Center refs and assistant refs

[superdave]

There's a thread at the referees forum asking which league has the best refs. Someone (me) noted that the BL's center refs are great, but the ARs are awful. They just blow not-even-close offside plays game after game after game. And some people agreed.

My question is this...is the issue of AR (in)competence on the agenda in the BL? Or is it a situation where people have been seeing crap offside calls for so long, they just accept it as normal?

[Richie]

I am not really an authority to answer this question as I am not an official.

However, I did officiate a lot of friendly games with no linesmen who can make any real calls including offside. Also in youth games in the CJSL if the official did not show up the games are not replayed at another date. You have to agree on someone to do the game.

I did a lot of those games because I could divorce myself from my team and my club at those times. You have linesmen, but they can only call of the ball is out and by which team. I could even over rule them on that if I saw it differently.

Mistakes on offside mostly happen on long passes.

The main reason why it happens as I see it. Is not where the receiver is after the pass is made, but where the receiver is as the pass is made.

Linesmen position near the farthest player up field. What they have to do is watch the dribbler, and or hear when the dribbler hits that pass. If the receiver is on side at the time when the pass is made it is not offside. No matter how far past the last defender the receiver is when he actually plays the ball.

He can be 15 yards past the last defender and be onside if he left as the long pass was made.

I think linesmen miss a lot of onside passes, and call them off side because they don't always see when the dribbler makes the pass.

Richie