hulk's already seen one yellow, so it's a second and a red for the Brazilian goal machine.
Problem? well yes. Hulk didn't kick the ball. It was a teammate standing next to him, also in yellow boots, who kicked it and who should have been booked. Instead it was a furious and mystified Hulk who saw red.
How to avoid this? Walk backwards. Keep your eye on the ball the whole time. Oh by the way, make sure you have eyes in the back of your head to avoid tripping over another player!