Rhode Island State Referee Committee

1 in 50,000 players get to the professional game – 1 in 100 referees get there. Work out your chances

By Randy Vogt

The referee’s position is called a “diagonal,” which he or she runs goes from corner flag to corner flag.

Actually, a referee who strictly adheres to this diagonal will miss seeing a number of fouls. I like to think that the referee’s positioning isn’t a diagonal as much as it is a modified version of a half-open scissor — corner flag to corner flag and penalty arc to penalty arc. The referee is not a slave to this positioning, but it is a rough guide to follow, especially for the newer referee.

I remember refereeing a good youth tournament played at the Stadio Olimpico in Torino. On a rest day for me, I was able to watch the games from high in the almost empty stadium and saw a young ref, with potential, make the mistake of literally running from corner flag to corner flag, even if the ball was 50 yards away. He missed some fouls that would have been obvious to whistle if only he was closer to the play. You need not understand Italian to know that the coaches were unhappy with him.

Whether you are refereeing a game by yourself or with the use of assistant referees (ARs), use the half-open scissor as a rough guide for positioning.

Many youth referees start out officiating good games without the assistance of ARs. The great majority of my first 1,000 games were matches in which I was the only official assigned.

A coach once said to me, “Referees seem much more confident when they have assistant referees.” Well, of course! Just as the players on his team would be much more confident if they had a full team rather than a depleted squad.

When you are the only official, should many offside decisions need to be made (such as when one or two teams are playing an offside trap), you should stay a bit closer to the touchline than usual, thinking about how the ARs, standing just outside the touchline, signal for offside. The side of the field is the best position for calling offside. Yet if you stay too close to the touchline, you will be in a poor position to call fouls.

Club linesmen, usually the relative or friend of a player, will help you determine when the ball goes over the touchline. Tell them before the game, “Raise the flag only when the entire ball goes over the entire line. Do not give me the direction of the throw as I will determine it.”

They are not to signal direction as this can create a perception that they are cheating for the team they want to win. Make sure that you thank them both before and after the game as they are volunteering their time to help you.

No matter if the club linesmen say that they want to help you even more, even if a club linesman says that he or she is an international referee, the only responsibility of the club linesmen is to signal when the ball went over the touchline — not to raise the flag for fouls or for offside or when the ball went over the goal line.

Recently, I gave instructions to a club linesman to simply signal when the entire ball was over the entire line and he told me that he knew the rules as “I grew up in Cheshire, England, near Manchester.” And, contrary to what I had instructed, he raised the flag for what he thought was offside — when the opposing team had attackers in an offside position when the ball was passed but who were not actively involved in the play. I nicely told him to lower the flag, that I would not be using him for offside decisions. I’m glad that he knew the rules so well!

(Randy Vogt has officiated over 8,000 games during the past three decades, from professional matches in front of thousands to 6-year-olds being cheered on by very enthusiastic parents. In Preventive Officiating, he shares his wisdom gleaned from thousands of games and hundreds of clinics to help referees not only survive but thrive on the soccer field. You can visit the book’s website at http://www.preventiveofficiating.com/)

By Randy Vogt

The goals are 8 yards in length by 8 feet high. The youngest age groups in youth soccer will often use smaller goals. The goalposts must be white. Should referees come to a field with goalposts that are not white, play the game and report the color of the goal posts to the league.

Check to make certain that there are no holes in the net that the ball could squeeze through, such as an opening between the net and the crossbar, goalposts or the area between the net and the ground. I cannot tell you how many times that I have been to fields that have been played on that day in which there are several visible holes in the nets that the ref did not try and tape.

Every once in awhile, the official’s view of a shot resulting in a goal will not be ideal. Perhaps he or she was screened or was at a bad angle or the sun was in the referee’s eyes. Making certain that there are no holes before the game eliminates potential problems on the vitally important task of whether to count a goal during the match.

Interestingly, according to the Laws of the Game, it is not necessary for the goals to have nets. Hopefully, every game that you will be officiating will have them. Only once in my career was I ever confronted with refereeing a match without nets. This is a time when having your cell phone in your referee case with important phone numbers of league officials, referees and assignors is useful so that you can find out what the local league’s opinion is of playing a game without nets.

Many portable or temporary goals now have wheels near the front post to help move the goals. When you are checking the goals, make sure that the wheel is pushed back off the goal line.

Most importantly, though, is the fact that the goals must be anchored to the ground. Should the goal not be anchored, the home team or host organization is responsible for placing weights, sand bags, etc. on the back and sides of the goal to make certain that it will not fall over. Should they not do this upon your prompting, do not start the game.

To illustrate how dangerous this could be, pick up one goal post off the ground to demonstrate to all concerned how easily the goal can be dislodged. But be sure that there are no players or others nearby when you do this!

A decade ago, I was an assistant referee for a tournament game played near where I live on Long Island. Before the match, I checked the south goal and it was sufficiently anchored. During the first half, the north goal, which had been checked by the other assistant referee (AR), fell over. Obviously, the other AR did not check to see if the goal had been anchored. Thankfully, nobody was hit or killed. The goal was immediately anchored so that the game could continue.

There is no bigger safety issue on a soccer field than falling goals. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, from 1979 to 2008, at least 34 fatalities and 51 major injuries in the United States occurred have been linked to unanchored or portable soccer goals. An estimated 120 people per year were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries stemming from soccer goalposts during the period from 1989 to 1993. The serious injuries and deaths have been the result of blunt force trauma to the head, neck, chest and limbs.

Most of these serious injuries and fatalities occurred during practice sessions when nobody such as coaches or other adults checked the goals to see that they were anchored before training began. Another concern is goals not being used for training but that remain unanchored on soccer fields.

Taking a couple of minutes to check that the goals are anchored upon arriving at the field could save a life and a lifetime of regret.

(Randy Vogt has officiated over 8,000 games during the past three decades, from professional matches in front of thousands to 6-year-olds being cheered on by very enthusiastic parents. In his book, Preventive Officiating, he shares his wisdom gleaned from thousands of games and hundreds of clinics to help referees not only survive but thrive on the soccer field. You can visit the book’s website athttp://www.preventiveofficiating.com/ )

The monthly seminar series continues this Wednesday, November 16 with two sessions:

6:00-7:30PM (Intermediate): Professionalism prior to opening whistle
7:30-9:00PM (Advanced): Running an Effective One-Man System

As always, the clinics are held at the Holiday Inn Express, 901 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick. In order to get credit towards your 2012 referee certification, you must register for the seminar online, at https://RIReferees.GameOfficials.NET/.