Question Number: 15640

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/29/2007

RE: competitive High School

joe mehl of cincinnati, OH United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 15594

I apologize for stateing the question incorrectly [15594] as it applies to the LOTG. 2nd to last defender.... yes. I assumed in my question that the GK was a given as one of the two last defenders. My age group is HS but I am a club coach with a USSF "B" license. Also, No disrespect, but I do not need to be an assessor to KNOW that if the AR is constantly trailing the 2nd to last defender by 10-12 yards, he/she is not in the appropriate position to call offside. Simple geometry. I still do not have an answer to the question. I understand attitude, approach to discussing issues with refs..... but, is their anything in the LOTG that states a coach can not approach the center ref at hlaf time as it is reads in USSF or FIFA

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

As I stated in my response to #15594 "According to high school rules the only person able to discuss questions, with the referee, involving rulings is THE captain." The Laws of the Game specifically say, in Law 3 International FA Board Decision 2 "A team official may convey tactical instructions to the players during the match and he must return to his position after giving these instructions. All officials must remain within the confines of the technical area, where such an area is provided, and they must behave in a responsible manner."

The Laws of this Game are written in as simple terms as possible and in America we do not have the living history of The Game as handed down by our fathers and their fathers. Without that we must rely on word of mouth from those more, or less, knowledgeable than ourselves. We gather information from classes we attend and by reading. These days we seek advise through the Internet, as you have. For the most part the information one gathers from the Internet comes from unidentified sources. We pride ourselves in the fact we hang our names out for others to see. We make mistakes and we irritate folks but not on purpose and it happens very seldom. There are other locations on the Internet where you can gather information. One of those is the voice of US Soccer, AskAReferee. From time to time we must consult with him on matters of policy, this was not one of those times as it is something stated in Law and high school rules.

When you approach the referee to discuss such matters, you do so at your own peril. He may consider it just an honest question, dissent or insulting language. Please reread all the answers given and you'll find we did, in fact, offer suggestions on how to handle this. We also said the referee can change a decision upon realising he has made an error or on the advise of a neutral assistant referee. The coach offering such information is usually looked upon by referees as interfering.

Regards,