Question Number: 27279

Law 5 - The Referee 3/28/2013

mw of collierville, United State of America asks...

This question is a follow up to question 27270

Red was moving ball away from blue's goal toward space. Three blues were between red and blue's goal. There was no 'progress being impeded'. Lots of space to move to in the direction of his movement. Perhaps 'sandwich' was a poor choice of terms on the ref's part.

No, Keith, my knowledge of the Laws is not vast; certainly eclipsed by your complete understanding of the words. However you (obviously) did not see the game and lack understanding of the situation. And I have contacted the assignor.

I remained calm. No yelling, screaming, etc. No bad behavior. Hope that didn't spoil yellow's day or his thoughts about joining the 44%.

Blue lost in PKs after a 4-4 tie. Blue indeed gave up 4 goals; the ref was only responsible for 1. Blue had no open shots. Yes, lots of offside (singular) calls, both ways. No 1-o-n-1 with keeper.
Got any other challenges for me?

The ref was at least 40 years old. ARs were younger.

'Some' referees work hard. Many seem to have trouble getting outside the invisible fence (which is marked by a big circle in the middle of the field).


You have a lot of free time, huh? Maybe take an extra minute or two and check your punctuation.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Having a difficult time visualizing. Red has the ball moving AWAY from Blue goal to an open area of the field. 3 Blue players were closer to their own goal than Red but Red was moving away from Blue goal so why would they pursue the Red players? What interaction occurred? Was the restart an Indirect or Direct Free Kick?

I don't have complete understanding of anything much less the words in the LOTG. I wasn't there and freely admit to a lack of understanding of your words and the scenario in general.

Thank you for behaving yourself and acting like an adult and being a good role model. I give credit where credit is due. Same with your contacting the Assignors.

How was the referee "responsible" for 1 goal? Did he kick the ball into the net? Blue had NO open shots on goal? I've worked over 400 games and watched more and never have seen a game where a team had not a single open shot on goal. No more challenges. I haven't the free time.

MOST referees work hard and try to keep up with play. A FEW do stay inside the Center Circle and you may not believe this but I get more upset at these referees than you do. I have gone up to referees at the half and told them "Get the whistle out of your mouth. Roll up your socks. Next time wear proper shorts. Stay out of the center circle and at least pretend you care. If you don't at least try to keep up with play the second half I'll make sure you don't get another assignment for a long time. What's the matter with you? Act like a professional!"

Of course, I had no authority at all. I watch games all over the state and always wear official US Soccer gear. I'm old. I look official. If you have referees running the 20 yard diameter of the center circle, please contact an Assignor.

I have very little free time and would greatly appreciate your pointing out ANY grammatical errors on my part. If they are interfering with your understanding what I write, I need to be corrected. Thank you.