Uniform-Ref

REFEREE UNIFORMS (YET AGAIN)

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Question:
I have a question regarding uniforms. I am a newer ref, but have been advancing and now am starting to ref some “bigger” tournaments and matches. Due to finances early on I bought several jerseys from places other than OSI (ie: Sator). They all have the approved design, but from a different manufacture. Is this acceptable, or do I need to replace the other manufacturer jerseys with the OSI ones? It hasn’t seemed to be a problem with the local tournaments and matches, but I just want to be sure I’m properly equipped as I continue to advance and ref at higher levels.

USSF answer (May 30, 2009):
Of course the Federation would prefer that referees bought our sponsor’s products, but as long as your uniforms meet the same design requirements as those sold by OSI, then you may wear them. See this FAQ on the new uniforms: …

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

MISCONDUCT VS. FOUL AND “NATURAL” STOPPAGE

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Question:
Three questions about the same incident. The comprehensive answer is, as usual, at the bottom of the item.

A. Please evaluate the actions taken by the referee in the following scenario:

As red #6 makes a pass from the middle third of the field, blue #8 comes in late with a clearly reckless tackle. The pass finds red with an excellent attacking opportunity with pace toward the blue’s goal and numerical advantage. The referee opts to invoke the advantage clause.

The attack ends when red #10 takes a shot on goal which is handled and held by blue’s goalkeeper.

At this point, the referee stops the match to deal with blue #8’s misconduct, and awards red an indirect free kick from the point of the original offense.

Has the referee taken appropriate action in this case? If not, what are the referee’s options?

B. UEFA Champions League Final…

I realize you can’t officially comment on what FIFA referees do or don’t do, but if this were to occur in a USSF-sanctioned match…

2nd half, Barcelona player gets recklessly fouled by a Man U player in Barca’s defensive half. Referee plays the advantage for Barca.

Attack is continued while fouled Barca player is down and injured.

Shot on goal is eventually taken by Barcelona but saved by Man U goalkeeper, who then distributes ball to Man U teammates. Barca player is still down and referee still plans on issuing yellow card to original Man U player that committed the foul. Man U eventually plays the ball into touch, but is this sequence of events a good candidate for applying the fact that fouls and misconduct are two separate things by stopping play to deal with the misconduct once the advantage had been “spent” so to speak?

C. The referee has applied advantage to a foul that also involves a cardable offense, and plans to award the card after the advantage has dissipated. The resultant attack ends with a save and possession by the ‘keeper. The questions are: 1. Can the referee stop play at this time (to give the card), or must the referee wait until the ball next goes out of play before giving the card? 2. If the answer to #1 is the first option, is the restart an IFK or dropped ball? 3. Where?

USSF answer (May 28, 2009):
The referee has a very brief span of time in which to decide whether or not the advantage has been realized, no more than 2-3 seconds. If the advantage was not realized within the 2-3 seconds, then the original foul gets called, the yellow card is shown to Blue #8, and the restart is a direct free kick where the tackle occurred.

However, if the advantage was realized and maintained but then lost (as it clearly was when the GK saved the shot on goal), then the referee’s actions were entirely correct — the foul tackle is gone, the referee stopped play solely to handle the misconduct (reckless foul), and he restarted with an indirect free kick (stoppage for misconduct committed on the field during play by a player) where the misconduct occurred.

The only thing worth additional comment (simply because most referees would have failed to recognize what this referee recognized) is that the referee stopped play to deal with the misconduct when the advantage disappeared, rather than waiting for the so-called “natural” stoppage (the ball leaving the field) in order to come back to #8. There is no need to wait for a “natural” stoppage to come back and punish the miscreant.…

Advice to Referees

ASSISTANT REFEREES (MISSED FLAGS)

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Question:
I actually have two questions for you.
1.) During a High School match a player struck an opponent right in front of the Assistant Referee which resulting a broken nose. Instead of the Asst. Referee raising her flag immediately, she insisted on waiting for the next stoppage of play. When the ball did go out of play for a throw in, the opponents quickly threw the ball back into play. The Center never saw the A.R. until later after play had restarted. Once the Center realizes the A.R. he then checked to see what she needed. There was no red card administered for the fact that he said that play had been restarted? I tried to inform him that this does not matter, that play is stop until the center recognizes the A.R.. Under Law 6 Assistant Referee (6.4 Missed Assistant Referee Signals and under Law 9 Ball Out Of Play 9.1 ) was I correct are not?
2.) Offside is called by the A.R. for offside the defending team kicks the ball out for a throw in. The attacker than quickly threw the ball in quickly and continued their attack, which the A.R. kept the flag up during this time. The Center recognized the A.R. and then called offside. Was this the correct procedure? Under Law 6 Assistant Referee it says you hold your flag until the defending team either gains clear possession are the defending team wins a throw in are goal kick.

USSF answer (May 28, 2009):
If the events had occurred in a game played under the Laws of the Game, correct procedure would be to follow the guidance given in the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game” 2009/2010 (not yet on the street):

6.4 MISSED ASSISTANT REFEREE SIGNALS
If the assistant referee signals a ball out of play but the referee does not see the signal for an extended period, during which play is stopped and restarted several times, the assistant referee should lower the flag.  The FIFA Referee Committee has declared that it is impossible for the referee to act on the assistant referee’s signal after so much play.

If the referee misses the assistant referee’s signal for offside, the assistant referee should stand at attention with the flag raised until the defending team gains clear possession or until a goal kick or throw-in is awarded to the defending team.  

Although the general rule is that a card for misconduct must be given at the next stoppage of play and that, if this does not occur, the opportunity to punish the misconduct has passed, the International Board’s “Interpretations” section has stated that this does not apply to serious foul play.  However, in order to make handling such incidents credible, certain conditions must apply.  The most important requirement is that the assistant referee must have signaled the original misconduct and maintained the signal despite it not being seen by the referee.  USSF has indicated that this requirement should be discussed thoroughly in the pre-game and that the referee should clearly indicate what sorts of misconduct would qualify for this treatment.  The International Board spoke specifically of “serious foul play” but USSF guidelines include any form of violence (including “violent conduct”).  If the referee becomes aware of the assistant referee’s signal for misconduct at a subsequent stoppage of play, the restart (after the misconduct is handled) would remain the same based on what stopped play in the first place.  If, upon becoming aware of an assistant referee’s signal for misconduct, play is stopped solely for this reason, the restart is an indirect free kick where the an indirect free kick where the original offense occurred.*

To avoid such situations, the referee should make eye contact with the assistant referees as often as possible.  In addition, the assistant referees must be alert for and mirror each other’s signals if needed to assist the referee.

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Law 18 - Common Sense

THOSE NASTY RULES OF COMPETITION

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Question:
I made a very controversial call this past weekend in a tournament that caused a lot of controversy both on the field, and with some referees. Here is the situation.

Tournament game, 14 year old boys game. The competition rules stated no stoppage time except for the case of an injury. There had been no injuries in the second half, and the score was tied 1-1. An attacker has the ball in the corner close to the flag and I glance at my watch to see that the time has just expired. I begin to blow my whistle as he crosses the ball into the goal area where it slips past the keeper and is tapped in by a teammate, after the first whistle to end the game had been blown. I did not allow the goal, because time had expired. Needless to say, the coach of the team who was on the attack was not happy. I know it was a controversial decision, and I keep running it in my head. Would it have been more fair to extend play for the extra 2-3 seconds needed for the team to score? Or would that have been unfair to the defending team to give up a goal after the time had technically run out? I spoke with a state level referee who said I should have let the play continue for a couple seconds. If the attacking team scores, then end the game, or if the defending team collected the ball, then end it at that point. This seems to be a letter of the laws versus the spirit of the laws issue. What would have been the correct call according to US Soccer?

USSF answer (May 28, 2009):
A point we make consistently is that if the referee accepts an assignment in a competition, the referee also accepts the rules of the competition. Please note that the dynamics change when operating under a rule that gives the referee flexibility (unlike the tournament rule here).…

"Inventive Assessors"

CHECKLIST FOR KICKS FROM THE PENALTY MARK

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Question:
At a recent tournament we had a kick from the mark situation. The state referee (AR1) set up the the players as follow: Five identified players from each team outside of the center circle in a group, approximately 20 yards from the center half way line and the rest of the players inside the center circle. Furthermore he placed himself between the the identified players and the rest of the players. I was assessing the referee and DDA indicated that he liked this set up which I disagreed. My reasoning were; number one that is not what the book said, secondly since AR1 back was to 10 other players, he would not be able to see if there was any misconduct that could occur behind him and lastly this sort of self proclaimed bending of the procedure would deteriorate the consistency that federation would like to uphold. Please give me your thoughts on this matter.

USSF answer (May 27, 2009):
The procedure followed by the AR stationed at the center circle was not correct and is not endorsed by the Federation. A complete checklist for kicks from the penalty mark was published on April 2, 2009. Referees may download the checklist from this URL:
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_13664259.html…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

OFFICIAL REASON FOR CAUTIONABLE OFFENSE / DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL PLAY

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Question:
1. During a recent U19 boys’ match, team A scores a goal with 10 minutes left, but are still behind 3-2. Team B’s defender picks the ball up out of the goal. Immediately after leaving the inside of the goal, one of team A’s players tries to grab the ball out of team B’s hands. Knowing the game situation, I had recognized this as soon as the goal was scored and was sprinting, blowing the whistle and telling team A’s player to get in position for kick off. I got there quickly enough and there was no other issue other than the initial grab for the ball. I decided to caution team A’s player for provoking the confrontation that could have easily escalated. I believe that the official reason be “Unsporting Behavior”. Is that correct?

2. During a tournament this past weekend, I refereed a U16 boys’ game. I did some research on the teams before the game and determined that one of the teams was a top level youth (premier- team A) and the other was an entry /silver level select team (team B). It became apparent very early in the game, that team A was much more physical and stronger than team B. Team B was getting frustrated because team A was legally charging them off the ball. In the middle of the 1st half, I sent off a player for team B for grabbing a player from behind who had the ball with both arms wrapped around his chest area and then wrapping his leg around his leg and throwing him to the ground much like a player would in the other kind of football. This was after he had the ball taken away through legal charging. After he left the pitch, my AR on that side observed him receiving “high fives” from several substitutes on the bench which he mentioned at half time. I tried to explain to team B’s captain that team A was charging legally, but there were several other issues especially in the first half. Based on this, I have a few questions.

A. Other than communication with the captains and players, what else can a referee do to manage these differences in physical play? How can a referee prevent a misconduct rather than just punish and still be fair to both teams in this scenario?
B. Would the “high fives” be cautionable offenses for the substitutes as unsporting behavior? If so, would cautioning one of the substitutes be sufficient for this action? I also explained to my AR that he should have mentioned this at the time it happened. I also noted the high fives in the match report.

Thanks for your advice.

USSF answer (May 27, 2009):
1. After the referee has stopped play for the goal, the ball, although “dead” until play is restarted with a kick-off, does belong to the team against which the goal was scored. Traditionally the ball is carried back to the center spot by the team against which the goal was scored (Team B). A player who is “provoking a confrontation by deliberately touching the ball after the referee has stopped play” may be cautioned for delaying the restart of play. (Interpretations and Guidelines for Referees in the back of the Laws of the Game 2008/2009.) This would be the case of the player from the scoring team (A) who was interfering with the Team B player carrying the ball to the center of the field. (And don’t forget to add the appropriate amount of time for the delay.)

2. A. It is not fair to team A to punish them for the lack of skill of team B by calling the game in a way that would benefit B, nor is it fair to B, whose players will clearly learn nothing beneficial from being given an advantage of this sort. Call the game in accordance with both the Letter of the Laws and the Spirit of the Game — insofar as the players allow you to do that. It would seem that team B was not interested in a challenging game.

2. B. Your AR should have alerted you immediately about the “high fives,” so that you could have addressed the matter at the time. A strong dressing down and possibly at least one caution (you pick the substitute) would have been good. Then supply full details in the match report (as you did).…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

MISCONDUCT WHILE BALL IS OUT OF PLAY

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Question:
I was working as an AR for an under-17 boys game a few weeks ago.
Ball is rolling through the penalty area and defender for Team A is legally shielding forward from Team B until the ball goes out for a goal kick.

Team B forward is clearly frustrated with the defender’s shielding tactic, and, after the ball rolls out, the forward picks up the ball and does a basketball-style chest pass at the feet of the defender, who is now running back onto the field to his position for the goal kick and his back is turned to the forward. The ball struck the defender on the feet. The defender did not appear to react to the ball hitting him.

The center referee did nothing. I would have at least shown a card, but I cannot decide if it would have been yellow or red. The ball definitely struck the defender, but not with much force. To the letter of the law, this is striking an opponent. But would it have been too harsh to send off the player in this instance?

USSF answer (May 27, 2009):
Only the referee on the game can determine whether the act was reckless (caution) or done with excessive force (send-off). If, in the opinion of the referee, the act constituted misconduct or serious misconduct, then a caution or send-off (depending on the nature of misconduct) would be warranted.

We see no reason for a send-off in this situation (with these circumstances), but either a strong dressing down (which wasn’t mentioned) or a caution would be warranted.

The restart — after the caution or send-off — will be for the reason the ball was out of play, a goal kick.…

Law 11 - Offside

OFFSIDE OR NOT? NOT!

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Question:
Attacking player is past the second to last defender taking advantage of his team’s throw-in, so he does not start the play in an offside position. The second to last defender intercepts the throw in and has control of the ball at his feet. The attaching player now comes back to play the ball.

I was the AR and did not indicate offside as I felt the player did not come back from an offside position to play the ball since he started onside (throw-in). Another ref observing the game (and trying to be helpful) told me I missed the call that once the second to last defender had control of the ball a new play had started thus, the attacking player came back from an offside position to play the ball and should have been called off side.

What would the correct calling be?

USSF answer (May 27, 2009):
There is a throw-in by Team A. At the time, A5 is in an offside position based on the standard definition. A5 does not become actively involved in play (but, even if he had, he would have come under Law 11’s exemption of having received the ball directly from a throw-in). Instead, a defender gains possession of the ball.

At this point, all offside position evaluations have to be redone because there has been a “new” play of the ball. Regardless of where A5 is (or any of his teammates are), there is no danger of an offside violation at that time because the ball has now been last been controlled/played by someone other than a teammate.

In short, there wasn’t the slightest possibility at any time in this scenario of an offside violation.…

Advice to Referees

WHISTLE FROM ADJACENT FIELD (CORRECTED)

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Question:
When playing at a site where there are adjacent fields, could a whistle from a neighboring field be considered outside interference, especially if players on the field where it wasn’t blown react to it? If so, what criteria should be applied by the referee to determine whether it is outside interference? For example, a defender lets up on a play because he hears a whistle, thinking it is from his field, resulting in an attack and maybe a scoring chance for the other team.

USSF answer (May 23, 2009):
Follow the excellent guidelines given in the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game”:

9.2 PLAY THE REFEREE’S WHISTLE
If a whistle is heard as a result of spectator action or of activity on a nearby field and if a player, thinking that play had been stopped by the referee, then illegally handles the ball, the referee should treat this as outside interference and restart with a dropped ball*. The referee must nonetheless be aware of the possibility that a player has committed unsporting behavior (pretending unawareness that it was not the referee’s whistle) and must be prepared to deal properly with this misconduct.

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Advice to Referees

CORNER KICK AND THE FLAG

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Question:
An attacking team is awarded a corner kick.
As the attacker approaches to take the kick ,she pushes the corner flag aside to give her ample room to strike the ball.
Should play immediately be stopped while the ball is still in play, give the player a yellow card for unsporting behavior and award a rekick of the corner kick?

USSF answer (May 21, 2009):
The following excerpt from the “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game” is applicable here:

1.6 NO PLAYER MODIFICATIONS TO THE FIELD
“Goalkeepers or other players may not make unauthorized marks on the field of play. The player who makes such marks or alterations on the field to gain an unfair advantage may be cautioned for unsporting behavior. Players may return bent or leaning corner flags to the upright position, but they may not bend or lean them away from the upright position to take a corner kick, nor may the corner flag be removed for any reason.

Accordingly, what the player did was, indeed, a violation of the Law.  If you decide that the action warrants a caution for misconduct (unsporting behavior), then you would stop play, show the yellow card, and restart with the corner kick (because the misconduct occurred while the ball was not in play).  However, you could also be proactive, if possible, by anticipating the player’s action and advising her not to move the flag before she actually commits the infraction.  Finally, you could decide that the violation was trifling, allow the corner kick to be taken, and give her a formal warning not to move the flag in the future.…