Question Number: 16009

Other 7/12/2007

RE: Select Under 13

Steve Kenton of Ames, IA USA asks...

My daughter's U-little team had a brilliant play a few years back where, at the kick-off, the ball was nudged forward, kicked back to the keeper who then attacked the opposing goal and scored while the opposing team stood there in bewilderment. The opposing parents protested, "The keeper can't leave the box!" Of course, the referee said, "Yes, she can."

My question: What is the strangest myth "rule" you have encountered working a game?

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

Thats a funny question...

I don't know if this is the kind of thing you're looking for, but every now and then a player will question my decision and respond in what I consider to be an odd way.

For example, one time I determined a player was offside (in violation of Law 11) so I raised my flag and the referee stopped play to punish the infraction. When questioned about it I said, "I think that the player was in an offside position when the ball was last played by his teammate, and then he interfered with play."

Thats when the player's retorted "It doesn't matter if you THINK he was off! You need to know he was off..."

Sometimes I think these players don't really think through what they're saying - because I was telling them that in my opinion the player was off. However, they wanted to use semantics to tell me that I was unsure of what I thought to be true...

It goes to show you, watch everything you say on the field, it can be held against you!

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

I am amazed how much better parents and coaches vision is than mine. Acuity is even more fantastic when one considers theirs can change direction when viewing offside from the halfway line. It's almost as if they see in ninety degree angles.

Now I'm warmed up -- a tournament someplace where a grizzled older referee was having a good match, even the parents and coaches were happy with what he was doing. No, not a fig newton of my imagination -- really!!! Everyone was happy except red #19, every time the ball hit a black hand or arm #19 yelled out in a high pitched, grating voice, "Handball Ref, handball!!" At the interval between the two periods of play the referee remarked to his crew that he was really tired about #19 and "handball". They talked about the first period and what could be done to improve things, who was offside and how the defenders were working offside attackers, you know, usual stuff. And as is typical for a tournament they drank water or other innocuous beverages to quench their thirst, all wishing for a martini or four.

The second period starts and so does #19. The linesmen can see the wheels turning in their referee's brain. Something is up but they can't figure out what... Twenty minutes in, the ball is rolling slowly toward red #19 and he is moving towards it. Then the referee BELLOWS out "HEY 19 PICK UP THE BALL AND HAND IT TO ME".

To every one's amazement #19 bends over and picks up the ball and hands it to the referee!!! There is a deathly silence... The whistle sounds and the referee signals direct against #19.

He is heard to say "Now that's deliberately handling the ball sir".

I can still hear the laughter to this day. 19 just stood there and for once quietly, though he seemed to be seething for some reason or another.

That brings us to Law 7 and allowance for time lost reasons -- is waiting for laughter to subside "any other cause"?

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Well, the ever popular, "You can't play it on the ground."

There was one game where a player fairly moved her opponent off the ball. The sidelines erupted when she fell down, including one comment, "What do you call THAT?!" I thought, but didn't say, "The best fair charge we've seen all afternoon?"

There's a much better one, but I can't think of the scenario now, just my response to it. When asked if I just saw what the player did, the implication being that a call should be made, I responded, "Yeah, a smart play." Too bad I can't remember what the play was. You know what they say, the mind is the second thing to go, and I forget what the first thing is.

Answer provided by Referee Jon Sommer

In my early days as a referee a goalkeeper placed the ball on the ground and took a few touches out of his area. He then kicked the ball up field with a vicious slice and the ball ended up going out of play on the full. I hear from the crowd "Out of play on the full ref, that's a freekick from where it was kicked from" I'm normally one to block out noise, but i was just incredulous at this. For those who don't know, in Rugby, if a ball is kicked out of bounds on the full from outself the 22, the lineout takes place in line with where the kicker was, not where the ball left the field. This guy obviously had his sports mixed up!! I looked at the players closest to me and said "Did he really just say that?" Their retort was, "Yeah, and he claims to be a referee by the way" My laughter belowed!!!

Regards

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

I would say mine is that everyone always thinks that handling should be called if the player gains an advantage when the ball hits the hand. I will explain this to players over and over and they do not believe me.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 16042