There is a little Arm Chair Ref In All of Us

ASK THE REF:  HOW DID HE MISS THAT?

At the elite level of Refereeing games are covered by a large number of television cameras, beaming the action to armchair viewers around the world.

Premier League games here in England are covered by a minimum twenty six cameras giving those terrific shots that we now take for granted.

The depth and quality of this coverage can at times expose the referee and highlight errors in the decision making process

Referees now have to be fit for the task in hand having to cover in excess of 11.500 meters (about 7-8 miles).

However whilst proximity to play is important the essential task of the Referee is to achieve the appropriate viewing angle in order to detect an offence.

So sprinting and agility figure highly in the requirements of top level Referees. If you are not in a good viewing position then you are at risk of missing a foul challenge. It is very easy to have a player blocking your view when that foul challenge is committed.

This is where your pre-match instructions with your two Assistant Referees and your fourth official are vital in order to ensure that where you are caught with no viewing angle they operate their scanning radar and come in on the decision and assist.

This approach to prepare before the game will hopefully reduce the risk of you missing an offence.

One other area where Referees can fail to detect that late challenge is when they follow the ball on a clearance up field and do not hold their gaze.

Holding your gaze to monitor those late challenges is essential. This will ensure that when the ball is cleared up field by the defender you are monitoring for that late foul challenge by the forward.

The Referee has only one chance to SEE, RECOGNISE, THINK and ACT there cannot be room to guess because this is when errors are made.

The Television Producer with a bank of screens in front of him can at the switch of a button expose that refereeing error.

He can go to instant replay, slowing the action down, exposing that punch on an opponent off the ball or those challenges that should be punished by instant dismissal.

The armchair viewer having seen the incident begins to criticise the Referee often shouting “How did he miss that”.

The other area of action that can expose the match referee to error is when judging simulation.

Here again instant replay and slow motion can pick up these types of offences often better than the referee who with one view and fractions of a second to make a decision must act quickly.

Please be assured that every referee gives their decisions in an honest and fair manner.

They work hard to analyse performance and improve their decision making accuracy.

Immediately, the referee crosses over the touchline - they should not worry about the cameras but fully concentrate on getting those decisions correct for the good of the game. 

See all previous answers to ASK the REF

 

---

 

Keith Hacket is a world class ref and the author of You Are the Ref

Any opinions expressed in this column shall not be construed as advice on Laws of the Game, and may not represent the official position of US Soccer, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), CalSouth, the Presidio League, or any affiliates thereof unless specified with appropriate attribution or reference.