Question Number: 21042

Law 6 - Assistant Referee 3/26/2009

RE: Under 17

David of Des Moines, IA US asks...

This question is a follow up to question 21020

Thanks for answering my question.

Forgive my denseness but there are still a couple of things that I am unsure of:

1.I know to stop play immediatley if the foul is being retaliated, but if not and the ball has been cleared way up field in favor of the victims team, do I wait for a stoppage to raise my flag and get the center's attention, or do I stand there with my flag up while play is going on?
Remember the Ref and most of the action is already upfield and he may not see the flag immediatly and it could be a scoring opportunity.
2. I am embarassed to ask this one, but what about the restart when you play advantage for a cautionable offense in this situation? (after waiting for a stoppage)
I would think that you would have to restart way back in the victim's defensive end of the field (where the foul occured) even if the ball was way up field at the time of the stoppage. That wouldn't be a crowd pleaser but perhaps there's a better way to handle the situation.
Your advice would be appreciated.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

While the AR does not call advantage, he does evaluate it, hopefully in synch with how the referee would call it if he saw it. That means if Red has a good advantage, you wouldn't signal for a foul and misconduct by Blue just then. If you do play the mental AR advantage, then you inform the referee at the next stoppage who should be cautioned and why. (If it would have been a send-off, you should probably attempt to stop play ASAP, unless the ball is headed directly for the net.) The restart would be for the reason play was stopped - throw in, another foul, kickoff following goal, etc.

If you must stop play, the referee probably won't immediately see your signal, but the other AR should see it. He then would mirror your signal, and when acknowledged by the referee, he would motion back to your raised flag.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

If it involves violent conduct, unless a goal is eminent, you should do whatever you need to, to get the referee's attention and have play stopped and the VC punished. If it is a foul or a cautionable foul and the referee has gone over in pregame what you should do, you wait until the stoppage and get the referee's attention and give him or her your information. the restart, however, HAS to be for whatever caused the stoppage.