Category: Law 6 – Other Officials

Law 6 – Asst. Referee

Law 18 - Common Sense

OFFSIDE ASSISTANCE BY TRAIL AR?

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Question:
This question relates to what role the trailing Assistant Referee may play in assisting with an offside call on the other end of the field. This situation occurred in a high school game (on whose rules I know you don’t directly comment), but I imagine that it could easily occur in a USSF sanctioned match.

Team A has pushed its defenders up to the midfield line. Due to a rapid exchange of possessions, I am lined up with Team B’s second to last defender about 15 yards from the midfield line (one of those awkward situations where 20 players are squeezed into a relatively narrow slice of the field). Team B gains possession of the ball and clears it into the other half of the field. From my position I judge that Team B has three players in an offside position, and one of these players gains possession of the ball. Where is the Assistant Referee who should be signaling the offside? For some unknown reason he is 40 yards out of position and incapable of assisting. Since the referee’s attention had been on the clearing defender, and the (potentially) offside player was only 2-3 steps offside when the ball was played, he is unable to make the offside call on his own and allows play to continue.

I am about as sure as I can be from 15 yards on my side of the field that the player was offside, as I could see no Team A players in their own half of the field. After seeing that the other AR is incapable of performing his duty, can I raise my flag to help the referee make a decision?

In this case I chose not to signal for offside. Fortunately the play did not result in a goal, as it would likely have affected the outcome of the game. If a goal had been scored, would it have been too late to offer my opinion to the referee that the player had been offside (assuming that I did so before the ensuing kickoff)?

USSF answer (May 12, 2009):
As you note, we do not deal with high school rules, but there should be no difference in this situation.

While you may indeed have had a view of the alignment of the players, assistance from you in this case could not be “sold” to the participants because of where you were on the field — not in line with play. If you flagged and offered your opinion and the referee accepted it, that would cause more difficulty than either of you can imagine.

The same applies to offering your opinion after the goal had been scored and before the ensuing kick-off.

Our advice would be to mention it to the referee after the game and have him take it up with the other AR, who should be ashamed for being so far out of position and thus endangering the referee’s control of the game.…

Advice to Referees

INTERFERENCE BY AN OUTSIDE AGENT?

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Question:
Several of us were discussing recent games and the subject of outside agents came up. Most of us have seen banners, umbrellas, seagulls, and the occasional dog on the field. Normally these situations take care of themselves, with the exception of the dog who wants to grab the ball and run with it.

One situation we encounter is when a ball comes onto the field from a neighboring field. Usually a player just kicks it back at the first opportunity.

We saw a situation in a game where a ball comes into the penalty area. Play is not very close, so the keeper picks up the ball and kicks it back to the neighboring field. However, as she is doing so, play in her game turns around and her opponents take a shot and score.

Is this a goal or interference from an outside agent? And why?

USSF answer (May 6, 2009):
This is interference by an outside agent. To quote the “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game”:
An “outside agent” (under any portion of the Laws of the Game) is anything that enters the field without the permission of the referee and plays or misdirects the ball or otherwise interferes with the game. This means that outside agents can be dogs or coaches or spectators. Interference by any outside agent will result in the referee declaring a stoppage of play, restarting with a dropped ball where the ball was when play was stopped*.

If the referee was not observant enough to do what the Advice recommends, then he or she was negligent. If the nearer assistant referee did not provide assistance in this situation, then he or she was also negligent.

And then we come to the issue of terminal stupidity: We cannot help feeling that, in this case, the ‘keeper shares some culpability.  In point of fact, it could be argued that the presence of the ball by itself did not interfere with play; it was the goalkeeper’s error in deciding that she should divert her attention from her main job to do something that wasn’t strictly necessary.  We must repeat the old saying that the Laws of the Game are not intended to compensate for the mistakes of players.…

Advice to Referees

DOGSO; SIGNAL TO DISALLOW GOAL

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Question:
1. Why are there two DOGO’s?
Handling is also punishable by a free kick or penalty kick so wouldn’t dogf be sufficient?

2. Signal by AR for goal to by disallowed is to stand at attention with flag straight down, but doesn’t say anything about the signal after eye contact with CR. Why doesn’t AR follow the same procedure as signaling a foul or offside as soon as he see’s it? Standing at attention with flag straight down to signal a person interfering looks the same as a foul, but the restart is IFK, not DFK. It seems like a conference is needed to get the correct restart, when giving the signal as soon as it becomes an offense gives all the necessary information. I see no reason to wait to give the flag a waggle or indicate offside. Can you explain the reasoning?

USSF answer (April 30, 2009):
1. The International Board wanted to make it clear that these were two different situations in several important respects.  First, DG-H has a goalkeeper exception, DG-F does not.  Second, they use a different standard — DG-H = but for the handling, the ball would have gone into the net;; DG-F = in the opinion of the referee, the opportunity was disrupted.  Third, DG-H does not involve any of the “4 Ds” (they are applicable only to DH-F).  Fourth, DG-H applies to a substitute who has illegally entered the field, DG-F does not.

2. Yes. But we assume you want more than this clear and simple answer.

It is presumed that the referee will have seen enough of the events occurring just in front of the goal to differentiate among the three different possibilities for canceling a goal even though the ball is in the net (offside offense by the scorer, offside offense by a teammate of the scorer, foul by an attacker) and that the AR’s signal is primarily a further confirmation.  To that end, the procedure for the first is to signal the offside offense in the usual way but to simply stand still (“at attention”) for the other two.  The referee, seeing the latter signal, therefore knows that there are only two possibilities — offside offense by a teammate of the scorer or a foul by an attacker.  This is usually sufficient for most experienced referees.  If it is not for some reason, then the referee and AR can confer briefly.  As for differentiating between an indirect free kick versus a direct free kick restart for the two offenses indicated by the AR standing still, most experienced referees would again recognize that, so close to the defending team’s goal, it rarely matters which will occur.…

"Inventive" Refs

OFFSIDE: WHEN IN DOUBT, . . .

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Question:
In a men’s division 2 game AR 1 is watching a group of attacking and defending players challenging for the ball about ten yards directly in front of the net. The ball is kicked out of the group to an attacking player in an offside position on the far side of the field. The AR’s view of exactly who kicked the ball is blocked.

The referee looks to the AR for a call but in the pregame the referee instructed the AR’s that they had the offside call. The referee allows play to continue. Can the AR signal for offside if he did not see that an attacking player kicked the ball to the player in an offside position?

USSF answer (April 14, 2009):
The rule for the assistant referee in possible offside situations: When in doubt, leave the flag down.

The problem suggests poor pregame instruction, with no donut for the referee.  This is typical of the bad habits referees get into when they don’t THINK about their pregame instructions — the referee ALWAYS has the call, based on information provided by the AR.  The WEIGHT the referee gives to the information depends on (a) the issue (i. e., position or involvement) and (b) the AR’s distance to the event.  The referee might defer to the AR in the case of clear information from the AR and doubt on the part of the referee, but the referee cannot simply turn over to the AR all responsibility for making a potentially game critical decision if the referee has no doubt about what he has seen.…

Law 18 - Common Sense

AR’S DUTIES

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Question:
There was an incident in a match I was recently AR for while the referee was distracted by an injured player from the play. I was the trail AR and the lead AR did not think a foul was committed. It happened on the far side of the field from the other AR. It was the center’s “quadrant”. I believed the offense was a foul and a send off for either serious foul play or the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity. The offense apparently was retaliatory. From my point of view the foul and misconduct was obvious. The other AR was parallel to the play and did not see the leg stick out as apparently as it did to me. The referee did stop play but he stopped play for the injury. Although I was far from the play I had a clear view. The coaches were on my side and the coach who saw the incident was yelling for a foul. I raised my flag. The center ran over to the other AR to discuss the incident. He then saw my flag and I waved him over. I asked him whether the other AR had seen the incident. “He saw nothing.” (which I later would learn meant he did not believe it was a foul but for the sake of this question we will assume the AR had been looking at the injured player too). I then advised the center that a foul had occurred and that there should be misconduct. He replied that it was not my call to make since it was not in my quadrant. I had a much clearer view then the other two officials on the field and I was told that this was not my place to make a decision because of how the decision would look. I thought that the duty of the AR was to advice the center when he/she has a better view of the incident which was obvious in this case. How should these incidents be handled and should the center take my advice even though I was a good 40 yards away from the incident.
The summary: Other officials were distracted, incident in the other half of the field and was near the 30 yard line, I had a clear view and believed it was a foul and misconduct. What should be the procedure for this situation?

USSF answer (March 31, 2009):
Some referees suffer from ego or insecurity problems. Do your job as assistant referee and let them do theirs.

You followed the correct procedure, but you need to remember that your primary role as an AR is to ASsist, not INsist. The AR provides information to the referee. If the referee fails to accept that information, no matter the reason, then the AR accepts the decision and gets on with the game. He or she has done his/her duty and the referee has made a decision and the referee alone bears the burden of living with the consequences.

You can run the line for us any time.

And, just to be certain that ALL referees and ARs are on the same page, we need to remind everyone that there is no such thing as an “AR quadrant” and a “referee quadrant” — Law 6 makes it VERY clear that the weighing of AR information should be based on who has the “better view” and that this applies not only to whether the referee or an AR has a better view, but also to which AR might have a better view. “Quadrants” went out of favor years ago.…

"Inventive" Refs

FOLLOW-UP TO “REFEREE SIGNAL VS. ASSISTANT REFEREE SIGNAL”

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Question:
There is a question and answer provided on the USSF website which asks, and then confirms, that in the event of a throw-in in the area of the AR, the referee does not need to signal if the AR’s signal is correct. However, this reminded me of a situation that was brought up in the Recertification Class I just recently took. In the example given, the AR raised the flag for offsides, but was waved down by the Referee a few seconds later, because the keeper ended up getting the ball. However, as the AR was in the act of lowering his flag, the keeper dropped the ball to the ground, assuming it was offsides, and the opposing attacker ran in and took the ball and scored. The correct answer in this situation, we were told, is that the goal should stand, since the AR does not actually have the authority to make calls, and since the referee had not called the offsides, the game was officially still in progress when the keeper dropped the ball. They also told us that the keeper should be clearly instructed not to pay attention to any calls made by the AR unless the referee has called them.

However, this seems to contradict the answer given in this question. In the example given in the question of a throw-in, the referee makes no signal or acknowledgement that the ball is out of play, and the only figure signaling the proper restart is the AR. This seems to imply that signals given by the AR CAN be considered valid, even with no signal from the referee. Telling players to follow signals given by the AR in some cases, but ignore them in other cases, is quite confusing and could easily and understandably result in an example such as the one I have provided.

So, what is the proper decision? Should the referee signal for all restarts of play, or should the players be conditioned to follow the signals given by the AR, potentially resulting in situations that could significantly affect the outcome of the game?

USSF answer (March 31, 2009):
Perhaps you have misread our answer of 24 March 2009.  It is not simply a case of the referee not needing to signal at those times when the assistant referee is right, but of the referee NOT NEEDING TO SIGNAL UNLESS A SIGNAL IS NEEDED.  The controlling source here is the Guide to Procedures, which clearly states that the referee does not need to signal when the ball has left the field where the AR is expected to give the signal “unless necessary” — which makes the real question, “When might it be necessary?”  It might be necessary if the AR is incorrect (the referee saw a touch on the ball which the AR did not or could not see); the players are continuing to play the ball despite the signal by the AR; the players acknowledge that the ball left the field, but are disputing the AR’s signal as to which team has possession, etc.  All referees should note that, technically under the Law, the players are required to stop playing the ball when it leaves the field and this does not take any signal by the AR or referee (yet we often hear coaches, somewhat cynically, tell their players to keep playing the ball until there is a signal, even when they know absolutely that the ball has left the field.  The AR’s signal merely confirms a fact — it does not create it.

With regard to the offside situation, let us remind you of the old saying: “The Laws of the Game are not intended to compensate for the mistakes of players.”  The ball leaving the field is a physical fact (see above) whereas offside, fouls, etc. are pure judgment calls, which is why it takes the referee’s signal to actually create the conditions for a stoppage.  Here, the referee DID signal — he waved down the AR’s flag — which every player should have taken to mean that the AR’s prior signal is to be ignored.  The fact that the goalkeeper failed to understand this is the goalkeeper’s problem, not a problem in mechanics.…

"Inventive" Refs

USING TIME

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Question:
Under what circumstances would a goalkeeper’s delaying picking up the ball until seriously pressured by an opponent be classified as “taunting?”

My son was verbally warned by the AR to pick up the ball lest he be cautioned. (This was a high-school game where taunting is stressed more than in normal FIFA-governed situations.) My son made no overt gestures and said nothing to the opponent. He was trying to (legally) waste a few seconds since we were ahead. An opponent approach and my son reached down as if to pick up the ball. When the opponent retreated, my son just stood up until the opponent approached again -much closer this time!

In the event that nothing other than standing over the ball occurred, could this be classified as taunting? How would this be different from taking the ball into the corner or passing the ball around without pressing any attack?

USSF answer (March 26, 2009):
We are not aware of any reason why a player who is clearly “using” time, rather than wasting time, should be harassed by an assistant referee. We cannot speak to what might be called in a high school game, but your son has not committed any infringement of the Laws of the Game.…

Guide to Procedures

SIGNALING A GOAL

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Question:
I was a AR at a recent game and a situation occured where the ball was floating aorund the goal line and the keeper was trying to grab it before it rolled across.

I saw it roll across the goal and then he grabbed it and brought it back onto the field of play.

It was my impression that to signal a goal a AR should sprint back toward midfield as a signal of a goal but since it was not obvious as the ball was floating around there seemed to be some confusion.

The center referee while watching me run back was motioning to me asking if it was a goal or not.

Half way up the line I just stopped and screamed out it was a goal.

Was there some other signal I should have given him other then the sprint up the line or was this correct?

USSF answer (March 18, 2009):
We suggest that you follow the instructions in the USSF publication “Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials, designed specifically for the assistant referee to use in this situation:

If the ball briefly but fully enters the goal and is continuing to be played, raises the flag vertically to get the referee’s attention and then, after the referee stops play, puts flag straight down and follows the remaining procedures for a goal.

…
Guide to Procedures

PROPER MECHANICS AND PROCEDURE

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Question:
I was an AR in a U19 match this week. The ball was in play near the endline, inside the 6-yard area. I judged a player to have been offside, about a yard off the endline, very shortly before the ball went out of play. I raised my flag to vertical, waited for the whistle, then lowered my flag to horizontal — to indicate offside in the middle third of the field. The center referee interpreted my signal as the ball having gone across the endline, off the attacking team, with a goal kick for the restart. The rules of the competition allowed for substitutions, so he turned and motioned them onto the field. From my vantage point, the ball actually was last touched by a defender, so had the offside not ocurred, the restart would have been a corner kick (with substitutions allowed by the rules of the competition). I did a quick evaluation, decided the difference was trifling, and let matters go on (which, at halftime, the center agreed was the best course of action). So, my first question is what should I have done differently as a mechanic to indicate that there was an offside infraction, rather than the ball going out of play? The difference seems trifling, from a practical standpoint, with the difference being a direct restart with no possibility of the now attacking team being offside direct from the kick, versus an IFK. And my second question is whether I’m missing anything in the nature of the restart — is this, for practical purposes, a trifling difference, not to be worried about?

Thanks,

USSF answer (March 15, 2009):
The referee made the first error in this scenario.  The signal you gave was proper and should not have been interpreted as indicating a goal kick restart.  If that had been the case, you would have been pointing the flag straight out when you and the referee made eye contact instead of being (as was the case here) held straight upward and followed by being held straight out.  The only way your signal could have been an indication of a goal kick would be if the ball had left the field — unnoticed by the referee but seen by you — and returned to the field with players still actively playing it as though it had not left the field.

The general guideline, however, is that, given a choice between an offside violation in the area you indicated and a goal kick, FIFA and USSF both recommend going with the goal kick.  The restarts in both cases are, for all practical purposes, equivalent and the latter occasions less need for explanation and is more readily accepted.  This is not the case in your scenario where, if the indication for offside were not accepted, the restart would have been a corner kick instead of a goal kick.  Here, the offside violation must be called.  Since the referee misinterpreted your signal, it is incumbent upon you to make the misunderstanding known to the referee.  

The argument that the goal kick is similar to the IFK restart for the offside cannot be accepted because the choice was not between offside and a goal kick, it was between offside and a corner kick.  Furthermore, the offside restart would possibly not have allowed for substitutions whereas the goal kick restart did.…

Law 18 - Common Sense

ASSIST; DO NOT INSIST

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Question:
During my last game, I was an AR and there was a PK. The kicker sent the ball to the goal post, it bounced back on the field and she kicked it again going out of bounds for a goal kick. I raised my flag as soon as the kicker hit the rebound, however the CR said goal kick (which told me that he didn’t know that part of the law)…

I lowered my flag right away, thinking that I was not going to make a difference.

However, I thought what would have happened if the ball went in the goal… I would have raised my flag but what if the CR still declared a goal…

So my question is, what would be the right way to proceed in this scenario if you are the AR? Should you stay on the goal line trying to bring the CR’s attention? What if the CR does not agree with you, should the AR just lower the flag and concede the goal?

USSF answer (March 11, 2009):
If the referee declares such a play of the ball to be a goal, it is the assistant referee’s clear duty to give the referee the correct advice. If the referee refuses to take this advice, then the assistant referee has done his or her duty.…