Question Number: 24930

Law 6 - Assistant Referee 5/12/2011

RE: Rec/Select

Todd Wendorf of Harrisburg, PA US asks...

This question is a follow up to question 24878

A bit of advice from a fellow referee. A bit of levity can go a long way. I am not a small person so I will normally let a coach or player standing in my way know that they might not want to be there because they are liable to lose that collision.

Amazingly, they back up pretty quickly.

This also seems to work with Fans that want to get close to the action and move their chairs.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Todd
Good point and it is up to each referee to bring his own personality to these situations. If it works then use it by all means.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Todd,

I tend to find that this sort of advice also works a treat on parents who let their children frequently wander too close to the field.

In fact, I personally know a referee who ran into a very young child at full speed - needless to say the results weren't pretty, but fortunately the child made a full recovery.

Simply pointing out that you're going to be running at full speed and watching the game, and that they or their children could end up seriously injured is sometimes the message that's needed to get the point across.