I was thinking of the gotcha refereeing thread this afternoon after a U11 A level mens game went awry. I was the SAR and late in the game the goalie for the local team in this tournament makes a save on the far side of the filed from me. He brings it out to punt it and in doing so he just crosses the top of the 18. The JAR raises his flag for the technical infringement of the law. This was a tight game with one of the top U11 teams in out state. They were winning 1-0 at the time. So, of course everyone goes nuts. I just have to shake my head and say gotcah i guess. It was the first time the kid had come across the whole game. There were no "watch your line" given to him. Anyway, the other team converted the set piece and the game ended in a tie. So, there it is gotcha referreing is alive and well. We just barely made it out of there alive after the game.
Well hopefully you explained the situation to the JAR so he/she doesn't make the same mistake again (he/she probably thought they were just doing their job). Also, in theory, the center could have waived down the flag and decided not to call it, especially after discussing it with the AR. This is the big problem with gaining experience, you have to actually experience these situations before knowing what to do in future similar situations.