Irish Soccer Referees' Soceity

Limerick Branch

	Our Friends - The Assistant Referees According to law 6, the assistant referee shall be appointed to assist the referee to control the game according to the laws. I do not know why this is so, but I often get the impression that there are quite a number of referees who do not sufficiently appreciate the tremendous assistance that assistant referees, especially neutral assistant referees, provide to them. For me, too many referees still regard assistant referees as mere “jobbers”.. This is an unfortunate attitude for us to adopt towards our colleagues who are our best, and sometimes our only friends at the park and whose main goal is to make us look good. An assistant referee’s task is not as easy one, and there are many experts who argue that the art of lining is a more difficult one than that of refereeing. This may well be true. What is certain is that during a typical match, assistant referees more often than not are involved in every facet of the laws of the game. We could begin with law 6, wherein it is stated that assistant referees should indicate to the referee when the ball is out of play (law 9) and which side is entitled to the resulting goal and kick (law 16) corner-kick (law 17) on throw-in (law 15). More than that, referees ask assistant referees to assist them by appropriate positions and signals, with the placement of the ball and the position of players at goal kicks and corner-kicks, and assistants are instructed to watch for foot faults by those taking throw ins. Prior to the commencement of the match, our assistant referees co-operate with us by examining the field of play and appurtenances of the game. They inspect field markings, determine whether flag-posts conform to prescribed requirements and they ascertain whether the goal nets are securely attached to the goal posts, cross bars and ground behind the nets, as well as provide ample room for the goalkeeper (law 1). They also make certain that holes in the goal nets are not large enough to permit the ball to pass through them and that fasteners used to hold the nets in place on the goal-posts and cross-bars do not pose a danger to anyone participating in the match. Sometimes assistant referees are asked to make a preliminary inspection of the match ball to determine whether it meets the requirements of law 2, and apart from indicating to the referee when a substitution is deserved (law 6), they often assist him in controlling substitution at the halfway line along the touch line (law 3). Assistant referees also co-operate with the referee by inspecting players footwear and other equipment (law 4) and they become adept at giving him surreptitious signals to indicate that time in each half is about to expire or has expired (law 7). Quite often, assistant referees are also asked to check team sheets and player identity cards (law 3) Once the match has started, we depend heavily upon our assistant referees, although not too many of us would admit to this fact. Mind you, this dependence is not to be construed as dereliction of our duties. It is simply that, under circumstances, we depend upon the opinions that assistant referees are capable of giving us as a result of their superior positioning along the touch-line or goal line. We are still required to make all decisions on the field of play. Thus, we react when our assistant referee indicate that not every player is in his own half of the field at the kick-off (law 8) or that a goal has been scored (law 10) just as we react when they signal that a player is off-side (law 11). As a matter of fact, it is in regard to law 11 that we rely most heavily upon our assistant referees, since indicating to us whether a player is off-side is the most important of the delegated responsibilities that we give to them. At the taking of free - kick’s near the defender’s goal, assistant referees are often given a pre-arranged signal by the referee to lake up a position on the goal-line near the corner flag-post from where it is possible for them to act as goal judges (law 10). On penalty kick’s, we always ask our assistant referee to take up a position along the goal-line so that they may watch the goalkeeper to see that he is standing on his goal line (law 14) and also act as goal judge. At other times when we award free-kick’s, we may request our assistant referee to assist US with the placement of the ball and/or the position of the players (law 13). Assistant referees also become involved in such referee duties as permitting no one but authorised persons to enter the field of play and noting goal scores as well as cautions and dismissals (law 5). Finally, as mentioned earlier, and subject to the decision of the referee, (lie assistant referee’s duty is that of assisting the referee in controlling the game in accordance with the laws. That assistance includes, among other things, bringing to the attention of the referee any contravention of the laws and especially rough play and ungentle manly/violent conduct (law 12). We ask and we expect our assistant referees to perform all these tasks. Most do so in an efficient manner. All do so to the best of their ability, although a majority has probably received practically no coaching in the art of running the line. Surely, we should let our assistant referees know in a sincere way that we appreciate their assistance. It is not enough for us to tell them that a referee, and his assistant referee, constitute the third time team. We must make them feel a part of that team. After all, assistant referees arc our best friends on the field, aren’t they? JOHN SCANLON SENIOR REFEREES’ ASSESSOR © FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND