Assistant Referees

U.S. Soccer Federation Referee Program Grade 7 Referee Course Amateur Adult Training

Importance

o Role of assistant referees o More than just signaling for a ball in and out of play o Responsible for assisting with fouls and misconduct out of the r eferee’s view o Must be in top physical condition

Positioning Assistant Referee Assistant Referee

Examples

Kick-off

During Play

During Play

o Reading play o Prioritize duties o Offside o Assistance o Visual cues o Attackers o Defenders

Goal Kick

Position #1 – Ensure ball is placed inside goal area.

Position #2 – If kick is taken by player other than GK, position at edge of penalty area.

Position #3 – Once ball is kicked, quickly get to offside position.

Exception: If kick is taken by GK and no other defenders are in the penalty area, once ball is placed immediately go to offside position.

Goalkeeper

Penalty Kick

Goal

Goal

Corner Kick

Free Kicks

Responsibility

o Law 6 o Duties are subject to the decision of the referee o Offside o Involved in active play o Interfering with play o Interfering with an opponent o Gaining an advantage

Examples

Offense

No Offense

No Offense

Offense

No Offense

Offense

No Offense

No Offense

Offense

Offense

Offense

No Offense

Offense

No Offense

Responsibility

o Assistance o When misconduct or any other incident occurs outside the referee’s view o When offenses have been committed whenever the assistant referees have a better view than the referee o Mirroring

Assistance

o Assistant referees o Additional eyes and ears o Better able to see and hear o Closer o Clearer o Greater detail o Better angle

Assistance

o Referee team communication o Pre-game conference o Halftime conference o During the game o Assistant referee to referee o Referee to assistant referee o Assistant referee to assistant referee o Mirroring

Assistance

o Objective o Make the correct decision o Priorities o Offside o Fouls and misconduct o Who is closer?

o Who has the better view?

Review Question

o In addition to signaling for offside, what other duties might assistant referee expect to perform at this level?

o Indicating when misconduct or any other offense occurs out of the referee’s view o Issuing cards for misconduct

Review Question

o Which of the following is a component of being involved in active play?

o Gaining an advantage by being in that position o Interfering with play o Interfering with an opponent o All of the above

Review Question

o Which of the following best describes the practice of mirroring?

o Both assistant referees signal simultaneously o The lead assistant referee signals to the referee that the trail assistant referee has signaled for something out of the referee's view