Question Number: 20792

Law 15 - Throw In 2/2/2009

RE: Adult

Kevyn Oyhenart of Chilliwack, BC Canada asks...

I have 2 quick ones for you as they came into play on the weekend...

The first game on the weekend I was running one of the lines as an AR. Ref in the middle was quite experienced and the game was quite fairly contested in true spirit.
On one throw in the player's foot was over the line entirely when the ball was put back into play. I, immediately raised my flag as the restart was not done properly. However, due to where the ball went the Ref did not notice my flag for almost a minute. Once he did he whistled for it and came over. We got the restart right thereafter.
My question is this...As a center ref you can waive down a flag for a foul or an offside if you deem that advantage can be gained by the fouled team. If you are an AR in this instance do you keep the flag up even though the Ref is waiving you down as you know that the restart was not taken properly, or do you allow the waive and catch up with play?

Question 2 is this...

I was in the center for the second game right after the previously mentioned one.
The game was between to senior teams, becoming heated as we were in the last 30 minutes and tied.
I was behind the play about 25 yards as a 50-50 ball was booted up the field onto the AR's side quite quickly and away from me. I was sprinting to get into postion with a decent view of the play when the following happend.
It was clear there was going to be a 50-50 ball again with both the Striker and Fullback charging 10 yards head on. It was also clear the striker was going to get their first as he had a bit more speed.
At the exact moment of the tackle, which happened to be about 15 yards from the AR (25 from me) I had a player screen me somewhat from the tackle. I blew for the foul as I could make out the apparent trip from the defender, it looked like a hard foul as it did make me cringe. After my whistle I was on the scene in seconds to diffuse the fuss up between the teams. My AR also flagged the play. What I could not see though was the cleats up, leg locked challenge from the defender and the contact made as they were slightly turned from me. In this instance I cringed when the tackle happened which is usually a good sign to hand out a caution or a sending off. But the problem was I was slightly out of position and screened when it happend.There was no DOGSO as they were playing with a Sweeper who was 20 yards behind the play. They say that there is no point in taking your time with a red card as it will not diffuse the situation. But in this instance I had to sort out the players, and thought to consult with my AR before sending off the correct player, and a caution to another for Dissent after the sending off. The Jr. AR was not 100 % sure of the challenge being a SFP offence but the way he saw it and described to me, left me no doubt.

Having said all this, am I right to diffuse the situation and make sure that the cards issued were correct and to the right players, or should I have given the sending off for serious foul play( on a 60% thinking this to be true) to help diffuse the situation quicker? This was kind of one of those once in a blue moon happenings as I had a Jr. AR, and was out of position.

Thanks for your time as I know you get a few of these daily.

Kevyn

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

What a wonderful question to ask in the pregame! Hey, ref! What do you want me to do if a thrower steps completely over the line as he throws, and you don't initially see my flag?

Technically speaking, the restart has to come back because the throw is illegally taken. It should be the other team's throw - that's not trifling. If, however, the referee does not see your flag before play has stopped and restarted again, it's too late. Why a referee would ever restart play without checking with both ARs is a mystery to me. At least your referee did and fixed matters within the Law. That's to his credit.

Memo to self: Always check the AR as a throw is completed to see if the flag goes up! Only takes a second.

As for the second question, what your AR told you is all you needed to complete the 60% feeling you had. I would caution against going with gut feelings entirely, as it has the 40% potential of being wrong.

Taking a bit of time to diffuse the situation and to sort it out and get it right is always appreciated by the players, and is the correct thing to do absolutely - just don't take time and get it wrong! You will see ample examples of FIFA referees taking the time to diffuse and get the punishment correct - should we be any less vigilant?

I don't think much of the advice regarding throwing a red card quickly unless you are absolutely certain it must happen that way. Throwing red cards when the referee doesn't have all the facts is a recipe for disaster.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Question #1. Here in the States the center referee may not wave down an offside call because of advantage. In the US, advantage is only allowed for violations of Law 12. The referee may decide the offside infraction to be trifling and consequently wave down an offside flag. Same goes for Law 15. I'm not sure what exactly transpired. At one point in your question you say the center waived you down. If that's the case, you should immediately lower your flag and catch up with play even though this was a clear foul throw and a throw should have been awarded to the other team. Something about the throw-in we should all keep in mind is that the throw-in is simply a way to get the ball quickly back into play. Some violations of Law 15 are trifling in nature and should be ignored especially if there is any doubt about whether the infringement even occurred. This is true at youth soccer levels where we see referees constantly whistling if there is a preceived raising of the foot even an inch above the ground.

Question #2: you were screened out of the play and had no real idea what exactly transpiried. I would be very hesitant to send off a player based on a 60% assumption. A quick red card especially undeserving not only does not diffuse the situation, it makes it worse. You did well speaking with your AR and getting it right.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

The throw in violation could be considered trifling but it cannot be allowed if it was incorrectly done as it a rethrow for the opposition, no advantage can occur.

Provided one team or the other has not significantly benefited from the throw-in miscue I likely advise to drop the flag if the referee has FAILED to make eye contact quickly as he SHOULD do.

In cases where there is crunch but you were unable to effectively discern who was the crunchy versus the cruncher or whether there was a fall or a trip or whether the tackle was in fact a foul but reckless and excessive by contrast is flashing orangey instead of yellow or red absolutely you confer with the ARs or 4th to get the decision correct or at least as correct as you can.

I have seen some seriously poor mechanics displayed at even the highest levels by the referee ONLY to be saved by an observant and reliable AR. The Russia/Holland Match in the last Euro cup had a terrific example of a referee in complete bollocks be bailed out by a trustworthy AR and while ugly, messy, even vaguely protestable, the correct decision was arrived at!

You are a TEAM of officials looking at the same things from different angles! As NEUTRAL officials all your observations count for something! True, the referee makes the FINAL decision but only a foolish referee ignores testimony from those colleagues whose job it is to protect him from messing up and getting the decisions correct.

You should have a PLAN in the pregame to settle things when mass controversy or melee situations occur. Your Ars even 4th could enter the field to assist you in keeping order, recording info and protecting your back.

Card mechanics are to identify and explain then show cards for a reason. True, something's are relatively easy to discern and cards can be quick to appear but ALWAYS get eye contact ARs before and after EVERY stoppage and rerstart! Signals about whether to card or not as in touching the pocket of the shirt or shorts you learn to communicate silently as you gain experiance. For now TALK with your ARs and sort it out efficently! Do not get caught up in solely keeping the match moving by acting too quickly
THERE IS ALWAYS TIME TO GET THE DECISIONS CORRECT

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

I'm not going to stand around holding the flag up for a minute without calling the referee's name loud enough so he can hear it. That settles missing the flag for as long as he did.

Throw-ins, in my prematch instructions to my assistants I tell them not to watch throw-ins unless I specifically ask them to. If asked to watch they have 100% of all the bad things that can happen and if they see a bad throw-in they are to flag and call out my name because I won't be looking their way.

So based on prematch instructions I will not have to wave off a flag at a throw-in because the assistant is watching something else [or better be]. I don't usually use the words trifling and throw-in in the same sentence, what I say is a throw-in is good, bad or ugly. Ugly throw-ins aren't bad, they're just ugly and ugly isn't something Law 15 tells us to sanction as incorrectly thrown. And that thinking handles loud coaches, too! I say something like 'No Sir, that isn't a bad throw, it's an ugly throw. I'll let you know when I see a bad throw'. Presto a confused and quiet coach -- and that's a good thing.

Regards,