Live and Learn

During the majority of matches in which we officiate I am sure that we can always take unusual incidents and analyse whether we have acted in the correct manner. I am sure at times we all "bend" the laws of the game to ensure justice prevails or am I assuming to much.

As an exercise I list below six different scenarios in which I have been involved sometimes in the middle and other times as an assistant.  It may be interesting at a future meeting to discuss one or two of these as to what action we feel should have been taken.  Teams and other officials names have not been used to protect the innocent as well as the guilty.

1) You are refereeing using club linesmen.  The ball goes wide to an attacking forward on the wing.  He pushes the ball past the defender close to the line and beats the man.  The club linesman waves vigorously indicating the ball has gone out of play and you blow your whistle accordingly.

The forward turns on the linesman and calls him a cheating bastard and the 'line' retorts with "more than half the ball had crossed the line".

2) You are running the line and the play quickly breaks to your sphere of control.  The forward rounds the keeper and is brought down just outside the penalty area.  The referee some distance away instantly awards a penalty and is then surrounded by defenders asking him to consult with you.

3) You are again running the line.  From a corner a skirmish occurs at the near post closest to you.  Unsighted to the referee a punch is thrown by a defender and connects with the chin of a forward. The referee cautions both players over the incident.

4) This time you are refereeing two teams that you have officiated on a regular basis and get on with well. You are having a complete mare to the extent that you have awarded a corner to one of the teams even though the ball is still in play.  Before the resulting corner is taken one of the defenders leans on your shoulder and quietly informs you that "me and the lads have had a chat we have a great deal of respect for you but today your having a f****** nightmare".

5) You are in the middle and a forward and a defender challenge for a ball in the air and the forward gets his head to the ball just in front of the defender.  The ball breaks to another forward who is clearly in an offside position who scores.  The appointed neutral assistant does not raise his flag for offside.

6) You have dismissed a player for violent conduct.  He has left the field of play and as play continues he walks around the pitch. As he passes the corner flag he removes it and hurls it some distance away (in fact over the low covered terrace).

All of the above six situations involve complexities within the laws of the game and how you handle them.  What also has to be remembered is that when you are part of a team of officials teamwork and cooperation are vital.

What would you have done in these situations I wonder if they match with what I did I am sure that none of us would have responded identically in all six scenarios.

Barrie M Gale