Soccer Referee-AMA
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Anonymous
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Well, a weekend of tournaments has brought the spring season underway, full of screaming coaches and parents, whining players, and yes...some terrible reffing as well.
New this season that you may notice, kickoffs don't have to go forward, and a foul that denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity is not automatically a red card. Been reffing for more than 20 years, have done everything from high level adult amateur to U8...happy to answer any ref/law questions you may have over the season. Also a soccer parent with 2 kids that play travel. Enjoy the season! |
SoccerRef
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| Sorry, forgot to log in before posting the original message. My screen name is SoccerRef. |
Anonymous
even in the box? |
SoccerRef
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Specifically in the box. Outside the box, a foul that denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO-F) is still an automatic red card. Inside the box, in order to avoid the dreaded triple punishment (penalty kick, red card, suspension), the folks on high decided that DOGSO-F will only be a PK and a yellow card. Unless... The offence is holding, pulling or pushing or The offending player does not attempt to play the ball or there is no possibility for the player making the challenge to play the ball or The offence is one which is punishable by a red card wherever it occurs on the field of play (e.g. serious foul play, violent conduct etc.) In those cases, it'll still be a RC. Confused? So are we...this change adds a subjective decision (was the defender attempting to play the ball?) to an already subjective decision (was it an obvious goal scoring opportunity). I guarantee you'll see little to no consistency on this call this season. |
Anonymous
| As a ref (not wearing your parent hat) are there certain clubs in which the parents have poor reputations for behavior? What about players? And coaches? |
SoccerRef
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Let me say this first...when my kids started playing, and I was a spectator for the first time, I couldn't believe how hard it was for me to avoid yelling at the ref. So I totally understand the urge. With that said, I've noticed a very loose correlation...parents from the top and the bottom divisions tend to be the loudest. The middle division parents seem to be a bit better. In general though, parents have gotten A LOT worse over the last decade or two. I haven't noticed any specific clubs with louder parents than any other though. As for coaches, I've had the worst experience with the SAC. So many shouters, both at the refs and their own players. The coaches for the bigger clubs around here tend to be OK for the most part. As for players, I tend to get more dissent from lower age groups than I get from older kids. Totally reversed from when I started. |
Anonymous
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Why do AR seem clueless and look to the Ref to make the decision on a call?
How much do you guys get training on what is and isn't offsides? |
Anonymous
Offside. There is no S. You're either on or off side. |
SoccerRef
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Don't know about the clueless part, but the duty of an AR is to assist the CR, who has the final say on everything. If they're looking to the CR to make the call, it's because they're not sure what the correct call is and are looking for some help. As to offside, we get a lot of training. Every year we have to go to a re-certification class, and offside is always discussed thoroughly. As you probably know, there is nothing wrong with being in an offside position. It's only a violation if the attacker in an offside position interferes with play, interferes with an opponent, or gets an advantage by being in an offside position. But there's lots of gray area in what that actually means, and FIFA/USSF tweak the interpretations pretty regularly, so beyond the basic "he's in an offside position and kicked the ball", it can get really difficult. |
Anonymous
| One thing I've wondered about: why do a few referees seem so hesitant to call fouls? Are they concerned about the potential reaction of spectators? Are they reluctant to have to run to the spot where the foul occurs (many of our refs seem to prefer to stand near the middle of the field)? Is it a pain in the neck to have to stop play and oversee the logistics of the free kick? I could understand that, but it's frustrating when fouls aren't called because young players, especially, begin to learn bad habits, such as jabbing opponents in the side with their elbows rather than making a proper slide tackle with their feet. I find that the defensive fundamentals aren't learned as quickly when the rules aren't enforced game after game. Thanks for your perspective. |
SoccerRef
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Let's face it, at the younger age groups you're simply going to get a lot of bad refs. Tends to be two categories...young kids just starting out as a ref, and older refs that take the least challenging games they can and still earn a paycheck. For the older, less mobile, center-circle refs as we call them, it's simply a matter of not being in a good position to make the call and missing things because of that...or they simply don't care, and want the game to end and pick up their check. For many young refs that are dealing with a game situation for the first time, or close to it, it's really hard to learn to be assertive with the whistle. You''ll see a lot of hesitant calls, a lot of whistles where you can't tell what they're calling, and a lot of people not calling much of anything because they're overthinking what's going on and by the time they realize they should have blown the whistle, the play has already moved on. And yes, add the pressure of screaming coaches and parents, and young refs can simply become paralyzed out there. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some really good refs doing U9 and the like...they're just in the vast minority. And as the kids get older, you should in theory start getting better refs...except there are so many games out there, and so few refs, that more and more refs are being assigned games that are beyond their skill level. New ref retention is tiny...one season of getting screamed at all game, and they never come back. The moral...be nice to young refs, and in the long run, the reffing will be better. |
Anonymous
do you think they are calling fouls in favelas and roughest barrios? the US has never produced defenders as good as argentina and brazil. it has nothing to do with how youth games are called or not called. on the other side, letting the rough stuff go really forces attackers to learn how to not get discouraged and not sulk after getting that first kicking from the fullback - especially nippy wide players. coaches DEFINITElY take note of who shirks the physical stuff and who doesn't. amking a proper slide tackle should be the last resort for a defender - a top defender doesn't need to leave his feet as he is already read the situation and is positioned appropriately along with the rest of the side in their proper supportive positions. |
Anonymous
| By your logic, referees aren't needed. I disagree; I think we should have officials out there to help the kids understand what the game is and what it isn't. Without that knowledge, I doubt that they can succeed at the higher levels. |
Anonymous
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Offensive Player #1 kicks the ball to score.
The goalie stops the ball but does not catch it, it bounces into play. Offensive Player #2 kicks the ball and scores. The ball was between the goalie/goal and Offensive Player #2. The referee calls off sides. How can he be off sides if the ball is between the Offensive Player #2 and the goalie/goal? |
Anonymous
| do you ever miss a call because you are checking out hot moms on the sidelines? |