Question Number: 21706

Law 17 - Corner Kick 7/27/2009

RE: Competitive Adult

Amy Lloyd of Portland, Oregon USofA asks...

This is seeking guidance as to proper communication between the officiating crew on a corner kick. There is also an embedded request for suggested action/s in situation/s where the AR is much younger than the CR who is senior in terms of age:

[It is a semifinal match played, on a windy (8-12kph) and hot (35C) afternoon, in a prestigious regional cup. The situation occured late in the 2nd half with no score.]

AR is on goal line for a corner kick. The ball is kicked and curves out of play beyond the goal line and enters the goal area on the other side of the goal-posts for a couple of challenges by both teams; the defense has two players at each post. AR signals the play by raising the flag, and keeps it raised while the CR is following the action in the goal area; it is immediately kicked out of play on the far touchline by the defense from the goal area. CR signals throw-in. AR waggles the flag animatedly and draws attention of CR vocally. AR signals goal-kick. CR notifies teams that there was an offside infraction, and signals a IFK. AR waggles again, however the CR has run up the field. Play is restarted by defense.

AR believes the restart was incorrect as it was a goal-kick (DK) and not an IFK. The AR is mystified as to how a CR interpreted the goal-kick signal as an offside on a corner kick.

AR is concerned that the incorrect restart was unfair for the defense as they had strong goal-kicker and a tailwind with 2 aggressive forwards.

AR is more upset not knowing how to communicate such muckups to senior referees. Please guide and counsel.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Amy, first of all I am pleasantly surprised as to why you used kph for speed and Celsius to quote temperature. I must congratulate you in using the sensible metric measurement as we do in Canada and not the old cumbersome miles and Fahrenheit, which is used only by a few old fashioned nations!
I think the age difference of the official and the AR is a red herring. The signals are uniform world wide and supposed to be unmistakable. No matter who was at the corner, old or young, the signal is flag straight up as soon as the ball curves out of play. The CR, young or old, should be looking right at the AR form the top of the penalty area on the far side of the field, on his diagonal. This is about as clear as it gets to see that the ball went out of play. As soon as the whistle goes, the flag is brought down to about level and pointed at the goal area for a goal kick.
There is no way it could be offside because on a corner kick there is no offside so it must be a goal kick. (It cannot be a foul, because that needs a waggle as the flag is raised.)
Simple, right? But we all now this already. Somehow the CR missed it. The AR did all the things that had to be done.
Well, Amy this is not a huge deal. IFK or GK from the goal area is pretty well the same even in a 12 kph wind. I suggest the AR look for bigger fish to fry.
CRs make mistakes and he just simply made one by not noticing the flag as it went up. And by the way, a 12 or 112 year old can make these mistakes. Nothing to do with age.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The referee team's communication sometimes breaks down. The first way we communicate is visually: with eye contact. The referee's ideal position on a corner kick will let her see the play and the assistant's referee's flag. When the referee misses the flag, the assistant referee should notice that there is a missed flag and mirror it. The referee ought to see one of the two flags. When, as happened in your case, the referee finally noticed the flag, the referee confused the similar signals between goal kick and offside infringement in the middle of the field. (The flag signals are the same: flag up; whistle, flag lowered parallel to the ground).

The second way we communicate is with our voice: if the assistant referee says, "it's a goal kick," any confusion may be resolved. (Note: the only significant difference in restarts is that there is no offside from a goal kick. But, the players need to be older to kick the ball to the other half of the field.) The AR indicates the location of the restart by moving on the touchline to the 6 (goal kick) or the place where the player was in offside position (if ourside the goal area.)

A referee team isn't built simply by three referees showing up with an assignment to the same field. Each member of the team brings different experience levels, as players and referee, that are useful to the art of managing players. It can be complicated when the mix is young and old: our usual roles are not those of members of the same team. The answer, however, starts with a good discussion before the match. If you have worked matches involving these teams or these coaches, share your information. Talk about situations and what the referee would like you to do. Missed flags is a good topic to discuss before the match.

The older person may not be the referee with the most experience on the team, but we assume it. The younger referee may have know the latest procedures and directives from USSF, and the older still using outdated information. On the other hand, the older referee may have a better understanding of what, for this match, is trivial and the things that, if ignored, make the game more enjoyable. Newer referees need time and experience to sort out the things that must be called from the things that can be called. Unless the team talks, people will assume experience/inexperience levels that might not be accurate.

Finally, the roles of the assistant referee and the referee are different. When the referee does something different that the assistant's signal, it is not the case that the referee has overruled the assistant referee. It isn't personal. The referee factors the information from the assistants, adds what she saw, and then makes a decision. People in different angles see things differently. The assistant referee does her job when she conveys the information she has to the referee.

When, as here, the referee doesn't understand the information provided by the assistant, the assistant referee has to ask two questions before letting the referee restart play: Do I fail the referee if I don't say or do something? Do I fail the Game, if I don't say or do something?