You make a really good point. Just another way it's useful to consider HS soccer from first principles, rather than translating from USSF.
Home team coach was running up and down the touchline (while within his own bench area) acting like a lunatic screaming out for an explanation, very likely gamesmanship in order to properly set up the wall in the box, but it could have been lack of knowledge of the rules (dunno, don't care)...so that means that he started the entire episode and if I carded anyone it would have likely have been him. Away team coach response exacerbated it with his negative statement, but deep down I also wanted the home team coach to stop with the nonsense as well. Hence no cards and a threat to go straight red should they want to re-engage with each other.
A 40-something (at the time) soccer mom who became a referee was doing a women's league game at a multifield complex. The players asked her to stop the game because the women's game on the next field had broken out into a fight, and her players wanted to watch. She obliged them.
Yeah that happens at some of these crappy coed adult recreational tournaments I do a few times a year. Usually at least a few games have mass confrontations because a male player bumped into a female player too hard, mass confrontation starts and everyone around stops to watch what’s going on.
Easy to say from the comfort of my easy chair, but as described, I would have cautions for both coaches. I’m never not cautioning for “running up and down the touchline (while within his own bench area) acting like a lunatic screaming out.” Far better IMHO to caution both than make a threat to go straight red for what might be conduct only warranting a caution in the future. The whole point of a caution is the threat of a send off.
The additional information did not change my mind. If anything, it makes everyone look even worse for not doing anything. At least one coach needed to be shown a caution, otherwise the sportsman statement we're reading to both players and coaches is meaningless and makes the job of your colleagues harder when they inherit them the next time.
oh and by the way, on the way to the parking lot one idiot fan stopped to ask my partner about the deliberate passback decision to the GK and also wanted to know what I said to the coaches...I said sorry Charlie, not engaging with you today.
Red gets fouled in their own end, about 15 yards from midfield. Red is trying to stay on their feet and stumbles forward with ball. Turns it over around the center stripe. Center blows for the foul. All good ... until Red hops up, sets the ball on the ground with their hand, and plays it forward from where he ended up. We're 15-20 yards away from where the restart should have happened. I am AR on the Blue side. Blue coach is pissed and getting louder and louder as the ball advances towards his goal. Thankfully the ball goes out for a goal kick and we move on. At halftime Center admitted they messed up on the restart location. If a goal had been scored, there's no way to pull it back ... correct? If Center had blown the whistle right away and moved the restart to the correct spot fine, but once there's been several touches forward you're stuck (Law 5.2 seems pretty clear on this point). Right?
5.2 says the referee can't change a decision after a restart, which is distinct from when the associated signal/whistle occurs. The more time between decision and signal, the harder the sell and the greater the outrage.
I don't believe that's the case (per the letter of the Laws) if the referee determines the game was not properly restarted (due to the non-trifling incorrect spot from where the kick was taken). My understanding is that Law 5.2 is about changing one's mind about the restart (which team and how) after the game has been properly restarted per the referee's signal for that restart.... (eg. If we signal TI for home and home performs a proper TI, there's no going back if AR subsequently tells CR that direction was wrong.) Speaking strictly from an academic perspective... at the next stoppage, i suppose one could conference with their AR, determine the players performed an improper restart (eg. wrong spot, ball was rollng at time of FK, etc.), cancel the goal and restart from the proper restart spot... Preferably, CR or AR would stopped play as soon as it happened if it was bad enough to warrant a retake. This would be akin to ball crossing touchline and CR not seeing AR's flag and having play continue for some time - have to go back to ball out of play and properly restart unless there was a subsequent restart (then it's too late). If the AR was waving their flag for the non-trifling restart spot error, but the CR didn't see the signal, the goal pull-back And re-restart might sorta be possibly sellable... However, if there was no AR signal and the referee didn't register the restart location problem at the time of the FK (obviously didn't), I'd say credibility could/will nose-dive if it's pulled back after so much play and a goal... Depending on the match, might be best to just eat that one and say, "We missed it".
Thanks to you both for the comments. As AR I pointed and said "Hey" right when the restart happened, then dropped it as play continued. I suppose I could have stood my ground (like MJ91 said, if the ball had gone out of play I would have kept yelling until play stopped). Would have a been a tough sell to pull it back if a goal had been scored. Too much time elapsed between the incorrect spot / restart and the hypothetical goal. But Blue Coach would have lost his mind. I was relived when Red missed their shot. Soccer gods were on our side there.
I requested off from two games this week due to a pulled calf muscle. The assignors didn't respond, so I wound up doing the games hobbling around. Running wasn't a good idea, but I found I could sidestep ok.
This came late last night from a kid set to do 8:30/9:45 rec games today: Hey I know this is really late but I went to check my game times and I realized I am taking the sat during these games I am so sorry I didn’t cancel sooner Timestamp was 11:46pm, I trust he was up studying and not being frivolous
Not good AR story: This also happened to me a few months ago, happened today, different AR. Both experienced, likely been around longer than I have, which is 13 years now. I never paid attention to referee crew mechanics, so maybe this is some holdover? I swear, both of these guys didn’t start the game doing this, it morphed into this at some point. Both were hot days, I’m also wondering if it was heat getting to them. On what appeared to be easily called goals, nothing that wasn’t obvious to everyone there, they would run at least 10 yards towards the corner on goals. Straight turn their bodies and run all the way to the corner (back to me), then turn around and run a few yards up. On both days, on the 2nd time they both did it, I jogged over and asked what they were doing. Were they not good goals? They both were adamant that this was the AR mechanic. I politely said no it’s not, that they’re confusing me, and they both ignored me and kept doing it. Guess I’ll have to add the mechanic to not run to corner to my pregame
Page 194 LOTG 25/26, “When a goal is scored and there is no doubt about the decision, the referee and the assistant referee must make eye contact and the assistant referee must then move quickly 25-30 meters along the touchline towards the halfway line without raising the flag.” Nothing about running back towards the goal.
My fitness isn't good enough for this, but theoretically the AR should be moving toward the corner flag BEFORE a goal is scored because if the ball is near the goal line, that's where the offside line is. High level ARs are taught to always sprint toward the flag on any ball moving toward the goal line.
While the ball is in play, of course! That’s one of my notes in my pregame. But to be on the 18 when the ball enters the net (either because they’re behind fast moving play, or lazy), then make a full 10-28 yard to corner seems ridiculous, and like Kit shows, not in the current law guidance. Was it before?
No. It's always been run towards half. As noted above, they should be moving toward the goal while the ball is in play, but once it's in the goal... if it's good...
Well, today I got to be an AR on a U19B NPL match with a CR who I knew from the start doesn’t have the personality or temperament to handle a game at this level. As the last 10 minutes came, I knew there would be a mass confrontation. I tried everything I could, even repeatedly coming onto the field to try to manage players behavior because the CR was incapable of doing it, or recognizing a match about to pop off. No recognition, no sense of urgency, nothing. It popped off and it was completely his fault.
One of my pet peeves is seeing ARs hold their hand out signaling "no offside" while keeping the run. I always tell me, you need to not do that. You know how I know it's onside? Because you're not standing still.
when we don’t have comms or VAR, i love the use of the hand or flag signal. One look over lets me know we’re good for the moment, now i can concentrate on fouls
Yes... but... that's the whole point.. you can do that without needing that hand because they keep... running....
Except that we’ve also taught/confused ARs that where you spot the initial offside positioning is not necessarily where you raise the flag, which is created a whole world where ARs see an outside position, run 20 yards, and then put up their flag, annoying everybody. I don’t ask ARs to make the signal, but I certainly don’t complain if they do, because I now know for certain they are not going to raise their flag later in the play.