Question Number: 4916

Law 6 - Assistant Referee

Gary Voshol of Royal Oak, MI USA asks...

Re: 4910 (in which the ball apparently goes out of play, ref instructs to "PLAY ON", goal is scored when team which thinks it should get the throw-in relaxes its defense.)..We only have the statement of the coach that the ball was out of play. The center ref never indicated such; the AR only indicated it out of play *after* the coach instructed his player to take a throw-in. ..Mistakes most likely were made in this game. However, I think the biggest one was made by the coach and his players. How many times have we heard, "Play to the whistle"? I know, not every stoppage needs a whistle. But every stoppage must be a stoppage!..The AR may have been slow in recognizing the ball across the line. More likely, this coach thought he saw the ball across the line before it had gone out. The AR should have had the better view - the coach was staying within the technical area off the line, right?..Maybe the AR made a mistake in raising the flag in response to the coach's call for a throw-in. Maybe at that point the ball had gone out; maybe it hadn't. But the one who makes that decision is the ref, not the coach...Not to be too hard on this coach, but I suspect it is a first-person account. The coach of the team that scored wouldn't be writing in to complain, so it must be the coach of the team that was scored upon. Not hardly a neutral viewpoint...As one of the panel indicated, the original posting didn't have a question mark. Neither does this one - just my comments.

Answer provided by Referee Fredrikssonk

And we thank you for your comments!

Answer provided by Referee Nagy

Hi Gary! I note that your question is not a question either but there is something in your comments that deserves addressing. When the AR?s flag goes up for ball in touch, on time or late, the ref MUST stop play. At worst the restart is a drop ball. Play cannot continue under any circumstance if the ball went in touch. There was been an occasion when I was very close to the touchline and a rookie AR put up his flag for ball in touch and I overruled him. It was in my quarter of the field, I was in position and better to see the play. The ball was ON the line, not past it. I yelled PLAY ON, NOT OUT OF BOUNDS. This situation is different where the AR appeared to be better positioned better than the ref, but late in flagging. This late flag situation happens quite often on offside situations. How many times have you seen a goal scored and the ref calling it back because he didn?t see the offside flag in time? Sure the flag was late but the right decision is made in the end. Bottom line, throw in. Gene