Flag troubles ...

[pitz78]

Please tell me that this has happened to someone else ...

I was an AR last night for a girl's high school game (which can be unpredictable at points). Well ... a ball was played over the top, all attackers involved are on-sides, and a 2 on 0 occurs. I didn't expect the attacker with the ball to pass it to her teammate, however that's exactly what happened. On the pass however, her teammate is in front of the ball (thus making her offsides). I throw the flag up and it slips completely out of my hand. I literally "threw" up the flag ... I stood there with my arm in the air, which got the attention of the center ref, and the offsides got called. I then pick up my flag from the track and continued with the game. I thought it was rather funny, obviously the fans thought it was rather funny, but I was just looking to the masses to make sure I'm not the first AR to launch a flag (plus I thought you guys might get a laugh out of it too). Thanks ... and have a great day.
Pitz

[billf]

You are not the first to lose a flag while calling an offsidE. It's happened to me as well. I actually saw a friend of mine step on a flag while running at full speed down the line on a D3 Pro game. He tripped, got pretty dirty, and when he got up to continue his run, all he had was the flag handle in his hand. The flag was ripped off.

[Gary V]

Ehh, pitz, half the fans probably thought you were just a pointy-ball ref throwing the hankie. Then when you backed up 5 yards for the restart ...

I haven't had the unfortunate luck to drop my flag, but I have fallen after stepping in a hole on the sidelines - the same hole that was there last week that tripped me up.

[Red Star]

I had the flag come off the handle once. It did look like a helmet ball offical throwing a hankie. Everyone, (but me) found it amusing.

[jc508]

This has happened to me more than once. In the colder weather, flags with wooded handles seem to take flight more often. Now, I try to use flags with the foam rubber grips or handles to minimize the chance of soaring flags.

I tell new refs to expect to do this at least once, and they should not get upset when it happens. Just smile and have a quiet laugh with everyone else. It's better than splitting the seam of your pants.

A ref friend did a game where there was a cable for a utility pole about three feet from the touch line. When he snapped the flag up for a throw-in, he hit the wire and the flag shaft snapped in two. He finished the half using the remaining flag without too many noticing what happened.

Have fun on the pitch.

[Statesman]

I've tossed the flag a couple of times in the cold weather with slippery gloves, so you are certainly not alone. I've also had an AR step on the flag and have the velcro release as they carried on down the field unaware they had nothing more than a stick.

I believe the most unique flag-tossing I've done came from a ball soaring towards the touch line, straight at me. Seeing it would leave the field I backed off the line and allowed the ball to drop, proceeding to catch it on my foot (a little showing off, in fact). The ball had quite a backward spin however, and as it sat on my foot the ball just slightly nicked the tip of the flag. Generally carrying my flag with a rather lose grip for switching hands quickly, in this particular instance that nick was all it took to shoot the flag backwards out of my hand about 15 yards (indeed, 15 yards). My spectacular display of footy technique quickly turned into a humorous gaffe as the soccer gods once again reminded me that referees should refrain from behaving like players :)

[Chubbywubby]

I was an AR at a tournament game with one of our Nationals in the center. I threw the flag up (literally) for an offside call. What I thought was most impressive was that I reached up and caught it on its way back down before it hit the ground, so I ended up displaying the proper signal. :p The center blew the whistle, grinned and gave me two thumbs up, and there was scattered applause from the spectators behind me. :D

[Ref Flunkie]

I was at a Chicago Fire game and the AR's flag part flew off of his flag. It took him a good 2 minutes to notice that it was gone and that he was running with just a stick.

[nsa]

... I was just looking to the masses to make sure I'm not the first AR to launch a flag ...
Thanks for the smile. You're definitely not the first.

My favourite flag foul-up occured with with someone's orange-checkered Bundesliga flags. They are very heavy - built like a Mercedes-Benz. If you try to pop a quick flag you will rip your arm out of it's socket. On a corner kick from the far side the ball curved out and then back in. As I quickly raised the flag, the tip hit the corner flag and I lost my grip. The momentum carried the flag, handle first, straight up in the air.

Regardless of the flag I use, I now step inside the corner flag when a CK is taken from the far side. :)

[AndyMead]

I would just -sarcastically- like to thank those of you who feel the need to use pejoratives to refer to other popular American sports.

[tmaker]

I would just -sarcastically- like to thank those of you who feel the need to use pejoratives to refer to other popular American sports.

Oh, Andy, come on. There's a big difference between ragging on sports and ragging on sports fans, you know. And Gary's probably right, as much as I hate to admit it. The girls' game was probably right before the boys' football match, so it's not impossible.

[Grizzlierbear]

Please tell me that this has happened to someone else ... I thought it was rather funny, obviously the fans thought it was rather funny, but I was just looking to the masses to make sure I'm not the first AR to launch a flag (plus I thought you guys might get a laugh out of it too). Thanks ... and have a great day.
Pitz

Welcome to the club of flag throwers of nonanonamus. :o) You will be fortunate if it only happens once. On a four park pitch, fields fairly close together. Wet day hit a bad patch, lost balance flung my flag into the next field where the player dribbling the ball along the touchline caught the flag. All four teams had a good laugh at my expence. Referee stopped play on the other pitch and can you guess the restart?

[Ref Flunkie]

Welcome to the club of flag throwers of nonanonamus. :o) You will be fortunate if it only happens once. On a four park pitch, fields fairly close together. Wet day hit a bad patch, lost balance flung my flag into the next field where the player dribbling the ball along the touchline caught the flag. All four teams had a good laugh at my expence. Referee stopped play on the other pitch and can you guess the restart?

Thats pretty funny! Another thing that can happen is, when you go to raise the flag for offside, you end up stepping on the flag so your hand goes up without the flag. Then you look real stupid :).

[HoldenMan]

I've almost fallen flat on my face a few times from stepping on my flag.......one time i did that and pulled it right out of my hand in the middle of a fast break, had to signal offside just by sticking my arm in the air - got a rather strange look from the ref!

I've never actually thrown my flag though...

Once I was AR at an U/14 boy's match, ground was rather slippery. I stuck my flag up for a throw in (bit too low, was too close to horizontal) and the player that should've easily stopped in time, stepped in a muddy patch and skidded, face first, straight into the flag pole!



Grizz - drop ball! (unless the ref on that field decided to go with your offside signal, of course! :D )

[GKbenji]

Once I was AR at an U/14 boy's match, ground was rather slippery. I stuck my flag up for a throw in (bit too low, was too close to horizontal) and the player that should've easily stopped in time, stepped in a muddy patch and skidded, face first, straight into the flag pole!

A bit of drift, but I once watched a match on TV (EPL, I think) where the referee clocked a player in the face when signaling the direction for a foul! The ref didn't realize the player was right beside him, and when he stuck out his arm to point a direction he caught the player right in the chin.

And to add insult to injury :), the player needed medical attention and was required to leave the pitch temporarily.

[nsa]

And to add insult to injury, the player needed medical attention and was required to leave the pitch temporarily.
Hopefully I won't anger the great and powerful Oz, err, I mean, AndyMead, with this pointy-nose-ball anecdote. ;)

Several years ago a "gridiron" referee threw his flag for a penalty, striking a player in the eye. These flags are weighted. The player wound up being permanently disabled due to the injury to his eye and got some multi-million dollar settlement from the NFL. :(

[pitz78]

Thanks to everyone for their posts ... at least the offsides got called, I guess that's all that really matters.

[AtlasZorritoX4]

Yeah ive been in the situation where I was running full speed and I stept and triped over my flag..now i know that has happend to almost half of u ref's. But unfortantly thats not the worst that has happened to me:

I was keeping my eyes on the players when all of a sudden I see one of these guys throw an elbow on the other guys face, i wiggled my flag to tell the CR to give a card. They payed no attention to either me or the CR, so they were in each others face until one threw a punch, I made a big mistake by trying to seperate them...???can u guess wat happend???.....yup I GOT SOCKED right in the eye, I fell on the ground while the players kept playing...sure they got RED cards but i got a BLACK eye...LOL.

[Nashvillian]

This thread brings up an interesting rules question.

If an AR is on the line or actually on the field and the ball bounces off him, it's still in play because the AR is "part of the field." The same, I'm sure, would hold true if the ball struck the flag in the hand of the AR.

But what if the the flag (or part of the flag) flies into the field and somehow affects play? Still "part of the field" or should play be stopped because of the interference of an "outside agent" and restarted with a dropped ball?

[ManiacalClown]

A bit of drift, but I once watched a match on TV (EPL, I think) where the referee clocked a player in the face when signaling the direction for a foul! The ref didn't realize the player was right beside him, and when he stuck out his arm to point a direction he caught the player right in the chin.

And to add insult to injury :), the player needed medical attention and was required to leave the pitch temporarily.

I saw that match. I just don't remember the details.