Question Number: 30905

Law 5 - The Referee 10/16/2016

RE: MIddle School rec/competitive Under 14

Jim Menter of Haverhill, MA USA asks...

I help referee the middle school program in my hometown. I have been an official for a along time and have refereed on fields that were not well lined but with e budget constraints, these fields have no lines except the lines from the 2 U12 fields that go sideways. The games are pretty competitive between schools with some pretty skilled players but many unskilled mixed in.
I called a foul on a player just outside the penalty area that I had to establish as the area since there were no lines. The shot was taken and hit the crossbar and in my opinion it went straight down and did not go across the imaginary line. The celebration started and I had never signaled a goal. The defender picked up the ball to throw it to mid-field for a re-start. I blew my whistle to say there was no goal.
After explaining it to both coaches that it was not a goal, I decided to do a drop ball at midfield because I was not going to give them a penalty kick based on what happened.
After the game I went over and explained it to the parents and all except one were fine and understood. I told them that I had seen that exact shot many times and the way the ball hit and went down there is no way all the ball would have crossed the entire line. The coach did not agree mostly because the other team scored in the last few minutes.
These games are just pre-lim games and I thought the coach was out of line to act as he did.
Did I handle it OK?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Jim,
it is always a good sign when a referee revisits decisions to become better and understand the consequences and accountability that goes with what often is a fun but demanding job. I do think it is sad to you are refereeing matches where the boundary lines are not properly marked, perhaps allowing kids to play is better than not playing but there is a price. Just a few people working together in ANY decent league should find a way to get it done! That said, if you are refereeing youth in practise situations that are UNCLEAR even as a neutral party it is ok in my opinion to be in a bit of a teaching mode. You could remind them to ALWAYS PLAY THE WHISTLE! When the non goal was being celebrated just shout NO GOAL PLAY! to prevent the ball pick up by the defender which actually forces a DFK PK restart. In many ways you are exceeding your authority by arbitrarily trying to play fair and perhaps not following protocols to get things fixed. If the fields are not correctly set up it is hard to referee effectively and if you choose to abandon perhaps then someone steps up and fixes the issue. Although I commend your compassion, making up rules to suit your thoughts of what is fair is not truly the way to go as a neutral official given the LOTG provide the information to officiate effectively.
I do think it was incumbent upon you to explain to the coaches you were altering the LOTG so they could at least grasp your reasoning. As a coach I feel your actions although well intended, are incorrect. I have no idea how the coach acted other than he disagreed which he has every right to do given you changed the LOTG just not to dissent or abuse you. No one for any reason is entitled to belittle or insult or argue with a referee on the field. Always wise to consider the youth in our care deserve to be shown the concept of fair play by the examples we choose to set! Whether the coach was a sore loser or just irate at the way you officiated or perhaps angry at league apathy for poor fields I can not say. Most of those watching appreciate the effort of those who referee and grasp you are there doing your best so they can agree to disagree and move on.
You as a referee has a duty and responsibility to hold those accountable for the safety and fun of the youth entrusted to your care. Your Match! Your Decisions. Your Reputation, is based on your choices so chose wisely as often as you can. There is nothing wrong in not awarding a goal based on your observations the ball did not cross the goal line under the crossbar and between the posts. But a good clear goal line could help make that decision clearer.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jim
Playing games without proper lines is a recipe for such problems. While I appreciate that constraints may causes this to happen working off imaginary lines is not good practise. Players and officials need to know with certainty the position of the ball. Perhaps had the player who handled the ball saw that it did not cross the line he would have continued with play.
Now in this situation you opined the ball did not cross the *imaginary line*. That means no goal is scored as you are the sole judge of that. Now a defender decided to pick the ball up without a whistle sounding, Okay he thought that with celebrations that the goal was good yet the garish reality is that we always play to the whistle no matter what. As the ball was deliberated handled in play the restart should have been a penalty kick. Harsh lesson yet there was no reason to go with a dropped ball because a player made a *mistake*. Have a look at these videos
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7on6av6RlWc
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kP-UVZb2CrU
In the 2nd one the officials completely missed the Red player handling the ball which should also have been a penalty kick.
Now after the game I would not bother to explain my actions. If approached then I would. Coaches, players can be in a raised state at the end of games and it is not the best place to be explaining the finer points of law. It is also rarely going to change their opinion on a situation as they are convinced of their opinion based on what they saw from their angle of view.

Answer provided by Referee Joe Manjone

Jim,
Situations like this were once all too common in high school and middle school play. This is why the NFHS Rules book which most middle school games are played under allow for ground rules to be established before the game. A high school soccer game would not be permitted to start without the field being lined. However, since these were scrimmages rather than actual games, they could be played. However, it should have been understood and a ground rule from the start that you, the referee, would be the deciding factor on the positon of the ball, that the ball was in play until the whistle was sounded, and that there were to be no complaints from the coaches or teams concerning the position of the ball in relation to the lines. As to the way you handled it, since it was a preliminary game or scrimmage, it would have been a good learning situation for both teams for you to call the penalty kick since the ball was handled in the penalty area and a whistle was not sounded. My advice for you, thus, is to set any needed ground rules before each game that you may be officiating. This was a good learning situation for you, also. I hope that the remainder of your season is very successful