Refereeing

By Barry March 27, 2008

I had been a soccer coach and was truly amazed at some officiating I observed. None of it was overly bad. It was just wrong. And I thought if I could do better, I should. So I took my first refereeing course. I immediately discovered it was much harder than it looked.

I kiddingly suggest that if I had known that refereeing was more about managing people than knowing rules that I would have never gotten into it in the first place. But I am kidding. And I am serious. Officiating entails learning the rules of your game and once one has mastered those, then it becomes an exercise in managing people. Sometimes very angry people and often very emotional people.

I love officiating. I try to do my best no matter the age or skill level. But it is difficult at times. While 95% of the time there are no problems, there are those occasional games. The hardest part of officiating is remaining calm when others around you have lost their cool. Sometimes both teams, along with coaches and fans, have lost their cool and their wrath is directed at the official. A deep breath, count to 10, then a measured response. The exception is always when an adult is screaming at a child (young referee). Then no counting to 10 is necessary.

CALIFORNIA SPRING CUP


Talk about reffing with the best! Here I am in Anaheim at the California Spring Cup in March, 2007. They gave me a FIFA Referee to be one of my assistants.

Tags: vivamus, nibh, Soccer, Referee

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  • Myths of the Game

    By Someone December 29th, 2007

    So you think you know soccer? Did you know there’s no such thing as handball, high kick, obstruction, and that it is legal for a player to remain in an offside position the entire match?

    Deliberate handling is just that - "deliberately handles the ball." Accidental and handling that could not be avoided should not be penalized. It is an offence to play in a dangerous manner but simply playing the ball while on the ground and kicking the ball while it's high in the air is not necessarily dangerous. Impeding the opponent may or may not be an infraction, depends on the playing distance from the ball. And a player who is in an offside position when the ball is played should be penalized only if they become involved in active play.

    Here are some other myths: While the Laws state that it is an offence to tackle someone and make contact with the opponent before contacting the ball, it does not then hold true that as long as one gets the ball first that no foul has been committed. Many vicious fouls have been committed even after first contacting the ball.

    The attacking team is entitled to a quick free kick after a foul. The Laws require that the opponents retire at least 10 yards from the ball (in all directions). It is not a requirement for the attacking team to request 10 yards.

    And maybe my favorite. At the taking of an indirect free kick, many teams have a player tap down on the ball followed by a second player who will blast it towards the goal. Fair enough, but the second touch is the first kick of the ball. The Laws require that the ball be kicked and moved and tapping down on the ball does not satisfy the requirement of being kicked.

    Next time, think twice before questioning the referees. Perhaps they have it right after all.