Question Number: 26148

Law 6 - Assistant Referee 4/6/2012

RE: rec High School

Kathleen of Omaha, Nebraska United States of America asks...

I realize this is a slightly ridiculous question, however, I am really very confuesd. I realize that the two A.R./Linesmen each cover one half the feild but I am unsure as to what that means...Are they on oppsite sides of both the goal line and the hafway line, or are they on the same side of the goal line but opposite sides of the halfway line, or are they on oppositesides of the goal line but they both cover the entire length of the field? Thank you for any help.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Kathleen
Assistant Referees as the title suggest assist the referee in officiating the game. Their duties include informing the referee when the ball is out of play, calling offside and calling offences that the referee has not seen.
To do that they are positioned on each touchline and their patrol path is from the half way line to the goal line in one half of the field of play only. That positioning allows them to view the ball in and out of play all along the touchline on their side and also on one goal line each. Part of the duty includes determining offside so the AR moves up and down the touchline in line with the 2nd last defender again in one half of the field of play.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If the field runs north/south, the AR's will be posted adjacent to the northeast and southwest quadrants of the field. (Because of field conditions, the AR's may take the other corners; this is called a reverse diagonal.) They are responsible for the triangle that is formed by drawing a line from the goal to the intersection of the half line and side line. That is a generality; the AR can make a call whenever she has a better view of play than the ref. The AR will not run past the center line, except in exceptional circumstances.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The assistant referees patrol opposite touchlines.

Usually, each AR moves along the right half of the touchline, from the halfway line to the corner flag. That way, each AR is in position to determine when the ball is in or out of play for the right-most goal line .

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The Assistant Referee's primary responsibility is judging offside. So while he patrols the right hand side facing the goal from the halfway line to the goal line, his proper position is even with the next to last opponent or the ball, whichever is closer to the goal line. His next responsibility is to decide when the ball has gone out of play and the proper restart; throw-in and which direction, goal kick, corner kick, or kick-off.

The AR also assists the referee at the taking of goal,corner,and penalty kicks in deciding if they are properly taken, and if the ball has been put into play properly.
Lastly, the AR may call fouls that he believes the referee has not seen and to inform the referee if he thinks a call has been made incorrectly that is a misapplication of the Laws, such as awarding a penalty kick for a pass back violation by the keeper which should have been an indirect free kick

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 26171