Question:
I have a question about the AR duties. Are the ARs required to do all their duties listed under Law 6 or can the referee instruct them which duties they will do during their pregame conference. I was an AR in a game and the referee instructed us to only mark the offside rule and when the ball went out of bounce in our pregame conference or are we required to do all the duties listed in Law 6 no matter what the referee tells us in the pregame conference. Is this procedure legal. We did exactly what the referee told us to do in the pregame conference, but we had unhappy players and fans cause we wouldn’t signal any fouls that the referee might of not been able to see, so did we do right doing what the referee told us to do. I hope you can assist me on this matter for future situations like this one. Thanks.
Answer (July 27, 2007):
Unless the AR has shown he or she cannot do the job correctly, the referee cannot change or alter the duties assigned to the assistant referee by Law 6. However, as pointed out in the USSF publication “Guide to Procedures for Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials,” the referee should explain in the pregame conference among the game officials what mechanics he or she might wish the AR to use in particular situations.
