PRO Play of the Week 23

Agree with @Sport Billy, being that humble and honest about a mistake is something we should all do.

I don't really buy into the line about having the flag in your left hand makes you "think" before raising it. Kind of like the line of "I keep my red card behind a velcro flap, so I have to think about it."

He just erred on the side of being too quick. It happens.

 

I totally agree with admitting when you make a mistake. But you can only play that card (however honest it is) so many times. At a certain point, the players/coaches start to think it wasn't a mistake so much as it was the fact that you are bad at your job. Honesty can help your credibility, but only to a point. Sometimes, even if you make a mistake, you need to sell the call as correct.

 

Fair point. I've talked about this before -- your mea culpa card can only be played a few times with success. You absolutely correct that it can start to backfire on you otherwise. But, the overall point is that we do make mistakes and, especially when a mistake is very obvious like this, it is much better to admit it. Otherwise you just appear to be stupid AND stubborn.

 

I liked it as a Play of the Week -- perhaps not as much that it is informative to the PRO refs (as that isn't a mistake that should happen there -- the AR knew he made the mistake as soon as it happened, but because I think it is a great piece for the rest of us -- I think this remains a very common error at lower levels.

Also interesting to me is the following sentence:

I think we often lean to defering the OS call to the AR -- a good reminder that when we are holding the whistle we should not totally abdicatewhere we have a chance to "save" the AR on the kind of mistake that is easy to make.

(I do think keeping the flag in the left hand has a slight advantage -- it's the same advantage as not having the whistle in your mouth -- you can start to make the call and realize you don't want to . . . like a checked swing in baseball. But I don't think it is a particulaly big advantage.)

 

But sometimes we cause more problems by not making the call, even though we know it is likely wrong. This may not be that situation -- I'll need to review the video again -- but if it is one of those situations where everyone stops playing, what do we do? If the CR can quickly communicate that the flag was in error, sometimes it can be recovered from, but you have a nasty situation when the defense stops playing and an easy goal is scored (I know, I know, play the whistle but this does happen).

 

I do not want to disagree with the overriding analysis of this play. However, I don't think that what PRO says happened is what really happened.

Bruin took 5 hard steps toward the ball after it was passed to him. On the 4th or 5th step, the AR raises his flag. (Look at the nearside defender and the CR for time reference.) Only at that point does Bruin pull up to let his teammate, Barnes--the original passer, collect the ball. Then, he goes into his I was never really chasing the ball, the AR raised his flag too early routine. Furthermore, it appears to me, that he continues playing --setting up for a return pass in the box--only to make the effects of the 'early' flag appear worse. As the announcers point out, the flag was up for a long time while Houston still attacked (as Bruin, and I suspect Barnes, knew).

Sure the AR makes a 'mistake'. But the only way for him to have avoided the mistake was to be cognizant of the player who made the original pass -- that is who ultimately runs onto the ball. In this particular set-up -- at the farthest side of the field, with several screening players, the non-obviousness of the passer's subsequent chase to collect his own pass 30 yards later, it would be almost a miracle if the AR calls this 'right'. Toledo, the CR, had the position to correct the AR's error as the play unfolded, because he had both Barnes and Bruin in his field of view. When he saw Barnes digging hard after his own pass, he could have shouted something like "No. This guy is onside!!" I am not expecting Toledo to do this, that would be an exceptional act. But I also think that for the AR not to flag this would be almost as exceptional.

My point is not to argue against 'wait and see'. My point is that while the AR made a mistake, it was one that is almost impossible not to make. Furthermore, the Houston players purposely magnified the magnitude of the mistake, in the case of Bruin, specifically to minimize their own error--being offside. (Which is just something that we refs just have to live with.)

 

I disagree that this is mistake that is "almost impossible to make." It is 100% avoided by not flagging until the player actually interferes with play. Alas, that is not quite the instruction we have, as we are permitted (and even encouraged) to flag before the actually interference occurs but only if there is no possibility of an onside teammate reaching the ball first. This is different from what most of us grew up with, which is what makes it hard. The lesson -- and why I think it is a great play of the week -- is that we need to wait longer before we flag and do a more complete review of all of the possibilities. (Indeed, I believe a very similar play was a play of the week last year or the year before.) The challenge for us, I think, is first to pull our instincts and sensibilities forward and take our time on these calls, and second that most players and coaches are still thinking in an older mindset and expect flags on plays that IFAB/USSF tell us not to flag.

(We used to be able to cover some of these mistakes by arguing the attacker was interfering with an opponent -- those days are gone, as IFAB narrowed down those definitions quite a bit.)

 

Agree with this post. I also noticed that as soon as the pass was made and the players saw the offside player take 3 or 4 good strides towards the ball, they let up on their pursuit. Far side of the pitch with at least 4 players between the AR and the player that came up to finally play his own ball. Not a complete lack of judgement to raise that flag.

 

You're almost "obligated" to blow the whistle if you're Toledo. At least one Dynamo player stops his run and some of the defenders are only trotting back.

I know you're told "play the whistle", but 99.99% of the time the whistle is blown when the flag is up, so the AR's action is impacting the play. There will be folks who disagree, but I think Toledo did the right thing in this case as he certainly knew his crew member screwed-up.

 

You mean, folks like PRO? I think the message that PRO is trying to get out is that we have to indoctrinate people to the idea that "play the whistle" really does mean play the whistle. But it certainly remains rare at the top levels that a flag gets waived down.

The only instruction I give to captains (I give none to teams) is that the flags are for me not them and they would be wise to tell their teammates not to stop just because they see a flag, as I may not stop play. It is perhaps more difficult at the professional level because the ARs are strong and the sense of teamwork evolved so that waved down flags are very rare -- making the decision by defenders to stop more rational than in your average youth game that may have odd flags from time to time.

 

Guys lets be honest. The AR made a mistake. It's hard to NOT raise that flag, but we all have to re-train our brain. At the pro level that, honestly, should have been a fairly easy call. That far away the players are all in his view and he should have seen, waited etc.

As for referee overruling, that's more touchy. The players react to the flag, actually don't know if they do or not since it's behind their backs. But we've all had that AR who jumps the gun and raises the flag early and the players react. It's now a no-win situation for the referee:

- do the "right thing" and wave him down, defense feels ripped off
- do the "wrong thing" and leave it up, you take away a 100% legal play

 

I wish we had a clip that showed the precise timing of the offside flag. The PIOP takes several firm strides toward the ball, and then backs out and raises his hands to show he's not involved. What stimulated him to do that? His teammate? Or more likely he sees the flag go up but also his teammate charging forward so he backs off.

To be sure, wait. I get it. From the AR's perspective, I'm guessing that his view of the player who passed the ball to himself was impaired by the two defenders nearest him. I'm sure as soon as the attacker popped into view he regretted raising his flag.

 

The whole thing highlights the problem with this interpretation. By running towards the ball while in offside position with another attacking player just behind him he DOES interfere with an opponent as the defensive players cannot know he's offside so they have to commit to defending both. The argument that what this guy does is not interfering with play makes no sense to me. I call it that way but it gripes me every time. By waiting it just makes defenders have to run harder and then once the whole thing finishes by the offside player actually touching the ball then we flag...thanks a lot for making me run the whole way over there for no reason, ref.....

 

I would agree with you, but what you are suggesting happened is not what happened. No defender, IMO, paid any attention to the OSP attacker. I interpret "challenges" very liberally, as I feel this is the spirit of the Laws, and that most people take it too literally, but in this case I am keeping the flag down.

 

I wonder how long he had the flag up, what point he decided to put it back down, and if Toledo perhaps could of saw the flag back down, heard the AR over the mic, etc. to avoid blowing the whistle.

 

Well that is the current definition but not one I agree with that's my point.

So you'll let an offside striker collide into a keeper coming for the ball before you whistle?

I understand the interpretation and call it that way but in my heart it's not right - same as when a keeper is supposed to ignore an offside attacking player rather than change his position, I just find offside players DO influence defender behavior and hence play. Been debated a million times but I just don't buy it. Kinda like speed limits. I don't agree with them but I still follow them

 

No two plays are alike. When I see FIFA guys flag they know when they can raise the flag early and when to wait and see who gets it. It's gotta be something they have figured out for each play.