In a U-12 girls game, Team A was pretty well organized, while Team B was fairly irratic in their playing style. During a throw-in for team A, the girl took about four running steps up the touch-line from the point of the throw, and released the ball well after I had blown the whistle to direct her to take the throw from the proper spot (could be USB, but U-12 girls rec.....?). I tell you that, to tell you this: A few minutes later, Team B earns a corner kick. The kicker mis-kicks the ball and it rolls about three feet. The same kicker runs up and kicks again, and I blow the whistle for a second touch. The coach yells, "What about a do-over!?" I said, "there are no do-overs in soccer." To which he replied, "you gave the other team a do-over on the throw in".
My favorite from this weekend's Crossfire Tournament: BU16: Keeper clears a ball with a punt to just past center line. Two players go up for it--well, one goes up for it; the other shoves the first player in the back. Whistle blows. The second player turns to me and says: "How can that be a foul? You can't foul someone on a header!"
In the more senior games, the junior AR will take the bench side during the first half (as less likely to get many subs) and the senior AR takes the bench half in the second. It also keeps the AR's with the same defences, so they get to know and expect the plays more easily. In this year's USA Cup, not only did I have the centre ref (a fellow Brit) do this, but also changed the diagonal for the second half, as he wanted to watch the play from another angle! I wasn't happy, particularly as I had even more of the sun in my eyes that the first half! Plus it went to extra time!!! Also a quote from the USA Cup 2003. Coach: "Hey ref, you're a comedian"! Ref: "No I'm not; I'm a magician. If I hear any more comments like that I have a little red card in my pocket that can make you disappear!" Everyone laughed except the coach.
Good chuckles, but then there's the referee this past weekend: Player A got tangled up with some other players and ended up on the ground. As he was getting up he punched Player B (who had not been involved in the pileup in any way) in the back. Player B spun around and faced Player A but did nothing else. The Referee races into the middle of all this and shows the red caqrd to Player A. He then turns and shows it to Player B. When asked after the game why he had sent off Player B, he said that it was clear to him that Played B "intended to retaliate" for being punched, and even if he hadn't actually done so, or even made a fist, the referee "knew what was about to happen" because Player B "spun around in an offensive manner", and thus, he explained, his "retaliation rose to the level which requires a red card" Don't get too smug about the dumb stuff coaches and parents say: Idiots like this, who deserve to be dragged out back and shot, make it ring a little hollow.
Working a U13 District match solo ... Spectator: "Hey, ref. There's a lot of pushing and shoving going on over here." Ref: "Well, you parents should be better behaved." The parents had a good laugh and I continued to keep a very close eye on the two players who were marking each other tightly, 50 yards away from the ball.
Huh I had always though the reason you didn't switch the ARs was so that each team got exactly the same treatment- that is they each dealt with one AR for a half- if you have one unexperienced AR and you switch him around to stay with a team you basically subject only one team to the higher potential of mistake. Not saying either way is right, but I'd never even heard of switching ARs before
HH, You are correct. The AR's should ALWAYS stay on the same half of the field. If you need for instance a more advanced AR to control the benches, you have them change sides of the field and run an opposite diagonal.
Sometimes we don't know... Being a ref and a player, I was flabbergasted when this situation occured... Defender clears a ball that is approching the goal line. I was standing very close to the play and could tell the ball had not crossed the line. AR raises his flag and signals a corner kick. I express my dismay and the AR responds, "Well, his foot and hips were out of bounds, therefore it is physicaly impossible for the ball to be in play." I thought back to all the tiems I have seen a players entire body out of bounds while the ball remained in play. And to top it all off, this guy is a pretty good official and I work with him a lot. I just shrugged my shoulders and went to the far post....
The AR switch is not uncommon with club lines. Maybe some British park refs switch neutrals out of habit (3 refs are rare at park level), but I think that's it.
Re: Sometimes we don't know... Why did you act on the flag knowing it was wrong? What was the reaction of the players? If they knew it was bad a drop along with a "he (AR) lost sight of the ball" could have been better, but if they went with it, of course it's best to just go through with it. I'm curious as to if this was a law error or if he really did lose the ball and guessed on other evidence.
Re: Sometimes we don't know... I was a player in this game, should have made that more clear. But what you mention is exactly what bothered me. Had the AR said, "I couldn't see the ball, I was guessing", regardless of whether that is the right thing to do, I would have accepted that. But to go into an explanation involving the body position of a player just seemed really wrong and completely irrelevant to whether the ball traveled over the line or not. And coming form someone I look up to as a ref/mentor, it was slightly bewildering.
"HeadHunter": At the level I officiate at, there are no inexperienced AR's. "Gosellit": Sorry, but YOU are wrong. It isn't ALWAYS that they stay at the same half. At lower level yes, it evens it up for both teams, but not further up the ladder. With the advent of the 4th official at professional/international level, that can take the responsibility of "running the bench", etc. but you will still find it happening. Look on TV the next time you see a major European game.
Any examples for us? I know it's offseason for Europe, but maybe you know the name of a ref that does it? A link to the match video (free/legal, of course) would be helpful if it ever shows both ARs.
Fair enough- I guess I was responding to the general chain of posts on the issue as well where experience had been brought up as a reason to make this switch. Even still, though its less likely to be an issue I think my point about wanting to expose both players to identical conditions is why you wouldn't switch your ARs. Teams switch halfs in order to insure that each team gets as close to an identical set of conditions each half as possible and I would count the ARs with a field condition. On the other hand I do see the advantage in avoiding those first few minutes of fighting dyslexia which I seem to have a serious problem with. (It's probably the mechanical issue that bothers me the most) Do any US refs out here follow this practice?
Standard answer is you'd probably get shot, but my CR did do it once. We were short and the 3rd was a club line. The game was uneven and 95% of the action was in my end in the first half. At half time he thought I'd be more useful staying with those attackers. It's technically not wrong, so in a case like that it could happen, but I don't think USSF would take kindly if it wasn't an extreme case.
Best way I found to fight dislexia is to start saying (mentally) red/blue, red/blue as you switch the flag from left to right hand before the start of half.
If you can take in this Sunday's "Community Shield" game between Arsenal and Chelsea being played at the Millenium Stadium, Cardiff at 3.00pm GMT you should see it then. I'll be there! It's being shown in the USA. As for naming refs that do it? Just about every senior referee in England.!
JL, I can only speak from what I am told by USSF. In the states, if you have your AR's switch halves, you better have a REAL good reason to do so. It is a very rare exception. That is why said ALWAYS. Probably shouldn't have used that term. Maybe almost always would have been more appropriate. That's all.
I had the exact same thing said to me last season in a BU14 match. Apparently, "the league made that rule before the start of the season".
A player who plays the ball with their hand while lying on the ground at midfield shall be sent off. A player is fouled and the ref blows the whistle. If the player is able to stay on his feet and score on the four remaining defenders who just stopped for the whistle, then one of those defenders must be sent off.
Players cannot be offside on the farside of the field - according to a parent I had behind me today. Guess FIFA made a new law and didn't tell us referees about it.