Category: Law 6 – Other Officials

Law 6 – Asst. Referee

Law 18 - Common Sense

PAYING CLUB LINESMEN

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Question:
I was the center referee in a youth (U-9 through U-18) tournament this past weekend. Due to the size of the tournament, we had an acute referee shortage. I was forced to do two games with a club line. I know that the local select league has a rule that indicates club lines are not to be paid. Further, I was told that there is a FIFA directive that says under no circumstances can a club line be paid. The 10 year old boy was the ONLY person to volunteer.

I gave him $10 for his time (he did a nice job and his mom had come over to my side following the game rather irate that her daughter’s team had paid big $$$ only to have to have her son “work” the game).

My question: Is there anything illegal about offering compensation to a club line?

My second question: Could we have legally used a two-man (I HATE IT, just for the record) system for a USSF-sanctioned tournament?

USSF answer (May 3, 2010):
We are unaware of any rules anywhere in the world that prohibit paying club linesmen (as they are called, whether male or female); however, while it would be unusual to do so, there is no reason not to give someone who has sacrificed his or her body for the cause a bit of compensation.

As to the dual system of control (“two-man system”), it is forbidden by the Laws of the Game, which require a referee and two assistants, but will allow two club linesmen. In fact, probably at least 90 percent of games played throughout the world are run with one referee and two club linesmen. Nevertheless, some leagues or tournaments run their games with two officials — and sometimes even they are not affiliated with USSF. It is up to the state associations to police these matters.…

Insurance

REFEREE LIABILITY INSURANCE: WHAT DOES IT COVER?

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Question:
The talk about referees not being covered by USSF liability (and other?) insurance while working a non-affiliated game makes me ask: exactly what IS covered for a referee by the USSF insurance? Can you direct me to a document that spells this out, please?

USSF answer (April 12, 2010):
You will find the answer in the Certificate of Insurance that you receive annually with your registration, that formal paper that just begs to be thrown out with the envelope. Most pertinent to your question are these two bullet points:

Coverage applies to US Soccer Federation (USSF) member referees who have been certified by USSF, but only while acting in their capacity as soccer referees during USSF sanctioned camps or clinics and during matches between USSF affiliated teams and leagues.
– This includes USSF soccer referees acting in the capacity of State Referee Administrator, State Director of Assessment, State Assignment Coordinator, State Director of Referee Instruction, Chairman of the State Referee Committee and State Youth Referee Administrator, assistant referee 4th official, assessor, instructor or assignor.

And in response to your as-yet-unasked question, “Is there anything else the well-informed referee should know about it?”, the answer is, “Don’t do unaffiliated games.”…

Interpretations/IFAB

AR SEES WHAT REFEREE DID NOT

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Question:
If an assistant referee witnesses a foul but does not call it because “he is not closer to the foul than the center ref” and the center ref does not call it, should the assistant notify the center as to what he saw or let the play continue?

USSF answer (April 8, 2010):
“Closer to the offense” is much less important than angle of view. If the referee cannot see the offense because his or her view is blocked, and the assistant referee can see the event clearly, then the AR must flag if the there is a definite foul or misconduct.

In this year’s copy of the Laws you will find this excerpt in the Interpretation of the Laws of the Game, under Law 6:

Before signaling for an offense, the assistant referee must determine that:
* the offense occurred closer to the assistant referee than to the referee (this applies, in certain circumstances, to offenses committed in the penalty area)
* the offense was out of the view of the referee or the referee’s view was obstructed
* the referee would not have applied advantage if he had seen the offense

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"Inventive Instructors"

MISSED AR FLAG (AND CORRECTION TO ADVICE 6.4)

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Question:
At our USSF recertification class we were instructed that we now have up to six or seven restarts to “take a missed call back” to the original foul. Example given at class – Assistant Referee signals offside on white & center referee does not see nor acknowledge the offside call due to lack of focus. The AR maintains his/her position of offside during which time 1.)a goal kick took place for red, 2.) then a direct kick for white 3.) a throw-in for red 4.) PK for red resulting in a score 5.) ensuing kickoff 6.) ball out of bounds; at which point center referee now notices the AR still at attention for the original offside 6 restarts past. We were told the Referee should honor the call by the AR and award an IFK to the red team for the original offside infraction. I would not want to be the center referee in that game! Then a few weeks later this situation occurred at the college level. While there were only three restarts in between, the referee went back to the original call by the AR. Seems like a powder keg to me.

USSF answer (March 22, 2010):
You are absolutely correct. The Federation has never issued any instruction that ARs keep their flag raised through up to six or seven restarts. The Federation’s guidance has been published in the Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game. Here is a quote from the 2009/2010 edition:

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 a dropped ball where the ball was when play was most recently stopped*.

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.

NOTE:The final sentence of the third paragraph of Advice 6.4 has been corrected to match equivalent information in Advice 5.13: The correct restart is a dropped ball, rather than the indirect free kick formerly included there. We apologize for the error, which did not in any way affect the misinformation that raised the original question.…

Guide to Procedures

AR MECHANICS AND SIGNALING

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Question:
My question is regarding Assistant Referee mechanics and signaling. Particularly for goal and corner kicks.

As an AR I am level with the 2nd to last defender, which is outside of the penalty area. The attacking team takes a hard shot, and I chase the ball down to the goal line. Being that it is a hard shot, it crosses the goal line by the time I am level with the penalty mark.

Where do I make my signal for goal kick? Do I continue to run towards the goal line until I am level with the goal area (6 yards from the goal line) and then signal? Or signal from where I am standing when the ball crosses the goal line?

I have the same question regarding corner kick signals. If the shot deflected off a defender and crosses the goal line when I am level with the penalty mark. Do I continue my run until I am beside the corner flag before signaling?

Great site! I check it every day for new advice. I hope you can give me some good advice for this one.

USSF answer (January 28, 2010):
Thank you. Flattery is always acceptable here. As to your question:

First, make every effort to follow the ball down the field. That said, we all know that a ball can travel faster in the air than most ARs can run along the line.

Therefore …

If you are close to the goal line (e .g., 2-3 yards) or if it is clear that the restart will be a goal kick, continue on down to the goal line and signal for the goal kick. However, if under the circumstances you are caught fairly far away from the goal line when the ball leaves the field OR if there is likely to be controversy about the restart, it is generally better to stop where you are, make eye contact with the referee, and signal so that the referee gets your information quickly. Then, after the referee clearly agrees, proceed to the position on the line which the Guide to Procedures advises you take initially for a goal kick restart.

This advice would be equally true if the ball left the field for a corner kick — except that, if you do go down to the goal line, take a step or two back upfield before signalling so that the flag is not pointing off the field.…

Law 18 - Common Sense

DISMISSING AN ASSISTANT REFEREE

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Question:
I’ve never been faced with this issue before in thousands of games with perhaps hundreds of referees.

I was the center referee in a U14 Boys game. During the game, I noticed my AR was substantially away from even with the second to last defender(STLD); even to the point where the STLD would be at midfield, my AR would be even with the defending team’s eighteen-yard line. 

I ran over during a stop in play and asked what was wrong, whether he could continue, etc. and was told in no uncertain terms that he “was fine and he could see offsides just fine”. I told him he needed to stay even with the second to last defender, and he just shrugged his shoulders and dismissed any more of the discussion.

At numerous points during the second half, even after I persistently pointed at him when a signal was necessary and he was out of position (e.g. ball goes over the goal line, he is standing with his feet wider than shoulder length at the eighteen as if stretching), he was never in position. It even got to the point where, if he WOULD signal for a player in an offside position, he would quickly snap the flag up and down and make no further signal. Or he would be chatting with the coach while active play was taking place mere yards from his touchline. He essentially was having a hissing fit on the sidelines for me calling him out for his poor performance, and doing whatever he wanted.

My question: what recourse does a center referee have to deal with a disruptive and possibly subversive Assistant Referee. During the game, after him telling me that he was just fine in seeing offsides from wherever he was, I considered asking him to recuse himself and leave the game. He was THAT disruptive, even to the point where minor mistakes I made (e.g. in signaling the end of the game with my whistle, upon blowing it the first time and holding my hands out, I blew the whistle out of my mouth and was forced to pick it up from the ground to finish the whistle signal – after this), I was in perfect position to witness this AR turn to the coach and mock me

USSF answer (October 29, 2009):
As stated in Law 6, “In the event of undue interference or improper conduct [by an assistant referee], the referee will relieve an assistant referee of his duties and make a report to the appropriate authorities.” You probably should have dismissed the AR at halftime. That way you could have appointed a club AR and take over the duties of the AR for offside.

In addition, considering the behavior of the AR in question, the referee in such a situation could also proceed against the AR under the terms of US Soccer Policy 531-10, Misconduct of a Game Official. The policy is contained in the Referee Administrative Handbook, which can be downloaded from the Instructional Materials section of the referee program pages at www.ussoccer.com.…

"Inventive" Refs

SHOULD ARs “SNAP” THE FLAG?

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Question:
As a grade 8 referee, I referee both youth and adult matches. I have worked with referees who are doing their first game up to the 30+ year veteran. There always seems to be some discussion and disagreement about whether an AR’s flag should be “snapped” up or raised quietly. I could not find anything specifically in the Laws, Guide to Procedures, or Advice to Referees (maybe I missed it), but I believe that the flag should be raised quietly. The reason for this is that that if the AR snaps the flag up, now everyone turns their attention to the AR. We referees are supposed to be involved in a game as little as possible, but, to me, this clearly does not meet this guideline. Another way I think of it is that the AR’s flag is for the referee and not the players, coaches, spectators, substitutes, etc. The referee should be glancing over to the AR every time there is potential for offside. What are your thoughts?

USSF answer (October 16, 2009):
Although “snapping” the flag was once fashionable, there is no longer any reason to do so. You have outlined quite succinctly the principal reasons for not snapping the flag.…

Law 18 - Common Sense

PERSONAL SAFETY TRUMPS ANY RESTART

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Question:
While the center Ref was setting up for a free kick and trying to control arguing players on the field after a red card was issued, I was the AR and dealing with the entire side lines as a result from the red card. I had tried to get the center Refs attention because the coach was approaching me in a manor that was fairly threatening and due to the overwhelming number of participants I couldn’t help but feel a bit unsafe. As I tried to explain my point of view to the coach he continued to scream over my explanation at the top of his lungs and plowed towards me on several occasions while several of the other assitant coaches literally held him back. During this time I was trying to signal to the Center Ref that it was time for this coach to be ejected. As I continued signaling, the Center was still preparing to set up the free kick from the red card. As the coaches and players were moving away from me on my side line I continued to demand that everyone was to clear my side of the halfline in an attempt to control the situation from getting further out of hand. At this time I stepped on to the pitch, rolled up my flag and held it between my legs with my hand patting my pocket. The Center Ref was still not responding, I started to yell his name and whistle out loud as I was a bit frustrated that he wasn’t hearing me. This all happened during an approximate window of about 70- 75 secs. During this time I realized I was out of luck in getting his attention and found my self well out of position to judge the free kick at the goal line. Even some of the players which were on the field had been distracted by the commotion from the side lines coach. The Center Ref blew his whistle and the free kick was taken, a goal was scored. The Center Ref then responded to what was going on and met me midway on the field. He had asked me what happened and I said that the coach was acting out in a threatening manor towards me and asked if he could take him out of the game, he did, issuing a red card (coach was ejected). Then he asked if I was on the field during the kick, I told him yes, he asked me what I thought about the goal, if it should stand or not. I then gave my opinion but left it up to him to decide.

Since I was on the field near the 40 yard line and not in a position to clarify that the keeper had not been fouled or distracted in any way during the free kick, I didn’t feel it would be fair to the defending players being that the players on the field may have been distracted by their coaches actions on the side lines”. Of course, I did realize I was in a bad position and that I should have waited before stepping on to the field, but under the circumstances at the time of the incident and the way it played out, I was sort of reacting to feeling threatened and needed help in dealing with a very hostile situation. I’ve reffed more then a few soccer matches over the past 6 years up to this game and I have dealt with a good share of yelling, complaining and such but this was not something that any ref should have to deal with. My feeling was to withdraw my self from the game or deal with it in the best way I could at the time.

Over all, the Center Ref made the final call in re-doing the free kick and denying the goal.

USSF answer (October 2, 2009):
First of all, your safety is paramount — certainly more important that any restart — and so you should have immediately moved into the field right up to the referee to make him aware of the threats against a member of the officiating team. Second, no referee should be so focused on what is going on in his immediate area that he is oblivious to near riotous uproars taking place along the sideline centered around one of the members of his officiating team. Third, what was the other AR doing in all this, picking daisies?

What happened with the free kick was, is, and will always be irrelevant to (a) the occurrence of general disorder and/or (b) danger directed at an official.…

Law 6 - Other Officials

AR SIGNAL FOR MISCONDUCT

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Question:
Situation: AR is at the mid-line, action is down at the goal to his left. Defenders and two attackers are milling around the mid-field awaiting some action. The AR witnesses a defender come up behind an attacker and rake his Achilles tendon with his cleats.

Clearly this is Violent Conduct and requires sanctioning with a send-off. But my question is how should the AR signal this to the Ref, and when? Should he stand there waving his flag (foul), whistle, or wait until the next break in play and dash out on the field? Can an AR stop play with a whistle blow?? Should he?

This seems to me to require immediate attention, although one might also say that stopping play immediately could impact potential goal scoring opportunities, and the offense could be resolved at next stoppage of play.

Your thoughts??

USSF answer (September 29, 2009):
According to the USSF publication “Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials,” this is the procedure the trail AR must follow for fouls not seen by the referee but indicated by the trail assistant referee:

Trail Assistant Referee
• Determines that the infringement was not or could not be seen by the referee and that, per the pregame conference, the referee would likely have stopped play for the infringement if it had been seen
• Signals with the flag raised vertically in the hand appropriate for the restart direction and, after making eye contact with the referee, gives the flag a slight wave
• If the referee stops play, signals with the flag held 45 degrees upward in the direction of the restart if the foul was committed by any player outside of the penalty area or by an attacker inside the penalty area
• If the referee does not see the signal, continues to hold the flag straight upward in accordance with the pre- game conference
• Takes position to assist with offside on the free kick and monitors other player actions in accordance with the pre-game conference
Lead Assistant Referee
• Mirrors the trail assistant referee’s flag signal if this is not seen by the referee and, upon making eye contact with the referee, directs the referee’s attention to the lead assistant referee

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Coach

ROVING COACHES

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Question:
I recently AR’ed a U10 game where a few parents on my side of the touchline constantly called into my attention about the assistant coach of the opponent standing on the other side constantly walking down the line close to the corner kick area of his team (where i can see him straight from where i’m standing) yelling out instructions to this players. Since the ball is in play, I didn’t signal the center ref about the issue and allow the game to continue.

The parents got really mad and starting shouting out that i should tell the center ref. Should i stop play in this case or just ignore the issue till the ball is not in play before informing the center ref? Also, if the coach still continue to do it after being warned, what is the best course of action?

USSF answer (September 22, 2009):
Under the Laws of the Game, generally aimed at top-level soccer, team officials are supposed to stay in their own “technical area.” Each team has its “technical area” on the same side of the field, separated by the halfway line. The competition in which you were the AR may have different rules about this. It is very common for local rules (where it is equally common for there not to be any technical areas) to require that no one (team officials or spectators) can be behind the goal lines or farther down the touchlines than the top of each penalty area. Furthermore, where it is needed for match control but the league or tournament has not marked them, USSF allows the referee to approximate a technical area within which substitutes and team officials must stay (and behave themselves).

You should not — and legally cannot — stop the game at any time for a matter this minor. However, you may signal the referee at the next stoppage and inform him or her of the situation, if it is indeed not permitted under the rules of the competition.

You should also pay little or no attention to the parents of either team. They, like coaches, will try to influence your decisions, so turn your ears to a position where you hear only what you need to hear during the game.…