Question:
In the three man system, what is the lineman’s responsibility as far as fouls are concerned.

USSF answer (November 4, 2008):
1. Let the referee have the first shot at any foul or misconduct.
2. Flag nothing that the referee can clearly see (or see clearly, take your pick).
3. Flag only what needs to be called in accordance with the referee’s instructions in the pregame conference.
4. Flag only what the referee would stop play for if he or she had seen it.
5. Flag nothing that will get the referee in trouble.
6. Neither say nor give a hand signal for “advantage.”…

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.…

Question:
I have a question dealing with mechanics. I was an AR on a game today and there was a moment of confusion at the goal line. An attacker played the ball to a teammate who was about three yards away and was just barely in an offside position when the ball was played. As the ball was traveling to the attacker, it deflected off a defender and went out of bounds, passing less than a foot away from the attacker who made an attempt to play the ball. The referee was in a bad position to judge offside and obviously was not aware that an offside infringement had occurred. I put my flag straight up to indicate the offside, and after making eye contact lowered the flag horizontally to indicate the middle of the field is where the infraction occurred. However, the referee who had seen the ball touch the defender, signaled for a corner kick because he thought I had called a goal kick. I quickly beckoned him over and told him an offside had occurred prior to the ball going out of bounds. From there, we sorted out what and where the restart would be.Although we were able to figure our way through this, is there any procedure that could have made this situation less confusing and more efficient? If I may offer my own personal thought, it seems logical to me that when the AR signals for the ball out of play on the goal line and he or she needs to raise the flag, he or she should raise it in the hand closest to the goal line (often the right hand) and then proceed to indicate either a corner kick or goal kick. On the other hand, if an AR needs to indicate offside, he or she should raise the flag vertically in the hand closest to the half line (often the left) and then proceed to signal which part of the field the offense occurred in. However, as I said, this is just my own personal opinion on the matter since the Guide to Procedures never says anything about specific hands the flag should be in.

I realize that this type of situation is probably rare, and even the action of calling the referee over to sort things out is probably adequate to resolve any problems. Nevertheless, it just seems to me that there should be a more effective and efficient way to do this so that the crew can look even more professional.

Thanks for your time in this probably trivial question.

USSF answer (June 18, 2007):
This is an excellent question, as similar problems arise frequently because referees do not give thorough instructions and ARs do not ask enough questions in the pregame conference. The Federation teaches that the AR should never flag for any infringement where it is obvious that the referee can see what happened. If this particular procedure had been discussed in the pregame conference, as it should have been, then the referee would have known that something else had happened. As you describe your signal, the referee would have recognized that an offside occurred before the ball was deflected out of play by the defender. In point of fact, the referee should have known the AR was signaling an offside, because he raised the flag straight up first. If the AR had been signaling “just” a goal kick, the AR would have signaled this by pointing the flag straight out immediately — pointing it straight up and then, after eye contact, pointing toward the goal area for a goal kick would have been correct only if the ball had indeed left the field for a goal kick and then been played back onto the field.…