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Charlotte/Area 7 includes the following counties: Mecklenburg, Iredell, Cabarrus, Rowan, Stanly, Union, Gaston, Cleveland and Lincoln. If you are a certified USSF Referee and live in one of those counties I am available to assist you. Contact me at gdunk@bellsouth.net. -- Gary Information about all the North Carolina Soccer Referee Association staff can be found at www.ncsra.org. 2011 MARCH Misconduct Before or After the Match
One of our top, experienced referees wrote to me: George, can you help me with an incident? A player had received a yellow during the game. During the handshakes the same player did something stupid so the referee decides to step in and give [that player] another yellow, and since [that player] already had a yellow, then showed the red card. My questions are: · When do referees duties cease for the game? Did the referee have the right to do this? · If so, what is the penalty for the player now? How many games should [the player] miss?
For two reasons I publish this on our website. First, the question came from (as I mentioned) a top referee. It is likely others may not know. Second, Advice to Referees discusses the matter at length.
Let me begin with our colleague’s second question. What is the penalty for the player, and how many games will the player miss? The short answer is – that is not up to us; nor should it be a consideration when making determinations about player misconduct or misbehavior in the technical area. Our responsibilities include taking appropriate action to sanction players and others who willfully bring the game into disrepute by acting in ways that violate the Laws and are contrary to the spirit of the game – sporting behavior (formerly known as “gentlemanly conduct”, which communicates well the intentions), fair play; and respect for the game, fellow athletes, officials and spectators.
Advice to Referees 5.2 states that the “referee’s authority begins upon arrival at the area of the field of play and continues until he or she has left the area of the field after the game has been completed.” 5.17, 5.18 and 5.19 address the procedure to follow to sanction players who are guilty of misconduct and others guilty of misbehavior. The discussion is too detailed to copy-in-full here. Please read the pages yourself before your next match.
Three points merit special attention. 1.) Any such sanction must conform to the 7+7 Memorandum. 2.) The yellow or red card must be displayed on the field of play. Therefore, if an incident were to occur “after the field of play has been cleared” (i.e. the action occurs someplace other than the field of play, and the referee crew is still present and observes the incident) no card is shown. However, the incident is reported with full detail in the match report. 3.) Referees should not enter “the area of the field of play” unless and until they are fully dressed, including tucked-in jersey with badge, socks pulled up and shoes tied. It logically follows, therefore, that referees should not tarry unnecessarily in the area once the match has reached its conclusion. Personal, social conversations at the field are not appropriate between referees and teams or spectators. Discussion of incidents from the game should be avoided if possible but, if unavoidable, be as brief and succinct as possible.
Thank you all for trusting me with your questions and concerns. In doing so we all benefit.
2011 February SPECTATORS & REFEREES
Spectators make me laugh! They also provide an interesting perspective on the progress and accomplishments of our referees. Recently I had the privilege of observing several of our referees work youth matches. Much of the time I stood with the spectators. These and other comments gave me a laugh:
How refreshing to have spectators, inadvertently and unintentionally, confirm correct referee mechanics! There is one spectator, however, who provides no comic relief. Can you figure out who I mean?
Who is the un-funny spectator in this instance? Correct! The referee. Always, always, always pursue the ball into the penalty area (referee and lead AR). Never assume that the goal keeper will field the ball cleanly, even though unchallenged by any opponents who are still several yards out. Admittedly 999 times out of 1,000 the GK collects the ball without incident. But . . . there is that one time in a thousand. And who’s to say it is not today, on your field?
Be in good position to see the call.
Be in good position to sell the call.
Be in good position and make the call.
2010 October: AR Involvement
(NB: please understand for the sake of prose and ease for you, the reader, the masculine gender has been employed. No disrespect to our esteemed female colleagues is intended.)
The role of the assistant referee is “to assist – not insist.”
For Law 12 violations the Laws of the Game, Advice to Referees and Guide to Procedures offer the following instruction:
An AR on his touchline is 30-40 yards from the center of the field. A competent Referee is 10-20 yards from play. The Referee has the flexibility to move and improve his angle of view. The AR does not. Therefore, before flagging and injecting himself into an incident a good AR will look for the Referee’s eyes. If the Referee is in the standard position relative to the area of active play the AR should defer to the Referee and allow him to make the call, or “no call.” The questions are NOT:
The questions are: · Was the Referee in position to see the incident? · Was my view as AR so much better as to justify signaling for a stoppage of play?
The Referee must cover the issues of shared responsibility in a thorough pre-game conference. Furthermore, the AR must not use his sense of how he would manage the match, were he in the middle; but must observe and adjust to how the referee is, in fact, managing the match. How physical is the Referee allowing play? How long (1 sec, 2 sec, 3, sec) is the Referee allowing for the possibility of Advantage? Referee’s rapport with the players – are the players accepting his judgment, or is there constant complaining from multiple players on both teams?
In no case should the AR forget, and fail to observe Law 5, IBD 8. Law 5 IBD 8 warns against stopping play for “trifling or doubtful breaches of the Laws.” AR’s must adjust their personal opinions to match the standard established in the match by the Referee. One last consideration is the relative years of experience and attained Referee grades of the crew. When running the line for a State or National Referee (USSF Grade 06/05 or 04/03, respectively) a Grade 08 AR is 99% freed to concentrate on the offside and touch line/goal line calls. When the roles are reversed, the Grade 08 would be wise to welcome the input of a State/National badge on recognizing fouls and misconduct (Law 12 violations). A thorough pre-game conference is necessary and helpful before every soccer game.
In conclusion, the final responsibility for a soccer match – for better and for worse – belongs to the Referee. It is his game. He bears the weight of his calls, and of his no-calls. AR’s may personally disagree with some of his decisions, but that is a burden we bear in support of the referee.
2010 September "Run, Forrest, run!" Do you recall the line from Forrest Gump, the movie? Forrest ran because he had to -- it was his destiny and his identity. Your ARA appeals to everyone of us who wears the badge . . . Run, referee, run!
Observations from three matches recently observed. Match One: Referee ran for the entire match, but at a pace and intensity that did not match the pace and intensity of the players. Result: several incidents that tied that referee's hands -- too far from the incident when it happened to manage it well, and a resulting poor angle of view leaving the referee doubtful as to what actually happened.
Match Two: Referee ran continuously at a pace that matched or exceeded that of the players. Result: players accepted referee's decisions about fouls and misconduct simply because the referee was in position to "sell" his/her judgment of the matter. Personally, I felt the referee could have justifiably issued two cautions. But that reinforces the point -- the players accepted the decisions because the referee made a good impression of match control by his/her personal effort.
Match Three: Referee, very fit, walked almost continuously and seldom ventured more than 15 yards either side of the center circle. The referee's calls were correct (!!!), including sanctioning players for misconduct. However, there was a steady line of complaining from the players, especially in the second half. Then, in the game's final minutes, a near-fight occurred. The "third man in" (mandatory send-off!) was missed and not sanctioned. That player was missed because the referee was too far away to quickly manage the incident. The third man in and the referee arrived at virtually the same moment. My contention is that the players' frustrations were amplified by the impression that the referee (although accurate, in my opinion, in his foul recognition) was "dogging it."
We simply MUST run to the level of our fitness. To maintain our integrity as referees we should turn back matches that exceed our fitness. Some can run for 90 minutes, some only 60 minutes; some . . .??? In the three incidents described the referee in Match Two is the least fit of the three (which is not to say he/she is unfit; just least fit among the three). Yet, Referee #2 wins the Forrest Gump Blue Ribbon, including a silver chalice full of shrimp. Referees run -- it is our destiny and identity.
ARCHIVE 2009: Area 7 Referees:
Have you ever had this experience? You've made your decision about a particular incident in a match, and a player runs up to you and informs you he, too, is a "certified referee." He just wants to let you know (A.) your last decision was WRONG!!!!, and (B.) what you should have done. Isn't that helpful? Don't you appreciate it so much?
This email is an appeal to us all to segregate our roles when involved in a soccer match. When you have on the referee uniform, don't coach. When you have on a player's or coach's uniform, don't referee.
Two issues here:
1.) I was recently on a crew for a U-11 girl's match. For AR2 (as he told us before the match) it was his FIRST match as a ref; having earned his certification in August. As you might suspect, he lacked some refinement. So we worked with him at halftime and were planning to offer more instruction at the end of the match. Regrettably someone else approached him at the end of the match. That someone was wearing the formal coaching uniform of one of the Clubs involved in the match. He identified himself, "I am also a referee," and proceeded to offer his opinion about the rookie's mistakes and shortcomings. Undoubtedly the coach was well-meaning. However, it was inappropriate for him to step out of his coaching role (unless he was also prepared to step out of his coach's clothing!) and into a referee-mentor role -- even if he meant well. That gentleman also foreclosed my opportunity to further instruct the rookie ref when it would have been most helpful -- immediately following the match. Instead I had to use the time to apologize for the behavior of the coach; and to rebuild the rookie ref's confidence. He had just been lectured by a man dressed as a team coach on the basic points of refereeing!
2.) From the coaches perspective, they also are not appreciative of referees who inappropriately interject "coaching language" into the active play. What do you think the modern, career-professional coach has worked on all week regarding the attacking/defending third? Do you think he has drilled into his players "Take it easy"; "Keep your hands down" and similar admonitions? Probably not. So why do we referees think such interjections are helpful? If the player is listening to us we are distracting him/her from play. If the player is not listening to us, why are we talking?
The point is this -- coaches want us to referee, and not distract the players with "coaching language." If the player commits a foul blow your whistle. If the player is not fouling, why does the referee need to say anything? Appropriate words for the referee during active play are "Play on!" when applying Advantage; and "Nothing there; keep playing" etc. when contact is trifling or doubtful. If you do feel it necessary to speak to a player who is borderline fouling, run alongside him/her during the transition/counter-attack and give a quiet, private word.
The inappropriate nature of the interjections are only underscored when the same referee is also missing, and therefore failing to punish, real fouls and absolute misconduct! As an assessor the most glaring shortcomings I see are referees who miss the serious fouls and fail to punish misconduct, while being nitpickers about throw-ins, competitive contact and other issues that plainly fall into the "trifling and doubtful" categories.
LAST WORD -- Law 5, International Board Decision 8 reads (in part) "The Laws of the Game are intended to provide that games should be played with as little interference as possible. . . ." (See Advice to Referees 5.5). Referee, please refrain from interjecting yourself inappropriately in the match; whether that be by "constantly whistling for trifling or doubtful breaches" or by interjecting "coaching language" into active play.
We ask for the respect of the coaches for our role. Let's return the courtesy and leave the coaching to them.
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For information contact info@charlotteregionsoccer.org