CHECKLIST FOR KICKS FROM THE PENALTY MARK

May 27, 2009 by Jim Allen

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

May 27, 2009 by Jim Allen

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

May 27, 2009 by Jim Allen

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!

May 27, 2009 by Jim Allen

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)

May 23, 2009May 24, 2009 by Jim Allen

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.

…

Advice to Referees

CORNER KICK AND THE FLAG

May 21, 2009 by Jim Allen

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.…

Law 18 - Common Sense

REFEREE EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST

May 18, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
what do you need to bring to a game exactly?

USSF answer (May 18, 2009):
As you were taught in your entry-level refereeing course, you should bring the following equipment to each game in which you will referee or act as assistant referee:
Two watches
Two flags
At least two different whistles
Two pencils or pens
A coin
A note pad (“game book”)
One red card
One yellow card
An air pump and pressure gauge
A badge for the current registration year
An alternate jersey (in accordance with the rules of your local association)…

"Only in America!"

PROTECTING THE GOALKEEPER; PITCH INVASION

May 14, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
hi, i have two question. The first questionis which rule protects the goalie. I know there is a rule that says that nobody should touch the goalie when he has possession of hte ball. The second question is about parents invading the field. Is there any rules that says anything about parents invading the field and insulting the players. IS because i had a problem on a game of boys from 7 and 8 graders, were one player from the opposite team would kick or use exesive force towards the goalie when he had the ball. After a play were one of the other team player was down, parents from the opposite team enter the field and yelled and insulted my player. I need the laws or rules that have to do with these two problems to be able to send a letter. Thank you.

USSF answer (May 14, 2009):
1. Protecting the goalkeeper:
There is no rule that “protects the goalie” from contact initiated by other players — as long as that contact is not against the requirements for a fair charge and does not happen when the goalkeeper is attempting to release the ball for others to play — in other words, to punt or throw the ball out of the penalty area.

2. Pitch invasion by parents:
No person may enter the field without the permission of the referee.

Law 3 tells us:
“Anyone not indicated on the team list as a player, substitute or team official is deemed to be an outside agent as is a player who has been sent off.

“If an outside agent enters the field of play:
– the referee must stop play (although not immediately if the outside agent does not interfere with play)
– the referee must have him removed from the field of play and its immediate surroundings
– if the referee stops the match, he must restart play with a dropped ball in the position where the ball was at the time when the match was stopped, unless the ball was stopped inside the goal area, in which case the referee drops the ball on the goal area line parallel to the goal line at the point nearest to where the ball was when play was stopped.”

However, please note that as a practical matter where rosters are not provided, anyone permitted to be in the technical area (other than substitutes, of course) is to be considered a team official.

Law 5 tells us:
The referee may stop, suspend or abandon the match for any infringements of the Laws or because of outside interference of any kind. The referee also provides the appropriate authorities with a match report, which includes information on any disciplinary action taken against players, and/or team officials and any other incidents that occurred before, during or after the match. This includes any other decision that the referee may take in accordance with the Laws of the Game or in conformity with his duties under the terms of FIFA, confederation, member association or league rules or regulations under which the match is played.

Also note that the actual entry of the outside agents (spectators) is not the only — or even the most — important issue — it is that the invaders are yelling at and berating players. In instances of this sort of behavior, the referee would not simply drop the ball for a restart, but would would terminate the match for “grave disorder.”…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

POSSIBLE OFFENSE OFF THE FIELD

May 14, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
A goalkeeper and an attacking player on a fifty /fifty ball collide and slide over the goalline some 10 feet into the area inside the netting between the goal posts. The ball is stopped on the goal line.The attacker attempts to reach his leg out, intending to draw the ball back over the goalline. The keeper scambles over top of the attacker in an attempt to grab the ball pinning the attacker’s legs preventing him from doing so. A defender then manages to clear the ball from the area.

USSF answer (May 14, 2009):
Both players left the field during the course of play and thus have the permission of the referee to be where they are. Working with your statement that the ball was still on the goal line and the goalkeeper and attacking player were fully off the field when the goalkeeper did what he did, we would suggest that the decision to be made (which only the referee on the spot can make) is whether the goalkeeper was holding the opponent back rather than merely trying to play the ball. Your description suggests a tussle in which either could be occurring. If both players were simply trying to disentangle themselves in a scramble to get to the ball, then what is happening is ordinary play and, although needing to be watched carefully, it should be allowed. If the referee decides that the goalkeeper is holding the opponent to prevent him from playing the ball, then the goalkeeper is guilty of misconduct. Since this is occurring off the field, the goalkeeper would be cautioned and play restarted with a dropped ball on the goal area line straight up from where the ball was when play was stopped (this is an example of the “special circumstances” involving restarts in the goal area).…

"Inventive" Refs

NEWISH UNIFORMS

May 13, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
Is this FAQ on the newer OSI still in effect? http://ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_4849668.html

Posts on BigSoccer.com indicate one of the youth regionals is requiring new-style shirts.

Also, is there any update on the mix-n-match policy of old and new? Many say it makes the crew look less professional if they’re not all wearing the same style. Others say only the refs themselves, and any assessor that might be there, are the only ones that notice.

USSF answer (May 13, 2009):
The Federation responds: “The FAQ as posted on the website that he refers to is still in place, no change and referees can still wear the old and new.”…