A Paul Trevillion referee illustration

Ask the Ref:  Additional Assistant Referees - UEFA European Championships 2012

Keith Hacket on the refree teams at the 2012 European Championshps.

I am sure that many of you will have seen the Additional Assistant Referees operating in these exciting championship games and I have been asked by many people who are they and what their role is.

So Soccernation Website You are the Ref regulars I am delighted to define their role for you.

These officials are International Referees in their own right operating not only at top level in their own domestic competitions but in games around the world.

Supporting English Referee Howard Webb are UEFA Elite Referees Martin Atkinson and Mark Clattenburg.

Their role is clearly defined and I am happy to pass on to you the criteria in how they operate during the course of the game.

The AARs must not enter the field of play whilst the ball is in play but can do so during a stoppage to assist the referee to control the players when required to do so,

The AAR must be active and move along the goal line to ensure he gains the best view/angle of any possible incident that he may be required to inform the referee of. He must not remain static.

Information is passed to the referee by means of the radio communication system. Should this system fail then the electronic beep sticks (No flag attached), should be used to attract the referee’s attention.

The AAR will assist the referee to control incidents in and around the penalty area, particularly at free kicks and corner kicks. Prior to the match the referee and the AAR will agree their specific areas of responsibility

The AAR is instructed to refrain from using any type of hand signal.

The AAR must act in a preventative manner when holding and pulling offences occur within the penalty area and inform the referee immediately should the behaviour continue.

Should the AAR feel at any time endangered by spectators (e.g. throwing objects etc.) then he must inform the referee immediately.

At halftime and at the end of the match the AARs join the referee and colleagues in the centre of the field of play

Should the match be decided by kicks from the penalty mark, one of the AARs will maintain their position on the goal line, but on the opposite side of the goal to that of the Assistant Referee, to assist the referee in deciding if the ball has crossed the goal line.

In the England v Ukraine game we saw after several television replays that the ball had crossed the goal line and a goal was not awarded.

The Referee and his colleagues involved in this controversial incident have been relieved of any further appointments in the tournament.

I am sure that the Referee involved in the incident will be very disappointed that his colleague got it so wrong.

I am a strong supporter of the introduction of goal line technology and having worked in the early days with HAWKEYE I am hoping that the IFAB responsible for the laws of the game will allow its introduction.

A decision is to be made in early July.

Keith Hacket on the EURO Cup

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Keith Hackett is a world class ref and the author of You Are the Ref, the Ultimate Illustrated Guide to the Laws of Football and the new book, You Are the Umpire.  The books are available on Amazon.com.  The amazing illustrations are by Paul Trevillion. 

You Are The Ref is a cult classic comic strip in England.  SN is thrilled to bring this to our American soccer audience and share these stunning portraits of soccer stars from all eras. For anyone who has ever questioned a ref's eyesight or grappd with a clearly 'wrong' call, now it is your turn! 

According to David James, "Anyone who loves the game knows You Are The Ref.  Paul Trevillion's brillant art has been around for generations!"

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.