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Soccer Rules Changes 1580-2000


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Question Number: 25732

The Fourth Official 11/10/2011

RE: Adult

Steven of Sydney , NsW Australia asks...

Is they Fourth Official now allowed to assistant the referee with any missed infringement of the laws of the game ?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Steven
The 4th official is not an assistant referee but the Laws have been amended to state that he can assist the referee to control the match in accordance with the Laws of the Game.
Prior to that change the 4th official could only deal with unseen violent conduct and inform the referee of facts such as a caution error by the referee or mistaken identity.



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Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Yes. Subject to pregame instruction, the fourth referee is empowered to alert the referee during the match about events that occur that the referee has not seen. It increases the need for the fourth official to watch the players (not just the technical area) and for more eye contact with the referee during the match.

Since there may be no standard mechanics for how the fourth official provides information to the referee, this is an important part of the pregame.



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