Question Number: 12895

Character, Attitude and Control 5/27/2006

RE: Rec Under 19

A. Timmes of Colonia, NJ United States asks...

I've been witness to a couple of discussions between referees about decisions involving directives from both the USSF and FIFA affecting calls on the field. This leads me to conclude that the Laws of the Game are not the only thing a referee uses (having taken an entry-level FIFA referee course, I know that the instructors often arm the new recruits with bits of hard-fought practical wisdom as well). What specific function does the publication of the rules serve, then? And more importantly, who is the target audience - the refs, the coaches, the players, or the parents/fans? I'm interested in seeing how FIFA views the relationship between their memos/directives and the actual Laws themselves. Thanks!

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The Laws Of The Game do not cover every nuance and application of the rules. Advice To Referees is a guide for US referees and contains interpretations of Law that US referees must abide by. That said, they will never contradict anything in LOTG. Every year, FIFA also puts out on it's website Q & A on the LOTG and the Q&A carry the full weight of FIFA. ADvice should never contradict the latest Q&A. If it does, we are bound by the Q&A and Advice will reflect the Q&A next issue. USSF has an official Q&A website run by Jim Allen who is instrumental in the writing and updating of Advice. Since Mr. Allen's website is the most current information, it supercedes Advice. Lastly, memoranda are put out by both FIFA and USSF. So, we are ALL bound by LOTG, Q&A on LOTG, and FIFA memoranda and if any of these are in conflict among themselves, we abide by the most current. US referees are bound by interpretations in Advice, Q&A, and any memoranda. Again, we go with whatever is most current. If USSF is in conflict with IFAB I suppose we go with IFAB and ask USSF why there's a conflict for clarification.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

You have indicated a desire to know my opinion I will try to give you a reasoned one but you must address this to FIFA for only they ?? the powers that be can understand what it is they wish to convey.

Consider the USA has compiled the "ATR" {advise to referees} a special document that tries to interpret the laws for their referees in a uniform way so that the players coaches and fans can see a consistant pattern in how things are to be handled. Each nation does try to follow the FIFA laws of the game yet the USA has several bodies of soccer who do not and adapt the game to fit their look on things.

There are a few literal interpretations that are frankly seen differently from country to country as well as referee to referee.
Any quality referee will tell you that knowing how and when to bend the laws is a trademark of those who understand the game . Also the needs of the participants vary greatly from grassroots to elite play. I referee, play, coach, spectator and parent. I wear a different hat on each occassion and while mindfull of the other hats present MY hat is MY hat!

If you are on the highway where the posted signage states 65 and you are going 67 do you expect a speeding ticket? Technically you broke the law but then we add a contingency factor of + or - 5 or is it 10" so now 70=75 is just tolerable but 71 or 76 might get you pinched! Yet your wife is having a baby you are rushing to the hospital doing 80 the police pull you over intent on issuing punishment yet now they wave it with a warning and you follow them as they escort you to the hospital at 90.

Refereeing is much the same the laws are there to encourage safe fair play. We recognize that at times things not not always follow the letter of the law we try to encompass the spirit of why those laws are there!

I would not be surprised if your recent conversations were about the advantage and DOGSO and or offside or quick free kicks. These issues recently have created much ado about nothing as well as interesting and informative dialogue

The laws are a guideline to FAIRPLAY in a game that is supposed to be fun as well as competative and exciting.
The laws give the referee a set of guidelines to officate a match where HE is the only person unconcerned with who wins or loses. The emotion and passion generated by the needs of the participants and the desire of the fans cannot understand or make themselves realize the one true aspect of agreeing to disagree for the good of the game a referee with integrity sees what he sees even if he sees it different. It is not that a referee is ALWAYS correct in what he sees I have seen some very weird decisions and placement of balls for incidents not consistant with the event. In some cases we must acknowledge that the humanity of each individual that couldbe at who knows what stage of the learning curve he is at.

If we have no faith in those who referee our matches and undestandable given recent allegations in Italy and Germany of match fixing a mistake is not viewed as, "Oh how did he miss that? he/she was inexperianced or poorly position? Instead it is undercut into," WHY did he miss it? Deliberately biased or cheating as many fingers of blame are needlessly directed towards officials for reasons other than just not being very good or having a bad day.

When the IFAB and FIFA get around to handing out memos or placing responses in their Q@A literature generally states an approach they wish implemented. The problem is often they are poorly worded even if well meant and occassionaly redundant and quite wrong. Retractions and reprints and add on explanations are considered if in the powers that be find fault or blame in some medial aspect of the game at the elite level. If you recall the laws of the game were republished into a very thin book after the laws had expanded into a thick mass of directives and additional information back in the 1990's and again that book is steadily regaining its girth.

I do feel that players and coaches should make a greater effort to at least take the referee course to get a feel for the rational of why referees act or do certain things. I encourage all fans, parents and leagues to enter into contracts of fairplay with open house information exchanges so the game can be explained from all points of view.
TV have far too many commentators who bollocks up simple concepts and attribute additional garbage in certain situations that serve no purpose for the game other than to wind up people into a jumble of confusion, confrontation and crap should at least try to find a referee who can explain the reasons why a decision is made be it technically correct sprirt driven or outright in error! Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

In America the precedence for the various publications, as published in a US Soccer Memorandum addressing Cautionable Offenses. It is hidden there because there were insufficient funds available to publish a new edition of Advice to Referees, at least in my opinion.
The precedence is as follows:

The Laws of the Game (LOTG),

?Additional Instructions? (abbreviated here as AI and found printed in the Law book after the Laws),

Questions and Answers (Q&A, last published in 2004),

Advice to Referees (ATR), and

USSF memoranda, including the annual publication Instructions for Referees and Resolutions Affecting Team Coaches and Players (Resolutions)

The document was published as 2004 Cautionable Offenses on 8/24/2004 in a .pdf file of 80.1 KB Perhaps it is still available at the US Soccer website.

The target audience on this memo was US Soccer referees. It, in effect, says the Laws of the Game are not the only binding directives a referee should be familiar with. It implies that where there is a conflict the higher precedence document controls the referee's action.

Regards,