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Congratulation to the referees who worked the Regionals last weekend. Here are some photos of them from the event.
Week 3 Recap
From time to time I get pictures and video of situations from different resources that show me things that can be improved by referees for which I am thankful. I received more video and pictures from this past weekend than I have ever had before. I don't want to single anyone out but some of the stuff I saw got me upset for one of two reasons 1) positioning was terrible or 2) the referee(s) did not know the rules.
For the first item I am upset that any referee would be standing on the pitch during play when there is plenty of space off the touchline. I saw more than 1 referee standing on the pitch while the ball was in play in a 2 referee system game. If you are unsure of what the positioning should be for a 2 referee system, download the FIFA Laws of the Game (there is a link at the bottom of the page) and start at page 97. To summarize, your positioning should be similar to being an Assistant Referee in a soccer match. For the 1 referee games for the younger kids, your positioning will mostly be running along a touchline. When the opportunity presents itself it is okay to run across the field to the other touchline. In either scenario,
DO NOT GET IN THE WAY OF THE PLAY!
With the second topic, of not knowing/applying the law/rules correctly.....if it's a matter of interpretation (ie. goalkeeper slide vs dive).....okay, you can always ask for a clarification from me, but if you mess up something that is concrete like the distance on a penalty kick (which is 20 feet) then I am going to be displeased.
In the picture to the left, a penalty kick has been awarded. The ball has been placed at the top of the 3 point arc for basketball. Note that the goal is pushed all the way back to the wall. The distance of a 3 point arc for high school basketball is 19 feet and 9 inches from the baseline (the inner most part of the baseline, the red part that this keeper is standing on). If the goal was set on the top of the baseline it would make perfect sense to take the penalty kick from the top of the 3 point arc with 3 inches being inconsequential. However since the goal is pushed back a good 5 feet, the penalty kick in this picture is now being taken from 25 feet away. The odds of this kick going in instead of one at 20 feet are next to nothing. It's a 25% error in distance from the proper location. The foul line is located 15 feet from where the backboard would be and roughly 18 feet from the baseline. Putting the ball on the foul line, even though a bit further than 20 feet still is the best spot for the kick as it is marked and is close enough to the distance requirement, give or take a foot or two.
These are the type of things John Branca and I shouldn't ever have to deal with or mention.
Lastly, and I got phone call where the person on the other side was not happy. The top two priorities of the referees for LI Futsal 1) Safety & 2) keep the games on time. I got a call on early Sunday morning around 9:20 from an unhappy league President. Turns out one of the venues was running 10 minutes behind because a referee was taking 5 minutes to check in teams before each match. I got angry because at the referee meeting we discussed the priority of keeping the games on time and how to go about checking teams in quickly while ensuring everything is in order. The league pays a lot of money for the rental of the gyms. If we as referees are the reason games are running late due to unnecessary long check ins or referees not arriving on time (yes, there were late referees last week too), then you are costing the league money in additional rental time. I'm not going to type out what to do if you're running late because it's already posted on this page down below. If you don't follow the procedures, you will not be assigned by me any longer.
To check a team in should take no more than 30 seconds. Get the roster fro the coach; while walking towards the players, take a look at their equipment to make sure everything looks good; tell the player to tell you their names when you call out their jersey numbers; ensure all coaches names are on the roster. If any changes as far as player numbers or coaches names need to be made, have a coach do it. It is their responsibility to present you with a properly filled out roster.
I am hoping that this upcoming weekend runs smoother all around. If I did not get a W9 from you this will be your last weekend of assignments. You will probably not got paid on time as well because I use the information on your W9 to send the checks to you. The first check will go out after week 5, the last weekend in January. The second checks will go out after the season is over.
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