RULES FOR THE PREGAME CONFERENCE

September 15, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
Yes, I have been a ref since I was 16. I am 25 now. I have just started to get more serious about being an official. I know that having a good pregame speech is a good indicator of how seriously you take your job as an official. I would like to have a pre-packaged speech before a game to give to both my assistants & the coach/captains. What I am asking is for an example of what to say.?.?

USSF answer (September 15, 2008):
Whoa! The referee should NEVER — let us emphasize it — NEVER, give a speech of any sort to the coaches and captains of the teams whom he or she is refereeing. Doing so only invites later criticism and shouts of anger when the “promises” made in the speech are not kept — not unlike our general run of politicians, who rarely deliver what they promise. Giving a speech to the players and coaches is simply pouring fuel on a fire that might not be extinguishable.

Nor should the referee have a long and fully packaged pregame conference for every occasion. There are too many variables, such as the experience of the referee, the assistant referees, the fourth official (if you are so lucky as to have one), the experience and skill levels of the players, the importance of the game, and many other factors.

In general, the referee should be certain that the ARs are familiar with and ready to practice the information contained in the USSF publication “Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials.” Then the referee should give his/her fellow officials guidance on what is expected of them in field coverage and signals for various special situations.

Examples:
1. Make eye contact with me at every through ball and at every stoppage.
2. Flag only for infringements that I cannot see; do not flag if it is clear that I can see it and have chosen not to call it.
3. Keep your signals simple, using only the signals authorized in the Laws of the Game. If something unusual occurs, for example, (whatever it happens to be), let us agree on this unofficial signal (whatever it happens to be).
4, If I miss your flag, keep it up for only a short time and then drop it. Leave it up only for serious fouls and misconduct.
5. Keep an eye out for signals by the other AR (or the fourth official) and alert me if I am missing something.

Go into great detail only on things that are unique to the particular competition, which may have rules different from the Laws of the Game.

You also need to remember that the pregame is a CONFERENCE, not a speech. The days when the referee “lectured” the lowly subservient assistants on “the way things are going to be” are long gone — thank goodness. The pregame is a discussion among equals, of whom the referee is the designated leader, not the dictator. “Discussion” means that communication is two-way — the referee should be listening for important information from the appointed assistants, one or both of whom might know something the referee does not, may be more experienced, and may have officiated one or both of the teams before. The participants in this pregame conference need to agree on their respective roles and responsibilities. Only when there is not agreement does the referee decide what he wants for this specific game — remembering that the roles may be reversed in the next game.…

Law 14 - Penalty Kick

COMMUNICATE!!! WITH YOUR ASSISTANT REFEREES

September 2, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
Near the end of the first half, an attacker with the ball is clearly tackled from behind in the penalty area. However the referee is screened at that moment and thinks the attacker merely tripped, so there is no whistle. The AR, who has a good view of the play, pops his flag, but the ball is immediately booted upfield and the CR turns to follow the play and never sees the flag, which continues to be raised.

Seconds later, the CR blows the whistle for half-time. At that point he sees the AR with flag raised and consults with him. He accepts the AR’s view that there was a trip but says that because the whistle has been blown to end the half, there can be no penalty kick.

He does card the defender who tackled from behind however.

Is this ruling correct?

(Note: it might have helped if the second AR had mirrored the flag but unfortunately that did not happen.)

USSF answer (September 2, 2008):
Whenever the assistant referee signals for a foul and the signal is not seen immediately and play continues for several seconds, the restart, when taken, must be in accordance with the Laws (free kick, penalty kick, etc.). In this situation play had not stopped and been restarted since the flag was raised, so, when the referee acknowledges the flag and accepts the assistant referee’s information, the correct thing to do is to send off or caution (as appropriate to the act) the player involved and restart with the penalty kick.

In addition, the assistant referee should maintain a signal if a serious foul or misconduct is committed out of the referee’s sight or when a goal has been scored illegally. This and the original situation (above) should be covered by the referee during the pregame conference with the assistant referees.…

Law 6 - Other Officials

CARRYING AND DISPLAYING THE FLAG

July 14, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
When an AR begins to side step to stay close to the play and prepare for a potential offside call, what hand should the flag be in? The outside, left hand? Or the far side right hand? I ask because I was initially taught that the flag should be in the left hand, on the outside so that the referee can see it, but then I was watching the Euro 2008 semi-final between Russia and Spain and one of the ARs was holding the flag in his right hand when he would side step and then he would hold it in both hands in between his feet if he was anticipating an offside call was going to have to be made soon. Is it a personal preference thing? Do different countries teach different things?

Also, when flagging for offside and for a goal kick, should the flag always be in the right hand (far side, so as to open up your entire body to the referee’s sight) or the left hand? I thought right, but I heard from another referee it needs to be in the left and he said a state assessor told him so. I’m confused and hope to practice only the correct mechanics.

USSF answer (July 14, 2008):
This response is based on the referee and the ARs running a standard diagonal, based on a theoretical line from one goalkeeper’s righthand corner to other goalkeeper’s righthand corner. (In practice, of course, the referee covers more of the field than that — or certainly should!) The IFAB’s guidance, followed by UEFA, is based on that diagonal, and they instruct their referees to carry the flag in the left hand (the one nearer to the field and the referee and, if the restart is to be in the other direction, to the right, to switch the flag from the left hand to the right hand. The flag needs to be easily seen by the referee (referee/field side, carried straight down, not swung back and forth while running). Since 2007 IFAB guidance has been that the flag be raised in the right hand when the AR gives the signal for offside and goal kick. This has the advantage of providing the AR with a better view of what is going on between him/her and the referee.

USSF guidance is that the AR carry the flag in the hand nearer to the referee. When the signal is to be made the AR stops, lifts the flag in the hand that will show the direction (if that is necessary), and then shows the direction. (If the direction is opposite to that in which the AR has been running and the flag must be switched over, this must be done before the flag is raised.)

If the referee determines that, based on field conditions or the need for closer management of players, he/she and the ARs should run the lefthand diagonal, then the procedure would be reversed.…

"Inventive" Refs

DUTIES OF THE AR

July 9, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
a friend of mine is a State 1 from MA, and told me the following scenario that occurred to him in a recent match:

Ball is in attacking third for ‘keeper’s team, so AR is watching play, while maintaining position regarding senond-last defender. As the AR turns his head, he becomes aware of the attacking team’s ‘keeper standing in his own goal, with his back to the play, relieving himself.

When my friend relayed this to me, my initial thought was a caution for leaving w/out permission. However, the AR brought up the viable position of an ejection for Abusive Language and/or Gestures.

What do you think? For what it’s worth, he did not inform the referee of the situation at any time.

USSF answer (July 9, 2008):
A referee of any grade level should know better than to withhold information from the referee in charge of the match. While we appreciate the goalkeeper’s obvious wish to both irrigate and fertilize the grass in the goal, this is unsporting behavior — bringing the game into disrepute — and the goalkeeper must be cautioned and shown the yellow card.…

Law 6 - Other Officials

UNOFFICIAL SIGNALS

June 24, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
I know that extra signals are something that is frowned upon by the games under the aegis of the USSF. However, would it be appropriate in the pregame discussion as a assistant to let a center know that you are going to put your flag halfway up; that is running with it slightly raised as opposed to down at your side? The biggest trouble I am having with players or fans is when I am waiting to determine if the player in an offside position or the player who was not in an offside postion(at the time the ball was played to them by a teammate) will make the next play on the ball.

USSF answer (June 24, 2008):
We are not certain that this unofficial signal would do much to help you. Our fear is that it might confuse everyone, the busy referee, the players, and those wonderful spectators, by suggesting that the flag was about to be raised the entire way in the next instant. We recommend a wait-and-see posture instead.

The Federation does not necessarily frown on unofficial signals, but the USSF Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees provides a set of standard signals that should not be changed lightly — other signals may be used provided they meet certain criteria (spelled out in the Guide itself).…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

SHOULD THE TRAIL AR FLAG FOR SOMETHING ACROSS THE FIELD?

June 23, 2008June 23, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
I am the AR2 for a match which the CR is having assessment by an assessor. There is a situation which happens near the AR1, which the defender attempt to hit the attacker after a confrontation from the attacker. It was after the defender made a foul on the attacker.

The CR give a DFK for the attacker but he did not give Red Card for the defender who attempt to hit the attacker. It is very obvious that i think both the CR and the AR1 noticed that but CR did not give the card or AR2 did not remind the CR to give the card. It might be lack of knowledge of the law, or not courage enough.

As i am the AR2 on the other side of the field, i also do not have the courage to ask the referee over to remind him to give the card.

Can i ask him over to advise him on any decision which happens near the other AR?

If yes, can i ask him over if the attacker has already took the quick restart from that DFK, which is the ball is in play? Should i flag up? or should i just shout/call for him?

USSF answer (June 23, 2008):
Confining our answer strictly to the United States, we can say with confidence that the trail AR is much too far away from the location of whatever went on to attempt to intervene with advice on what the referee should do, particularly in view of the likelihood that the referee and/or the lead AR saw what happened. If the trail AR feels that a mistake in judgment or courage was made, he could discuss it at the midgame break or at the end of the match . . . or listen in as the assessor discusses it. The ultimate solution for the trail AR is to decide not to work with either of the other two officials again if he felt strongly about the matter.…

Law 5 - Referee

IMPORTANCE OF THE PREGAME CONFERENCE; INSISTING AR

May 8, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
I was refereeing a U17 girls game. It seemed like every time a ball was played in to the half of one of my assistant referees, she raised her flag signaling offside. The team complained to me with about 5 minutes left in the half about the calls of this AR saying that she was signaling offside for people that were not interfering with play but were in an offside position. I explained to them that the AR was in the best position to make the call but that I would monitor it. I had waived one offside call off as well as an illegal throw-in signal that was given by this AR. With play going the opposite direction in the second half, I noted that only a quarter of the offside calls were being made by the AR compared to what the first AR was making.

How should a referee handle the situation where there is some doubt in the calls that the AR is making? If the AR is continually waived off, they could shut down and not call anything. There seems to be a fine balance in maintaining the cohesiveness of the referee team.

USSF answer (May 8, 2008):
You don’t tell us what your instructions to the assistant referees were before the game, so we cannot be certain whether or not this AR knew what was expected of her. As leader of the officiating team, the referee must establish during the pregame conference how the team will work and cooperate. If this is not done, then we can expect nothing but problems as the ARs fill the gap in the instructions by inventing their own. Did you attempt to make any adjustments during the halftime break? One way might have been to suggest to the AR that she should remember the requirements of the various Laws, such as active involvement for offside or position of the feet in Law 15 and not be overly picky.

Finally, you need to remember that part of what you said about offside is not quite correct: Although the AR is in the best position (usually) to judge offside POSITION, it is the referee who must make the final decision regarding offside INVOLVEMENT and this decision falls more heavily on the referee’s shoulders the farther away the play is from the AR.

If all else fails, then the final paragraph of Law 6 gives you all the information you need for such cases:
“In the event of undue interference or improper conduct, the referee will relieve an assistant referee of his duties and make a report to the appropriate authorities.”…

Assignments

NO ARs AT A TOURNAMENT

May 7, 2008May 7, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
I attended a tournament this past weekend for my U11 Boys team. After arriving at the fields I noticed that none of the younger teams, U11 included, were being officiated by the required 3 referees. So before the start of my game, I asked the tournament Administrators if we could have 3 refs for our games. They stated that it was their tournament and there-for their rules, they didn’t have to provide AR for a U11 game. I said that I thought that was illegal and that I thought they had to follow sanctioned rules. They simply restated “It’s our tournament, our rules.” What are my rights as a team manager for our team? What is the rule about the number of referees required for tournaments?And is there a difference with the age of the players? What should I do before going to my next tournament to insure this does not happen again?

USSF answer (May 7, 2008):
Unfortunately, we must give you the same response we give to referees who question the crazy rules used in some tournaments. If as a referee you accept the assignment to the tournament, you must follow the rules of that competition. The same is true for teams: If you enter the tournament and play, you must accept and follow the rules of that competition.

There are other methods that can be used. These are spelled out in the USSF Referee Administrative Handbook, available to all referees. It explains what options are available if there is not a full three-man crew. The diagonal system of control must still be used, but the Handbook provides various alternatives for absent, missing, or even unassigned crew members. (We have published this numerous times in the past. The full details may be found in the archives. Good luck!)

An alternative that is perfectly acceptable is for the the referee to ask each team for a club linesman, i. e., a person who will hold a flag, run up and down the line, and inform the referee when the ball is out of play. The club linesman may not show direction or indicate fouls or offside. In this alternative system, that is the job of the referee. Someone might even suggest to the tournament committee that they make this system part of the process for each team in the affected age groups.…

Law 6 - Other Officials

SIGNIFICANCE OF RED AND YELLOW FLAGS

May 6, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
When red and yellow linesmen’s flags were in common use, did one or the other color signify the senior linesman?

USSF answer (May 6, 2008):
Only if the referee said so. Some referees used the red flag for the senior linesman and the yellow for the junior. Some competitions established that as a rule, but it has never been in the Laws as a requirement. The reason for it was simply alphabetical: R comes before Y, ergo R is senior to Y.…

Law 5 - Referee

WHAT’S THE CORRECT RESTART AND PUNISHMENT?

April 7, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
The ball is out of play over the touch line, but barely.

As AR I raise my flag, but the referee does not see it. A couple of seconds later the referee whistles a foul and issues a caution for unsporting behavior. My flag is still up. Before the restart he sees the flag and elects to restart play with the throw-in.

Should the caution be rescinded, since technically the ball was out of play and the foul and caution “never occurred”?

(Actually, the referee never saw my flag and restarted with the free kick. But I got to thinking about the above possibility.)

USSF answer (April 7, 2008):
The referee’s decision to restart with the throw-in was (or would have been) correct. When the referee decides to go with the AR’s flag for a throw-in, then the “foul” and misconduct become simply misconduct, which can still be punished with a caution for unsporting behavior. The decision to go with the throw-in does not void punishment for the cautionable offense.…