IN-SERVICE NOTES (updated on 5/17/08
by JEH)
Please Note: This site
will be updated on an "as needed" basis, and topics will be removed
when two months after the published or pertinent date has
passed.
Topics found below:
1.
Match Report Involving Discipline (April, '08) 2. Objects on the field (April, '08) 3. Advantage in the Penalty Area (April,
'08) 4. Offside Offense on a Corner
Kick (April, '08) 5. USA Cup Weekend,
July 11-13, and July 15-19
1. Match Report Involving
Discipline Please note the following information and use it
as the basis for your game reporting involving
misconduct:
From: Alfred
Kleinaitis
Manager of Referee
Development and
Education
Subject: Match Reports Involving
Discipline
Date: April
7, 2008
A Circular (No. 1137) recently received from FIFA?s
General Secretary emphasized the importance of referee match reports
in properly evaluating acts of misconduct for any further response
by FIFA?s Disciplinary Committee. The issues raised by the
Circular are equally important for the professional leagues, high
level youth and amateur leagues, and major tournaments in this
country. The same concerns are also felt in the regional and
state associations.
Although all aspects of the
referee?s match report must meet high standards of clarity,
accuracy, brevity, and pertinence, those sections involving
misconduct require special attention, and reporting on acts of
misconduct leading to a send off merit the highest
concern. The need for effective match reporting starts
at the lowest competitive level and becomes ever more critical as
the competitive level of the match increases. State Referee
Administrators and State Directors of Instruction are strongly urged
to ensure that effective match reporting is incorporated in their
training of senior referees.
In order for Disciplinary
Committees to evaluate serious misconduct, match reports must start
with:
- The name of (and additional identifying information for) the
player who was sent off
- The time of the send off
- The specific reason in the Laws of the Game for the send off
(Law 12)
In addition, however, the referee must supply
sufficient detail regarding the circumstances of the misconduct to
aid in evaluating its level of seriousness. Among the factors
that should be addressed, where relevant, are:
- Whether the action occurred during a challenge for the ball
- Whether the misconduct occurred at a stoppage of play or
during play
- If anyone was injured as a consequence of the misconduct
- Whether there was any prior incident that may have led to the
player?s actions
- The demeanor of the player during the send off (including any
difficulties in implementing the player?s removal from the field)
- The location of the action in relation to the goal line and
penalty area being attacked at the time
- The subsequent intrusion of any other players (teammates or
opponents) during the time the referee is managing the send off
- The specific words or gestures which were determined to be
insulting, offensive, or abusive
- The identity of the opponent or official toward whom the
misconduct was directed
- A summary of the prior misconduct (or a reference to the
section of the report which detailed the prior caution) preceding
the second caution for which the player was sent off
- The identity of the assistant referee, fourth official, or
reserve assistant referee who provided independently observed
facts to the referee regarding the misconduct
- All other details of the action which materially shaped the
decision to send the player off
Any other facts which a
Disciplinary Committee might decide it needs as a result of its
review of the match report can be supplied by the referee on request
of the Committee, but the most useful information will come from a
properly completed, accurate, detailed, and clear match
report. Match reports provided independently by assistant
referees, fourth officials, or reserve assistant referees should
follow these guidelines as well.
2.
Objects on the Field
From:
Alfred Kleinaitis
Manager of Referee Development and Education
Subject: Objects on
the Field
Date: April
10, 2008
Soccer matches are exciting events, attended by
partisan fans who celebrate the successes and bemoan the reverses of
their favorite team. They wave flags, blare trumpets, beat
drums, swirl scarves, and, sometimes, they throw things onto the
field. Usually, what is thrown onto the field (confetti and
streamers) is inconsequential, at most a momentary
distraction.
At times, however, what is thrown onto the field
constitutes a serious interference in the match, either because of
the specific nature of the object (e.g., bottles or lit fireworks)
or because of the volume of the material covering the field and
making the surface dangerously unstable. In such cases, the
referee must suspend play, preferably at a stoppage called for some
other reason but otherwise without delay if the issue is the safety
of the players, the officials, or team personnel in the technical
areas. Before play can be resumed, it is the responsibility of
the home club (the organization sponsoring the match) to resolve the
problem without undue delay. Under certain circumstances, the
referee may consider removing players from the field for their
safety during this time.
A more difficult case is presented
when what is thrown onto the field is not intrinsically dangerous
but carries the threat of interfering with play in some significant
way. Referees are, of course, alert to such interference when
a ball enters the field and comes close enough to play to be
mistaken for the match ball. Another example that might be
cited is an EPL match (Sheffield United v. Manchester City) in
which, about 10 minutes into the first half, the ball was played
into the attacking third of the field at a time when more than a
dozen balloons were also in the area (it may be important to note
that the balloons were generally similar to the match ball in size
and color).
On a shot across the face of the goal, the ball
hit a balloon, causing the former to be redirected slightly and the
latter to be knocked toward the goal. Further play resulted in
other balloons moving and bouncing in front of the goalkeeper.
A goal was scored during what may have been a very confusing few
seconds.
In these ?gray area? situations, the referee must
evaluate a number of factors in order to determine if and when play
should be suspended until the problem is resolved.
- What is the likelihood that the foreign
object(s) might interfere with the safe movement of the players?
- What is the likelihood that the foreign
object(s) might confuse players and/or disrupt the flow of play?
- Is the problem with foreign object(s)
primarily at one end of the field and therefore more likely to
disadvantage one team over another?
Play should not be suspended for inconsequential
reasons and the referee must remain vigilant to the possibilities of
the match being disrupted by the sudden appearance of unwanted
objects on the field. Match officials must be sensitive to
things which interfere unduly with the beauty of the sport and make
a mockery of skilled play.
3.
Advantage in the Penalty
Area
From: Alfred
Kleinaitis
Manager of Referee Development and
Education Subject: Advantage in the Penalty
Area Date: April 11,
2008
Special circumstances govern the application of
advantage for offenses committed by defenders inside their own
penalty area. Although the basic concept of advantage remains
the same, the specific decision by the referee must be governed by
both the close proximity to the goal and the likelihood of
scoring from the penalty kick restart if play is stopped
instead of applying advantage.
The basic elements of the
decision are straightforward:
- Advantage is a team concept and
thus the referee must be aware not only of the fouled player's
ability to continue his or her attack but also of the ability of
any of the player's teammates to continue the attack themselves.
- Advantage has been applied when the
decision is made, not when the advantage signal is
given. The signal itself may often be delayed for 2-3
seconds while the referee evaluates the advantage situation to
determine if it will continue.
- Where it does not continue, the Laws of
the Game provide for the referee to stop play for the original
foul.
- If the original foul involved
violence, the referee is advised not to apply advantage
unless there is an immediate chance of scoring a
goal.
Inside the penalty
area, the competitive tension is much greater and the referee is
called upon to make quicker decisions. The time during which
the referee looks for advantage to continue becomes defined by the
probability of scoring a goal directly following the foul or from
the subsequent play.
In the attached clip of an incident
occurring in the 27th minute of a match on April 9 between New
England and Kansas City. NE defender #31 (Nyassi) fouls KC attacker
#11 (Morsink) near the top of the penalty area. Just as
Morsink is fouled, however, he passes the ball to his teammate #19
(Sealy).
The referee properly recognized the advantage but
then whistled for the foul against Morsink after he decided that a
goal would not be scored by Sealy. In fact, Sealy made a shot
on goal just as the whistle sounded and the ball failed to enter the
net.
- In the absence of a whistle stopping play
and if the ball had entered the net, the advantage would clearly
have continued and the goal would be counted.
- If, in this case, the ball had entered the
goal after the whistle had sounded, the goal could not
be counted.
- Ideally, the referee in this incident
should have delayed stopping play for the original foul until he
saw more concretely what Sealy would have been able to do with the
ball.
In this incident,
the penalty kick for the original foul was
successful.
Viewing U.S. Soccer's Referee Position
Papers:
To view the video related to this email and
others like it from the U.S. Soccer Referee Department, log onto
ussoccer.com's YouTube page and go to "Playlists" and then to
"Playlist Name: U.S. Soccer Referee Department" or click one of the
links below. This recent addition to the ussoccer.com's YouTube page
is the place to get caught up on all of U.S. Soccer's rule
interpretations. If you would like a copy of the video clip (1.19
MB), please reply to this e-mail or send an e-mail to communications@ussoccer.org.
4. Offside Offense on a Corner
Kick
From: Alfred
Kleinaitis
Manager of Referee
Development
and
Education
Subject: Offside Offense on a
Corner Kick
Date: April
24, 2008
Officials must remain focused and vigilant in order
to make correct offside decisions, particularly in situations where
an offside violation is not expected. Such was the case last
Sunday, April 20, in the match between Kansas City at Chicago when
corner kicks were called in favor of Chicago.
Twice, in a set
play often referred to as a ?short corner,? Chicago players (#21,
Mapp, and #10, Blanco) committed offside violations which were not
detected by the officiating team. Referees must remember that
Law 11 states there is no offside offense if a player receives the
ball directly from a corner kick. However, once the
corner kick has been taken (i.e., after the ball is kicked and
moved), all play occurring afterward must be closely monitored for a
possible offside offense and all the usual requirements of Law 11
must be applied.
The accompanying video clip highlights how a
corner kick can develop almost immediately into the sort of play
where an offside offense can occur. The referee and
assistant referee should have been alerted to this challenge by the
presence of two attackers close to each other at the corner, a team
tactic which has become more common in recent years. The
corner kick taker plays the ball to this nearby teammate. The
teammate stops the ball to allow the kicker to play the ball again
or may even play the ball back to the corner kick taker.
However, the moment the teammate makes contact with the ball, the
assistant referee must quickly determine if the basic conditions of
an offside position exist regarding any attacker but most
particularly regarding the corner kick taker.
If at least two
defenders had been standing on the goal line at the moment the
Chicago attacker stopped the ball which he had received from the
corner kick, there would have been no offside position and therefore
no offside violation in either situation.
This is a difficult
play to observe and the purpose of this paper is to raise awareness
as to its challenges for the officiating team. Referees and
assistant referees should also be prepared for actions by the
opposing team to counter the ?short corner? tactic, including an
increased likelihood of an encroachment violation as opponents
attempt to move in closer to mark both
attackers.
5. USA
CUP Info.
From: Mike Rolfes - Long time USA
CUP volunteer MichaelFRolfs@aol.com USA CUP Weekend '08 July 11 -
13 USA CUP '08 July 15 - 19 www.usacup.org
Thank you for
inviting me to share some of the specifics about USA CUP. If
an interested referee wants to learn more, please refer to the
official web site of USA CUP, www.usacup.org .
The best way, at least in my opinion, to get a
general overview of USA CUP, is to spend time surfing the web
site. One can literally spend hours looking at the pictures,
reading the blogs, and reading past editions of both a referee
newsletter and a tournament newsletter. (Hint - to read the
ref newsletter, from the homepage, click on REFEREES. In the
referee area, look on the list under Event Information.
Then click on the archived newsletters.)
One value for referees
attending USA CUP is working with such a diverse group of referees
from around the world. It has happened when none of the
officials assigned to game spoke the same language. There are
many variables available, but generally, the refs get themselves to
Blaine, the refs are responsible for housing and eating, the refs
are independent contractors who make themselves available to ref,
then the refs are assigned games. Some refs only come for
a few days and do the weekend tournament. Some refs only come
for the weeklong tournament. But most refs come for
both. If a referee is here the whole time, the likelihood of
doing 25 games is high.
Referees are
paid according to their USSF grade. The compensation
ranges from for Grade 4 and above Centers at $28 and $20 for ARs,
per game. Grade 8 Centers are paid $24 and ARs get
$17, per game. During USA CUP Weekend, the rate of pay is
a little lower. USA CUP is played all on one
site, The National Sports Center, www.nscsports.org. The NSC is located in Blaine, Minnesota,
about a 45 drive from MSP, the Minneapolis/St. Paul International
Airport. At the NSC there is a dormitory that many refs
house in during USA CUP. For $34 a day, the ref gets to room
with three others and eat three complete meals per day, in the NSC
Dorm Lunchroom. Many refs house at hotels but they still
purchase a meal plan. The rate is decent, the food is decent,
and sitting around the lunchroom with USA CUP people is, as
'they' say, priceless...
All USA CUP
transportation is provided, to and from, the NSC. For
example, if a referee flies into the MSP and houses at the NSC dorm,
USA CUP will have shuttles from the airport to the dorm.
During the evenings, USA CUP provides shuttles to "social
gathering' holes. Back in the early years, we called
them watering holes.
Please contact me or any
member of the USA CUP office staff to get any questions
answered.
|
|