Month: August 2007

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

SHOUTING “MINE” AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS

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Question:
Here is the situation. Red team is attacking and makes a long pass, Blue defender runs toward the ball and calls out “Mine” and then clears the ball up field. The Center blows the whistle and awards an indirect free kick to the Red attacking team. This type of play happens again during the game where the Blue defender calls out that he has the ball, “I got it.” The Center again awards an indirect free kick to the attacking team. After the game the Blue coach questioned the calls and was told, “The defender was using trickery which impeded the progress of the Red players playing the ball”. Is there some new rule that I am unaware of or some old rule that I don’t understand the interpretation of?

Answer (August 30, 2007):
No, the defender is not using “trickery,” “trickery” cannot be used to impede opponents, and there has been no change to the rules. Your referee has apparently misinterpreted the Laws — or someone misunderstood what he or she said.

(1) If a player is the only one near the ball and shouts “mine,” there is no infringement of the Law. It is only when a defending player actually deceives the attacking team that he or she would be punished with a caution for unsporting behavior and the attacking team would be awarded an indirect free kick from the place of the infringement.

(2) Players may only be impeded when an opponent prevents them from playing the ball by placing his/her body between them and the ball and the opponent is not within playing distance of the ball.

(3) The rule for shouting “mine” by defenders has always been there. However, attacking players are allowed to use this same sort of guile without being punished.…

Insurance

INSURANCE COVERAGE

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Question:
I’m a Grade 8 ref and I have made my services available to a local high school Christian academy. My children’s rec club shares the same field and I had contacted the head coach concerning field usage and that’s when he told me that he was looking for refs. He had previously had refs assigned by the PA Interscholastic Athletic Assoc.,PIAA. He said that the fees were stretching his budget and he thought he was getting the less experienced refs, so he was hoping to get refs at a lower cost, and those that possibly called a better game. I thought this would be a good test for me, as I haven’t done many games at this level, and I’m considering the HS level when my kids our done playing at the rec level. I spoke with a fellow coach and PIAA/NJAIA ref and he recommended that I check in to whether I would be covered with liability insurance. I reviewed the Ref Admin. Handbook and under Unaffilliated games there wasn’t a clear definition.Would I be covered if I officiated these games?

Answer (August 30, 2007):
Referees are covered only if they are registered and the teams are affiliated with U.S. Soccer, which high school is not (might be in SD as they just have a club program). You may want to check with the school and see if sports officials are covered on their policy.…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

TRICKERY

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Question:
I am having this discussion about futebol (soccer) from Portugal regarding deliberate trickery to circumvent Law 12 Decision 3.If a player receives the ball, lifts it to his head, chest or knee, then heads, chest or knees it back to the goalkeeper and gkeeper catches or touches the ball the ball.

Referee would then call an IFK, ball spotted at where infraction occurred, if inside the goal area it would come out to the 6 yard line, is this correct?

Answer (August 29, 2007):
When considering the possibility of trickery, the referee must decide if the action was natural (a normal sort of play, the sort of thing you would see in any sequence of play) or contrived (an artificial, unnatural play, which, in the referee’s opinion, is intended solely for the purpose of circumventing the Law and preventing the opponents from challenging for the ball).

The call is always in the opinion and at the discretion of the referee, who is the only person capable of making the judgment as to the nature of the kick. If there is any doubt in the referee’s mind as to the nature of the play, then common sense should prevail. Unless the referee believes plays like this to be trickery, there is no need to make a call.…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

BALL KICKED BY THE GOALKEEPER

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Question:
Defender makes a normal pass back to her goalkeeper, who is in the middle of the penalty area. The keeper goes to kick the ball downfield with an attacker moving in, but miskicks it and it goes straight up in the air, directly above the keeper and the attacker who are now standing in close proximity to each other. To prevent the taller attacker from directing a header at the empty net, the keeper jumps up and punches the ball away with her fist.Is this legal or does the fact that the ball got back to the keeper from her own defender mean that hands cannot be used after the keeper’s own miskick?

Answer (August 29, 2007):
Let’s apply common sense here. The goalkeeper is clearly not wasting time, but merely miskicked the ball. This is a trifling infringement that can be let go for the moment, keeping it in mind should similar infringements occur later.…

Law 11 - Offside

WAVING OFF THE AR’S FLAG–ESTABLISH INSTRUCTIONS!

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Question:
I encountered this situation a little a while ago and wish to have some clarification: A ball was played to a player in an offsides position, but the pass was too long, so it rolled to to keeper. The AR raised the flag, but I waved him down, since tha ball was back in the defense’s posession. As the keeper was picking it up, he drops the ball and the forward scores. Right after the goal is scored, the AR goes back to the same spot and raises his flag. I ran over and he tells me that that was the player that had been offsides. I call the goal back and restart the game with an indirect kick for the defensive team. Was this the right call, or should a goal had been scored?This play didnt affect the game much, since the offensive team was winning 5-1.

Thanks.

Answer (August 24, 2007):
Whether your decision was correct or not, let’s get something straight from the start: When you wave off the assistant referee’s flag, that means you have overruled the AR’s suggestion. It also means that he or she should get on with the game and not bring up this situation again until any discussion you may have after the game.

During the pregame conference, you as referee should tell the ARs what you expect in this and other situations. The ARs, in turn, should then ask any questions to clarity what you expect of them. Their job is to ASSIST, not to INSIST.

Now, all of that said, the referee would seem to have been too quick with the wave down. Technically, when he waved you (the AR) down he indicated his decision that there was no offside infringement. However, that raises the issue … could the referee change his mind? Might there be a better way for the AR to indicate the offside?

If the goalkeeper was judged not to have “possessed and controlled” the ball, a better mechanic for indicating the offside would have been for the AR (you) to stand still rather than run up field. This is not the standard procedure here, but it makes sense. It gives the AR a chance to advise the referee of the circumstances, despite having been waved down earlier, It is more unobtrusive than coming back up field and putting the flag up in the air, and it maximizes the referee’s flexibility to decide either way. As long as play was not restarted, the referee could then choose to disallow the goal.…

Law 15 - Throw In

WHY IS THE KNEELING OR SQUATTING THROW-IN NOT PERMITTED?

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Question:
I got these questions at a recert from a PhD in math. I think I know the answers but I want to be sure.Why is a throw in a throw in from the kneeling position prohibited. I assumed this to prevent the thrower from more or less placing the ball on a teammate’s foot allowing an opponent to only kick the ball back out and waste time.

Would a throw in in the sqatting position then be allowed? I assume this would be considered trying to circumvent the rule and be cosidered misconduct.

Answer (August 20, 2007):
We answered these questions back on June 17, 2005, but it’s always nice to refresh everyone’s memory.

The 2006 edition of the IFAB/FIFA Q&A, Law 15, Q&A 7, tells us:
7. Is a player allowed to take a throw-in kneeling or sitting down?
No. A throw-in is only permitted if the correct procedures in the Laws of the Game are followed.

Squatting is a form of sitting and therefore is not allowed.

This is the surface answer, but we sense that the “Ph. D. in math” is more interested in ultimate justification; in other words, why did the IFAB declare this if a player, while kneeling, is able otherwise to follow the correct procedures outlined in Law 15 (which, of course, do not literally specify standing. Two possibilities occur: First, “standing” is implied as it is the normal posture at any restart, so that anything other than standing is not permitted. Second, because that’s the way it is.

To answer the unasked question as to why the “acrobatic” or “flip” throw-in is allowed, it is because the thrower actually makes the throw from a standing position.…

Law 4 - Equipment

UNDERGARMENTS

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Question:
In the 2007 USSF memorandum, there appears to be a conflict with the wording in the advice to the referees and the text of the 2007 FIFA LOTG. This is in regards to an undergarment worn under the shirt.

The text of the LOTG states: a jersey or shirt – if undergarments are worn, the color of the sleeve should be the same main color as the sleeve of the jersey or shirt.

While the advice to the referees states: The general purpose of this change is to ensure that the visible color of any portion of a garment worn underneath the jersey or shorts is consistent with the main color of the jersey or shorts.

So, my question would be if a player has a blue jersey with white sleeves, does the undershirt have to be blue or white?

Answer (August 16, 2007):
We would refer to the “changes” you outline as minor adjustments in interpretation. The intention in Memorandum 2007 was to ensure that whatever extends beyond the uniform be seen as much as possible as an extension of the uniform. Note, for example, the language of the original restriction on undergarments (sliders, thermal/compression undershorts, etc.); they were required to be the same main color as the shorts. The Law didn’t say the same main color as the legs of the shorts, even though it is possible for the legs of the shorts to be a different color than the waist area of the shorts. The current language is an applicable generalization: Whatever part of the uniform the undergarment extends from is what the undergarment should match.

You might also remember that the Advice to Referees makes it quite clear that its contents may become out of date when new memoranda are issued by FIFA or the United States Soccer Federation.…

Law 5 - Referee

REFEREE UNIFORMS

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Question:
Clips of this year’s US Youth Soccer Finals on Fox Soccer Channel showed the referees wearing the Adidas uniforms that were worn in the last World Cup and are worn in Spanish and German leagues. I thought referees in the US, under the auspices of USSF, were only allowed to wear the Gold, Black, Red and Blue pinstripe jerseys.Will you please comment?

Answer (August 13, 2007):
If the competition authority, in this case the USYSA Championships, has a sponsor, the referees are usually given uniforms and other gear for the final round of games. This has no bearing on what referees are required to wear throughout the rest of the year. In fact, the referees are not allowed to wear the “finals” uniforms in any other competition.…

Law 5 - Referee

QUESTION 58 ON STATE TEST 2007-2008

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Question:
Question # 58 on this test: A player injures himself/herself while taking shot on goal. As the ball is being retrieved, the player is being treated off the field. Just before the ensuing goal kick can be taken, the player is ready to return to the field. The referee may allow the player to return before the goal kick is taken. True or False. The answer key has true. When reading 2007/2008 Laws of the game page 16 under Powers and Duties 8th note stops the match if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured and ensures that he is removed from the field of play. An injured player may only return to the field of play after the match has restarted.The question that I am asking you is can a player return prior to the restart of any play?

Answer (August 7, 2007):
While it is true that the referee ” stops the match if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured and ensures that he is removed from the field of play. An injured player may only return to the field of play after the match has restarted,” as written in Law 5, it is clear from the question in the test that play was stopped not for the injury but for the ball out of play. Therefore Law 5 does not apply, but this series of statements in the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game” does apply: Only the referee may permit the return to the field of play of a player who was permitted to leave the field for treatment of an injury. This is not a substitution. The player who left the field for treatment of an injury may return during play with the permission of the referee, but only from the touch line. If the ball is out of play, the player may return with the permission of the referee across any boundary line.…

Law 1 - The Field

SAFETY OF THE GOALS

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Question:
What happens if the goal is shifted off the line (away from the field of play) and this allows a ball to enter the goal that otherwise would not have done so? Does it matter whether the defending team or the attacking team moves the goal? Does it matter if it is intentional or not? The specific situation being questioned is that a corner kick became trapped between a defender’s body and the post, and when the defender tried to move the ball away, the post shifted back and the ball dropped into the goal. The referee awarded a goal.

Answer (August 7, 2007):
Unfair as it may seem, the referee should not have awarded the goal–nor should he or she have started the game with an unsecured goal. The game must be restarted with a dropped ball at the nearest place on the goal area line six yards out from the goal line and parallel to it.…