Category: Law 5 – Referee

Law 5 – Referee

Law 18 - Common Sense

ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY

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NOTE: I do not remember where I got this item — and for that I apologize to the source — but it seems worth publishing again to remind referees that they need to ensure that everyone on the field knows who is in charge of the game.

ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY
Recently I lined an U15B game in a neighborhood complex. A visiting team player whacked the ball. It went out of play, over the fans, along the touchline, over the short chain-link fence behind the fans, over a driveway into the complex, over another short chain-link fence, and into a neighbor’s backyard.

A home team player knew the drill. He ran off the field, jumped the first fence, crossed the road, and arrived at the backyard fence.

The player saw a “Beware of Dogs” sign. He looked around but didn’t see any dogs. To be sure he banged on the fence just as he started to jump. Lucky for him.

Lying against the back of the house in the shade was THE DOG. THE DOG was not happy. THE DOG obviously had dealt with this situation before and knew how to handle it.

THE DOG growled menacingly, stood up, and stared at the player. THE DOG then walked very deliberately to the ball as he maintained eye contact. He continued growling and staring at the player. When THE DOG got to the ball, he looked down, sniffed it disgustedly, looked up, and again growled at the player.

THE DOG then looked at the ball one last time, raised his hind leg, and relieved himself on the ball. He gave the player a final stare with a final contemptuous growl (looking something like a sly, cynical grin), turned around, and casually jogged back to his favorite spot in the shade.

The player was momentarily stunned. With both arms raised he finally shouted to the sidelines, “I’M NOT PLAYING WITH THAT BALL!!!”.

I remember THE DOG whenever I referee an older youth game. He’s even become one of my role models for player management.

THE DOG stayed in the background until it was time to make his presence known. He commanded the player’s attention while he took forceful action. He used crisp mechanics to clearly communicate his decision. He received the player’s unquestioning acceptance of his decision. And he felt much better when he was finished.…

Law 5 - Referee

UNAUTHORIZED COMMUNICATION BY THE REFEREE

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No question here, only a clear statement of Law, tradition, and common practice for referees, players, and coaches alike.

1. Players and technical staff are not allowed to communicate via any communication devices:
“The use of electronic communication systems between players and/or technical staff is not permitted.”

2. Other than watches, notecards/pens, and whistles, referees are not permitted to wear or carry any equipment other than what has been approved by the IFAB and the U. S. Soccer Federation. Cell or mobile phones are not among those approved items.

3. Why then would this referee, while play is going on, stop to use his cell phone?

Click to open the attachment: Naughty Ref…

Law 5 - Referee

PLAYER REFUSING TO COME AT REFEREE’S CALL

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Question:
I would like to know, if a player refused to walk back to the referee after being called several times is an expulsion for dissent?

Answer (September 29, 2014):
While it is common practice and tradition that the player do so, I can find no written requirement in the Laws that the player must come to the referee when called or beckoned. However, at least in my opinion, a player who refuses to walk back to the referee is only asking for more trouble than he already has. On the other hand, unless there is a body on the ground or some other good reason for the referee to stand fixed in one spot, there is no excuse for him to remain standing and not walking a few yards himself. Too many referees have a “dictator” complex, rather than understanding that a bit of give and take never hurts in maintaining professional relations during a game.

Dissent is punished for either word or action, and refusing to do what the referee asks could surely be considered as possible dissent. However, unless the player has already been (or is about to be) cautioned, there is no such thing as expulsion for dissent. If the referee has already decided to caution the player for an earlier offense, then a dismissal for the current offense of dissent would he legitimate — and truly caused by the player himself.…

Club Linesman

SYSTEMS OF OFFICIATING OUTDOOR SOCCER GAMES

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Question:
In USSF if a second AR is not present for the game how should we proceed with the game and should we collect all the money or only the money for the center and AR1?

Answer (September 6, 2014):
This answer is based on USSF historical documents and the Laws of the Game. The Federation, in its infinite wisdom, appears to have ceased publishing this information, possibly using the same reasoning used by the International Football Association Board, the folks who bring us the Laws of the Game:” Everyone knows that!”

Here is the appropriate extract from page 39 of the Referee Administrative Handbook (2010-11 edition):

Policy:
Systems of Officiating Outdoor Soccer Games
The Laws of the Game recognize only one system for officiating soccer games, namely the diagonal system of control (DSC), consisting of three officials – one referee and two assistant referees. All competitions sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation require the use of this officiating system. (Certain competitions will use a 4th Official.)In order to comply with the Laws of the Game which have been adopted by the National Council of U.S. Soccer, all soccer games sanctioned directly or indirectly by member organizations of the U.S. Soccer Federation must employ the diagonal system. As a matter of policy, the U.S. Soccer Referee Committee prefers the following alternatives in order of preference:
1.One Federation referee and two Federation referees1 as assistant referees (the standard ALL organizations should strive to meet).
2.One Federation referee, one Federation referee as an assistant referee and one club linesman*who is unrelated to either team and not registered as a referee. (Only if there are not enough Federation referees as stated in 1, above).
3.One Federation referee, and two club linesmen* who are unrelated to either team and not registered as referees, acting as club linesmen, (only if there are not enough Federation referees as stated in 1 or 2, above).
4.One Federation referee and two club linesmen* who are not registered Federation referees and who are affiliated with the participating teams, (only if there are not enough Federation referees as stated in 1, 2 or 3, above).
5.One Federation referee, only if there are not enough federation referees or if the club linesmen are unavailable as stated in 1, 2, 3, or 4 above and one referee is appropriate for the level of competition.

Member organizations and their affiliates should make every effort to assist in recruiting officials so that enough Federation referees will be available to permit use of the diagonal officiating system for ALL of their competitions.

[Footnotes]
1 In all cases, the Assistant Referee may be Grade 12 if the game level is appropriate for that assignment* Club linesmen (not registered as Federation Referees) are limited to calling in and out of bounds only

* If only two officials turn up at the field, one must be the referee (with the whistle), while the other becomes an assistant referee (outside the field with the flag). They split the field between them, but only one may make the final decisions and blow the whistle.

The upshot of all this is that you must try to find at least a club linesman to work one line, who must be provided by the home team. As to pay, you should collect only the pay for the two assigned officials. The home team MUST provide the club linesman.…

Law 11 - Offside

WHY WAS THEIR PLAYER SENT OFF?

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Question:
Unusual incident occurred in my game yesterday.
My team were awarded a penalty kick when my player was tripped inside
the box.
The ball was on the spot and all the players were ready when the
linesman flagged to get the referee’s attention.
The ref goes over to talk and the linesman explains that my player was
offside before being fouled.

The ref accepts this and reverses his decision and awards our
opponents a free kick.

However, the ref still gives the defender a red card for tripping my
player!!

everyone was confused and everyone started to laugh…
what on earth is the rule on this?

Answer (April 28, 2014):
If the trip was done with excessive force—the only reason I can think of—then the referee was correct to send off the defender, no matter that your player had already violated Law 11. Old referee aphorism: The Laws of the Game were not meant to compensate for the mistakes of the players.…

"Inventive Coaches"

THE REFEREE CANNOT REVERSE A DECISION AFTER THE GAME HAS ENDED

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Question:
Goal is scored in the closing seconds of the game. Referee sets up with a restart and blows the whistle for the match ending. As a referee exits the field the losing coach complains that that goal was scored after time had run out. The referee confers with this ARs and decide that he did play more than the allotted time.

Question is once a referee signals the end of the game, can he change facts.

Answer (March 30, 2014)
No, the referee cannot change the facts of the Game or his decisions once the game has been terminated (declared over). Law 5 is quite clear on this matter. Under Decisions of the Referee, the Law states:
The referee may only change a decision on realising that it is incorrect or, at his discretion, on the advice of an assistant referee or the fourth official, provided that he has not restarted play or terminated the match.…

Law 5 - Referee

LAST DAY OF INTERACTION FOR THIS SITE

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As announced two weeks ago, the site will be closing down as an interactive entity as of close of business today (9 PM U.S. Eastern Standard Time).It has been a great ride, but now it is time to shut it down, at least in the interactive sense. We will likely post some updates and some other items. The webmaster has agreed to leave the site up for people to do research.

Thank you to all of you for helping make the site a success.

Jim Allen…

Law 5 - Referee

REMOVING A PLAYER FOR INFRINGEMENT OF LAW 4

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Question:
About 10 minutes into a game, it was noticed that one of the players was not wearing shin guards. The laws state that the ref can either wait for the next stoppage or go ahead and make a stoppage and order the player off the field to fix the problem and that player cannot return without the ref’s permission.

The laws do not talk about subs in this situation so I interpreted that to mean that a substitution could not happen. Is that right?

Does the team remain down one player until the next stoppage and the ref calls on the sub or can the team immediately send in a sub while the one without the proper equipment is being sent off? It seems as though if the team is allowed an immdiate replacement on the fly, it would give them a tactical advantage if allowed since the other team would not be able to piggy back on it or sub in a one for one sub like with injuries.
Lastly, if the ref stops the game for the equipment infraction, is the restart a dropped ball or an indirect for the opposing team at the spot of where the sent off player was seen with the missing gear?

My decision at the time was to stop the game, I sent off the player (I cautioned the player but did not show the yellow), the coach tried to send another on in the meantime and I denied it, restarted with a dropped ball where it was when I stopped the game, and the team played down one until the next stoppage.

Thanks in advance for any advice on such a situation.

Answer (November 17, 2013):
I cannot guarantee what your local rules may say, as some local rules are—like high school rules—from another planet. However, under the Laws of the Game a team may substitute at ANY stoppage of play with the referee’s permission. It cannot be done on the fly, as that is not the way substitutions are handled—again unless your local rules are from another planet. To caution the player, you must believe that he willfully broke the Law. See this quote from the back of the book, Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees (Law 4):

Disciplinary sanctions
The players are to be inspected before the match begins and substitutes before they enter the field of play. If a player is discovered to be wearing unauthorized clothing or jewelry during play, the referee must:
• inform the player that the item in question must be removed
• order the player to leave the field of play at the next stoppage if he is unable or unwilling to comply
• caution the player if he willfully refuses to comply or, having been told to remove the item, is discovered to be wearing the item again
If play is stopped to caution the player, an indirect free kick must be awarded to the opposing team from the position of the ball when play was stopped (see Law 13 – Position of free kick).

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