PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (December 23, 2002 3:44 p.m. EST) - Soccer is
eliminating its age limit of 45 for international referees, according to FIFA
vice president Jack Warner.
Warner, the president of soccer's North and Central American and Caribbean
governing body, said he made recommendation at the Dec. 17 meeting of FIFA's
executive committee in Madrid, Spain.
"As from January, there is no more retirement age for referees in FIFA," Warner
said Sunday.
FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said Monday in Zurich, Switzerland, that he
couldn't immediately confirm Warner's announcement. "I'm not aware of whether or
not they took such a decision," he said.
GUIDLINES FOR ASSISSTANT REFEREES
Attention is drawn to the following decisions made at the 2nd UEFA Seminar for
international assistant referees for the benefit of international football in
Europe by adopting a standard approach in the performances of assistant
referees.
Offside
1. It was noted that there had been no changes in the offside law for the season
2002/03, nor any extra IFAB or FIFA directives.
2. If an assistant referee is not totally sure about an offside offence the flag
should not be raised (i.e. in case of doubt benefit must be given to the
attacking team).
3. In deciding whether an attacking payer is nearer to the opponent's goal line
than the second last defender, consideration should be given to the position of
the attacker’s feet and body in respect to that of the second last defender.
("Air space" or similar misleading phrases should not be used by instructors,
but instructors should emphasise that assistant referees must be sure that the
attacker is nearer to the goal line than the second last defender).
4. To ensure correct judgement of offside offences, an assistant referee should
not raise the flag before considering the following criteria, so called "wait
and see" technique:
a. Movement of the ball (direction, speed, distance, any deflection, etc.)
b. Involvement of the player in active play by:
ˇ interfering with play or
ˇ interfering with an opponent or
ˇ gaining an advantage.
It is better to be slightly late and correct, than to be too quick and wrong.
5. If a flag signal for offside is given and is not seen immediately by the
referee; the assistant referee must keep signalling until it has been recognised
or the ball is clearly in control of the defending team (the electronic beep
signal is used to alert the referee to the flag signal).
6. For very tight judgements where an assistant referee decides "not offside" a
discreet hand signal may give valuable support to the referee when the referee
makes eye-contact. Ball out of the field of play
7. Whenever the ball leaves the field of play, the flag signal of the assistant
referee should show clearly the correct restart and direction. In clear throw-in
situations, the assistant referee can directly show the direction (along the
whole touch line). But if he has any doubt about the direction, the assistant
referee should simply raise his flag, make eye contact with the referee and
follow the referee's signal. On very tight decisions, when the ball stays in
play, a discreet hand signal could give valuable support to the referee.
8. Whenever an assistant referee signals the ball out of the field of play (even
if players continue to play the ball) he must retain the signal until
acknowledged by the referee taking action.
9. When the ball enters a goal:
To confirm a valid goal has been scored, an assistant referee should display
clear movement down the touchline towards the centre line. In borderline cases,
this movement should be clear (sprint) to be recognised by the referee. To
confirm a goal, the assistant referee should not raise his flag. If in his
opinion a goal has not been scored correctly, the assistant referee should stand
still, retaining any signal already given. The referee may then choose to
consult further if he needs additional guidance.
Offences
10. An assistant referee must use a raised flag signal to advise the referee
that he has seen a foul committed (or unsporting behaviour or violent conduct)
when he is better positioned than the referee and the referee has not clearly
acted on the offence. If the assistant referee has additional information,
concerning the offence, he wishes to give to the referee or if the referee has
not seen his flag signal the electronic beep signal should be used, but only to
supplement the flag signal already given.
It was agreed that such action by an assistant referee will be taken for all
appropriate offences including those committed inside the penalty area.
Additionally it was agreed that there was benefit in the assistant referee being
seen to be aware and signalling for any offence in his immediate vicinity and
this practice is recommended. When a flag is raised for Law 12 offences, it
should be unfurled and waved to distinguish from the signal for offside.
11. If a flag signal for any offence is not seen immediately by the referee, the
assistant referee must keep signalling until he is acknowledged by the referee
or he recognises a clear advantage to the team against which the offence has
been committed.
12. It was recognised that eye-contact and discreet hand signals from an
assistant referee maybe helpful in passing information to a referee e.g. type of
offence, next action etc. This would reduce the need for him to come across to
the assistant referee for consultation.
Where direct consultation is necessary between the referee and assistant
referee, the information should include, as concisely as possible, what
happened, which players were involved, the precise location, recommended action
and the re-start of play. It is recommended that in such cases the assistant
referee advances towards the referee by four to five metres.
During consultation, the assistant referee and referee should both face the
field of play. It is usually appropriate to avoid the consultation being heard
or understood by others.
13. Offences of violent conduct seen and signalled by an assistant referee must
be acted upon in accordance with the Laws of the Game by the referee. If play
has been stopped for the disciplinary action (even if the signal has not been
seen immediately and play has continued), the restart must also be in accordance
with the Laws (free kick / penalty kick). However, if the assistant referee's
signal is not seen immediately and play has been restarted for a subsequent
situation only the appropriate disciplinary action can be taken against the
offending player.
14. Where a referee seeks guidance from an assistant referee concerning the
exact location of an offence near the boundary of the penalty area the action of
the assistant referee should be as follows:
a. If the offence is inside the penalty area – the assistant referee moves
visibly down the touchline towards the corner flag.
b. If the offence is outside the penalty area – the assistant referee stands
still having moved to be in line with the edge of the penalty area.
Obvious incorrect decision of the referee
15. If an assistant referee knows that a referee has made an obvious
disciplinary error (e.g. two yellow cards to the same player without sending him
off, red or yellow card to the wrong player, player kicked the ball twice at
free kick, etc.) he must intervene immediately (flag and beep or even enter the
field of play). The other assistant referee (or 4th official) should if
necessary, also assist in such case.
Control of the 9.15m distance
16. When a referee chooses to use the help of an assistant referee on the field
of play to control the 9.15m distance from the ball at free-kick, it is
recommended that the assistant referee does not physically measure the 9.15m but
rather asserts his control from the position of the ball. This exceptional on
field involvement of the assistant referee is recommended only for free kicks
very near the touchline.
Positioning
Free kick close to the penalty area
17. At free-kicks close to the penalty area, the assistant referee should
position himself in line with the second last defender (controlling the
offside), but also with awareness of the goal line. The referee should control
the ball and the wall.
After an offside
18. When possible an assistant referee, after a free kick for offside has been
given, should position himself in line with the spot where the ball should be
positioned to restart the game. He should then immediately take up a position to
control the offside line (level with the second-last defender), which is his
priority. This priority was re-emphasised in the seminar.
Goal kick and goal clearance
19. For goal kicks and when the goalkeeper is in possession of the ball inside
his own penalty area, it is advised that the assistant occasionally checks that
the ball is correctly positioned or that the goalkeeper does not cross the 16
metre line before releasing the ball from his hands. This should be done in
convenient situations (e.g. second last defender near the penalty area). Control
of offside from subsequent play is the priority concern.
This priority was re-emphasised in the seminar.
Corner kick
20. For corner kicks, it is recommended that the assistant involved takes a
position behind the flag in line with the goal line.
Penalty kick
21. When a penalty kick is awarded during the normal course of play, the
assistant should be on the goal line where it meets the penalty area boundary
line.
22. For kicks from the penalty mark to determine the winner of a match, one
assistant should be positioned on the goal line where it meets the goal area
boundary line, with the other assistant controlling the players within the
centre circle.
Substitution
23. It was decided that when substitutions take place, they shall be supervised
by the fourth official in co-operation with the referee. The assistant referee
does not need to move to the halfway line.
Flag technique
24. It is recommended that an assistant referee holds the flag in his hand
nearest to the field of play by switching hands whenever he changes his
direction of movement so that the flag is visible to the referee at any time. It
is suggested to the associations to instruct new assistant referees in this way,
however this technique is not compulsory for experienced assistant referees.
The referee observer shall continue to assess the performance of the assistant
referee according to the accuracy of his decisions.
UEFA / Referees Committee / September 2002
