Coach

SUSPENSION OF COACH DISMISSED FROM GAME

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Question:
Actually two questions, with no information to suggest that the two situations actually involve the same people.
1. A coach asks:
If a coach is suspended from a game by the referee and the league rules that he automatically becomes ineligible for the following two games. Should he be allowed to coach his other team within that same league during that suspension if he is one of those of us who coach two teams at a time?
2. A club officer asks:
Last week in a recreational league, two coaches on opposing teams were ejected by the referee for profanity and bad sportsmanship. Both coaches tendered their resignation as it was suggested that with only two games left in the season and a two game suspension for the infraction it didn’t make sense not to. One coach rescinded his resignation the night before the next game and went on to coach a team in the same league that he was not the head coach of prior to this incident. Can an red carded coach continue to coach other teams in the same league with the same refs working the games?

USSF answer (October 22, 2008):
Your questions revolve about the same issue — namely, what is the “reach” of the automatic one game mandatory suspension (and, perhaps as a supplement, of any lengthier suspension)?  Does it apply only to the next game involving the same team?  Does it apply to the next game under the same authority, whether or not it is the same team?  Does it apply to the next game regardless of team or authority?

First off, the referee does not suspend coaches or other participants. The referee has the power to send off players, substitutes, and substituted players and to expel team officials who do not behave responsibly. Only the competition authority (club, league, state association, etc.) has the power to suspend anyone beyond the one game suspension prescribed in the Laws of the Game.

It is normal that a player (or substitute or substituted player) is suspended from the next game under the aegis of the competition authority, but that may be extended by the authority in accordance with its regulations. The same applies to a coach or other team official. It is also normal that these persons do not participate in other events sponsored by the same authority until their suspension in the first instance has run its course.

There will be no guidance from FIFA (the world governing body) since, in their context, the question wouldn’t even arise.  A player is on one team and only one team, and a coach is with one team and only one team.   Whether we are speaking of a player or a team official, the reach of the minimum one game suspension is limited to the next game under the same authority which authorized the game in which the red card was given.  Any lengthier suspension would apply to whatever the governing body desired as long as it was within their scope.

What your questions concern is preventing a dismissed coach from being at his next scheduled match controlled by the same competition authority, even if it involves a different team.  In practical local terms, that means that a coach who has a boys team and a girls team who is dismissed from one of his girls’ games would have to be absent from his next girls’ game but not his next boys’ game.  However, the governing authority over both of these organizations could, in theory, decide otherwise. In the end, the resolution of this matter is up to the competition authority.…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

SHIELDING VS. IMPEDING OR CHARGING

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Question:
U14G game. Two opponents are aggressively pursuing a 50/50 ball in the open field. Blue arrives at the ball an instant before yellow. Blue’s first action, with the ball now directly at her feet, is to shield the ball from the fast approaching Yellow player by moving her body sideways directly into the path of the oncoming Yellow player. Blue player has a more woman-like body. She’s at least a foot taller than Yellow and is widest at the hips. The Yellow player, with a more girl-like body, goes flying over the hip of the Blue player.

In my judgment since Blue arrived at the ball first (albeit only by an instant) and since she was clearly within playing distance of the ball, her act of shielding the ball was legal. In my opinion, the fact that Yellow went flying through the air was the result of her own carelessness. Accordingly, I did not whistle and allowed play to continue.

First, based on these facts was that the correct call?

Second, it is also my opinion that Blue knew that her act of shielding the ball would cause a violent collision between the two and that the smaller girl would be more adversely affected by such a collision. (These were two talented, aggressive players, probably the best on each team, who had been going at each other for some time prior to the collision.) Could Blue ever be called for a foul in this situation? If so, what do I look for to determine a foul occurred.

USSF answer (October 22, 2008):
A player who is within playing distance of the ball — as determined by the referee, not the player — is permitted to interpose her body between the ball and the opponent. The fact that she is larger makes absolutely no difference. If she chose to put her hips in a particular position before the opponent arrived, life is hard for the opponent. Unless you are absolutely certain that the shielding player has physically moved her hip during the actual contact, thus using a part of her body for a purpose that is not permitted — charges have to be shoulder to shoulder, even for women — then there has been no foul here.…

Law 11 - Offside

OFFSIDE: INTERFERING WITH PLAY

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Question:
Just when I thought I had this figured out.

In the Referee Week in Review Week 22 (http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_9502720.html), an example is shown where a player in an offside position changes direction to begin moving toward a passed ball and then takes four or five steps toward the ball before finally “breaking away” from it. He is easily within playing distance when he finally breaks away (Video Clip 6).

My confusion comes from the accompanying analysis. First we are to consider whether the player in an offside position interfered with play:

“Interfered with play: the player in the offside position does NOT interfere with play as he NEVER touches or plays the ball. An offside player may make a run/movement toward a passed/touched ball but until he touches/plays the ball, he cannot be declared offside unless the referee/AR determines that there is a potential collision or injury situation that may result from allowing play to continue too long.”

Later the analysis states:

“This decision is complicated by the movement of the offside player toward the ball, the time it takes for the original attacker to regain possession of the ball, and the fact that the defenders stop their runs and raise their hands begging for offside. ARs are not permitted to consider these actions in their decision as they are not factors in the three elements of “involvement in active play.”

The first part of the analysis is adamant (note the CAPS) in their interpretation that the player does not play the ball and reinforces that opinion by later stating that AR’s are not permitted to consider “the movement of the offside player toward the ball.”. This seems to contradict ATR 11.5 (unless it has changed in the new version).

There seems to be very little doubt that the player was making “an active play for the ball” for at least two or three seconds (four or five steps). And so although exercising patience in this scenario might have been fine, I certainly don’t see how the AR could have been second guessed in his interpretation.

The “wait and see” principal is fine in situations with this outcome, but when the ball is already in the net before the AR raises his flag (which it would have been if the first player had successfully taken the shot), the “temperature” of the game would have been dramatically increased.

I happen to believe the AR was justified and the analysis flawed, but I would like your opinion.

USSF answer (October 21, 2008):
No, there has been no change in Advice 11.5 for 2008. There is a small difference between the guidance given in the Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials and how the specific situation in the video was explained in the Week in Review.

The guidance given in the WIR pertained, as noted in the previous paragraph, to a particular situation, not to all cases involving interfering with play. The only point in Advice 11.5 missing in the WIR analysis was one other possible element of interfering with play that did not occur in this event and was therefore not included: A player may be called offside for interfering with play if that player has run from an offside position and will clearly arrive at the ball before any teammate can arrive from an onside position.…

Handling

RE: GOALKEEPER CROSSES PENALTY AREA LINE, BALL IN HAND

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Reader Comment:
No question but a comment pertaining to the Q&A about goalkeeper being out of the PA when punting.

I have seen six AR’s flag for this in the past year or so. On five of the six, the GK was clearly NOT over the line when there was still ball-hand contact. As you know, goalkeepers when punting usually release the ball from their hands well before their left leg extends forward and plants in the act of punting. I am convinced that most AR’s who flag for this (and they are always either the most inexperienced or the most anal) only do so because they see the left leg over the line in the act of punting – which of course is totally irrelevant as to whether the GK handled the ball out of the PA.

It would be nice to see this point emphasized in referee training.

Also wouldn’t hurt to emphasize it in an answer in Ask a Referee.

Editor’s comment: And here it is as an unofficial comment.

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Coach

ABUSIVE COACHES REDUX

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Question:
I recently participated in a team of referees during a local town tournament. This is my first year as a referee and have learned that every game and every coach is different.

My question follows on the heals of the “Abusive Coaches” question.

Q: As an AR, what authority do I have if during a game I am hearing abusive comments from the coaches (who are standing behind me at their bench) but are not amplified so the CR can hear them. If the AR can hear them, so can the substitute players sitting on the bench. The commits I was hearing were not PG appropriate.

USSF answer (October 20, 2008):
Included in any pregame (particularly if the team includes inexperienced and/or young assistant referees) should be some guidelines on the extent to which the AR is expected to deal with sideline behavior on their own, when to bring the referee into it, and how this is accomplished.

Without making an elaborate show of it, find a way to bring the referee nearer to you and give him or her a brief and precise summary of what has been going on and ask him/her to act on it. If the referee refuses to act, prepare a match report with your input on it for the benefit of both the competition authority and the state referee authorities.…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

GOALKEEPER CROSSES PENALTY AREA LINE, BALL IN HAND

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Question:
Recognizing your answer on this question from the archives (Oct. 12, 2007), I have always considered the goalkeeper perhaps carrying the ball a tad too long in his hands before punting as committing a doubtful or trifling offense (after all, what difference is 1 foot or so on a kick of perhaps 40 yards?).

Nonetheless, I had a zealous AR raise a flag for just such an offense, a flag that I did not see for several seconds as the ball was in dynamic play at the other end of the field when it came down. Flummoxed at seeing the flag, I blew the whistle and the AR proceeded to shout for all the world to hear, “The goalie crossed the line before punting.” I admit to being perturbed not just at the calling of the offense but at the flagrant disregard for procedure in the shout as it gave me little choice in addressing the matter.

I proceeded to tell this story with my crew at my next match and carefully included mention in the pre-game conference that I considered any offense well behind the course of play to be trifling unless it rose to the level of misconduct. Amazingly, an AR made the same call in that game even after the pre-game conference, and he also shouted out, “It was a whole yard.”

My question therefore is two-fold —

1. Am I indeed correct that this offense can be doubtful and/or trifling, even at “a whole yard,” when absolutely nobody on the field except the AR even notices?
2. If I am correct, do you have any advice for how the wise referee can recover some sense of credibility with the players after such a call is made? Having been burned twice, I want to be really ready next time.

USSF answer (October 20, 2008):
Answer 1: While recognizing that the offense by the goalkeeper of crossing the penalty area line with the ball still in hand is never doubtful, but often trifling, we must also recognize that it is certainly an infringement of the Law and must always be treated as such. The referee will usually allow the first such act to go unpunished, but must then clearly warn the goalkeeper to observe and honor the line and the Law. If it occurs again, the referee should call the foul and no later than the third offense caution the goalkeeper for persistent infringement of the Laws of the Game.

Answer 2: Sage advice for the intelligent referee is hard to give when assistant referees fail to follow instructions from the referee in the pregame conference. As long as play is stopped anyway, acknowledge the AR’s flag and go over to speak with him or her. Reinforce the instruction not to interfere in the flow of the game with trifling matters — but remember the sage advice given in Answer 1 — and remind the goalkeeper to stay within the confines of the penalty area when he or she has the ball in hand. Then restart the game properly and add the time lost in this exchange to the time of the half.

Another course of action might be for the referee to confer with the AR (making sure the conversation was private), direct the AR to nod his or her head in apparent agreement, walk back toward the ball (making a swing past the GK for a private discussion of no more than a sentence or two), and then restart with a dropped ball. In short, although the AR has obviously created a problem — both the the signal and then with his horrendous mechanics — the situation is still not without options.…

Law 11 - Offside

OFFSIDE (POSITION) AT GOAL KICK?

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Question:
Regarding the law 11 The Offside . in the event of a goal kick the law says that there is not an offside position even though there is a offensive player clearly nearer the opponents’ goal line than the next-to-last opponent, now ,what happens if before this player touches the ball someone else touches it, and after that this player gets it. Is it now offside ?

USSF answer (October 17, 2008):
Actually, there is still offside position at a goal kick. Being in an offside position is legal and can occur at any time during play. However, there is no offside infringement directly at the taking of a goal kick. If an opponent plays/touches/makes contact with the ball on its way to the player in the offside position, there is no infringement of Law 11. If a teammate plays/touches/makes contact with the ball on its way to the player in the offside position, there is the possibility of an offside infringement, if the the player in the offside position is actively involved in play by interfering with an opponent, interfering with play, or gaining an advantage from being in the offside position.…

Announcement

USSF’S “WEEK IN REVIEW”

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Announcement of October 16, 2008:
In response to numerous requests about how to access the Week in Review publication as soon as possible, the U. S. Soccer Federation notes that the Week in Review (WIR) is available each week no later than Friday afternoon. Although it uses examples from the pro game, the WIR provides guidance for refereeing at all levels of play. An attempt is made to write it so all levels of officials can apply the weekly lessons to their game. The WIR is intended to supplement U.S. Soccer’s position papers and other official material.

On the ussoccer.com web page, on the left, click on Referee Programs and you will be brought to the Latest News section which lists the Week In Reviews. Also there are podcasts available. To listen to weekly podcasts highlighting the main issues from the “Referee Week in Review” document, on the ussoccer.com homepage, look mid page for the tab that says “Podcasts.”…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

CONTACT BETWEEN PLAYERS

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Question:
The hardest decisions I have to make at these ages is when body contact between opponents rises to the level of a foul. Several factors affect my thinking:

1. Body sizes can vary widely. I’ve seen U10 boys who were 5′-6″ and 130 lbs playing against U10 boys who were 4′-6″ and 70 lbs. Even nominal contact between the two can send the smaller child flying.

2. The kids simply haven’t developed an appreciation for the immutable laws of physics. Many race for every ball at full speed seemingly unaware of the potential for injury when collisions occur with opponents, or even teammates, who are doing the same thing. The objective is clear to the kids (i.e. get the ball); the consequences of the behavior in trying to obtain the objective are not.

3. Because of leg strength (or lack of it), and field size, the game is played very close. It is not uncommon, in my experience, to see 5 or 6 players within 5 yards of the ball. More players within a small area results in more body contact. Legs get tangled, bodies collide, arms are raised in defense etc.

Certainly, I can apply the same standards at younger levels that I do at older levels, but such behavior would result in many, many whistles, stoppages, discussions, frustration and just not much fun for the players, coaches or parents.

In my view, I simply can’t use the same standard for younger ages.

Typically, what I look for before whistling is more of an attempt to make contact with a player than with the ball. But that makes my decisions more subjective, and that subjectivity may frustrate coaches and players. More subjectivity also allows coaches and players to perceive they are being judged more harshly than their opponents.

I’m wondering if I’m looking for the right thing. Is there a more objective way to determine when body contact at these younger ages is foul play?

USSF answer (October 15, 2008):
We find that too many referees whistle for contact that is not illegal under the Laws of the Game. A certain amount of contact is common in soccer and, if it is not clearly careless, reckless, or done with excessive force, it should be allowed. Players do get tangled up when both are going for the ball or trying to shoot or clear the ball. In addition, children grow at different rates and, as you point out, there can be great disparities in size (height and build) between players of the same age

Referees should be careful to judge the way in which acts are committed. If the player or players appear to be otherwise playing fairly, yet the precise definition of a charge is violated because of differences in height and build, the intelligent referee will understand and give the benefit of the doubt to the player of greater or lesser height and build, whichever applies.…

Coach

CARDING A COACH

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Question:
I can not find any reference to the reasoning behind this, only references to Law 5 — which do not really address this issue.

Why not (as they do in Water Polo) show a card to a team official or coach? If the Referee is responsible for maintaining control of a game and has the authority to ‘send off’ a team official or coach…why not show the card?

USSF answer (October 15, 2008):
Reasoning? You want reasoning for matters that have been true from time immemorial? Not going to happen.

Law 5 tells us that the referee:

– takes disciplinary action against players guilty of cautionable and sending-off offenses. He is not obliged to take this action immediately but must do so when the ball next goes out of play
– takes action against team officials who fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner and may, at his discretion, expel them from the field of play and its immediate surrounds

This is amplified later in Law 12 as follows:

“The yellow card is used to communicate that a player, substitute or substituted player has been cautioned.

“The red card is used to communicate that a player, substitute or substituted player has been sent off.

“Only a player, substitute or substituted player may be shown the red or yellow card.”

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