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They shouldn't be operating two offside systems in the same game, especially with significantly different standard errors.

Astonished that they can't track the ball position.
Why not? It creates resilience.
 
The Referee Store
I am being fair, I could be far harsher. If I was his manager he'd be getting fined 2 weeks wages and be facing a laws of the game test after those two weeks were up 😂

Football is seriously the only profession where it is deemed OK to not know the regulations that you operate under. It is totally nonsensical.
It's definitely not only football - this from the aftermath of the India v ****stan T20 World Cup game last Sunday :

Former ****stan opener Salman Butt too has opined on the same in a video shared on his YouTube channel and slammed the ****stan players for not knowing the cricketing rules and laws and said that they should take classes to understand the laws better.

I also don't think it's as black and white as knowing or not knowing the laws.

Almost no-one knows them all. How many referees get 100% in any LOTG test ? That includes elite referees - we did a test at a development event a couple of years that had recently been given to a meeting of SG2 referees. Only 2 of them got all the questions right.

So expecting a player to know the whole book back to front is unreasonable. They should be expected to know the basics - a valid debate whether offside from a ball played backwards, which very rarely happens, is part of the basics.

(by the way, the **** are not mine - seems there is an overzealous language filter in play)
 
It's definitely not only football - this from the aftermath of the India v ****stan T20 World Cup game last Sunday :

Former ****stan opener Salman Butt too has opined on the same in a video shared on his YouTube channel and slammed the ****stan players for not knowing the cricketing rules and laws and said that they should take classes to understand the laws better.

I also don't think it's as black and white as knowing or not knowing the laws.

Almost no-one knows them all. How many referees get 100% in any LOTG test ? That includes elite referees - we did a test at a development event a couple of years that had recently been given to a meeting of SG2 referees. Only 2 of them got all the questions right.

So expecting a player to know the whole book back to front is unreasonable. They should be expected to know the basics - a valid debate whether offside from a ball played backwards, which very rarely happens, is part of the basics.

(by the way, the **** are not mine - seems there is an overzealous language filter in play)
Scunthorpe.

😏
 
It's definitely not only football - this from the aftermath of the India v ****stan T20 World Cup game last Sunday :

Former ****stan opener Salman Butt too has opined on the same in a video shared on his YouTube channel and slammed the ****stan players for not knowing the cricketing rules and laws and said that they should take classes to understand the laws better.
I know it's not a Cricket forum 🤣

But that was more of a "loophole" in the law. You can be bowled and score runs on the same delivery if it's a free hit
 
In the first few pages of 'The Art of Refereeing', the Author talks about an unhealthy relationship between Referees and players (the wider football community). We're too keen to mock their lack of understanding of the Laws. It's the same in many disciplines and sports. All footballers want, is for us to show up and give the game a sense of fairness and promote the enjoyment as best we can. I don't blame them for not picking the book up. Besides, most Referees couldn't articulate the offside Law, so why should players be able to do so. Indeed, most Referees struggle with the book full-stop cos it's a jumbled mess of a pamphlet. Perhaps if the book was re-written from scratch (or two books re-written from scratch) by people who are competent at doing so, it would be more accessible and much easier to interpret by Refs and players alike

In a nutshell and having seen it from both sides, both players (and the wider footy community) and R's are guilty 'us & them' attitude
Thanks for that. I feel exactly the same and don’t understand all these refs saying that players should absolutely know the laws. If he surprised if most of the refs knew all the laws and intricacies.
 
The absolute whiplash I just got spotting your tweet saying this just now haha!

Think @JamesL has made it fairly clear why it's not quite right though
Definitely agree with this. I've spent some time in the sin bin for calling a referee smug as a player, nothing infuriates me more than an arrogant referee.

I once received an elbow to the back in full view of a referee and, after a prolonged period on the floor with ice, I stood up and said to him "I know the rules, he can't just stick an elbow in like that, it's a strike" he replies "it's laws actually". Which, whilst correct, as a player feels like he cares more about pedantry than my safety and the actual content of the laws.

This kind of thing encouraged me to take the course and attempt to referee in a way that doesn't treat players like they're stupid. I will say "the law is etc etc" but I won't correct a player if they say "what's the rule" because in that moment they don't give a sh*t.
You agree with this and yet you posted on my comment that you nearly got whiplash from my comment..
 
We're too keen to mock their lack of understanding of the Laws.

I have absolutely no problem with players who don't know the laws. Right up to the point that they're screaming at me about a perfectly correct decision I've just made because they don't know the laws.

A recent example: A free kick is given for offside where the offence occurred, which was in the offside player's own half, him having retreated from the offside position he was in when the ball was played. At least 5 players of the offending team get quite nasty over an extended period because "it can't possibly be offside there you idiot". (This was an FA Vase game and I was on the line.)

If you don't know the laws, fine. But don't abuse an official as a result of your ignorance.
 
I have absolutely no problem with players who don't know the laws. Right up to the point that they're screaming at me about a perfectly correct decision I've just made because they don't know the laws.

A recent example: A free kick is given for offside where the offence occurred, which was in the offside player's own half, him having retreated from the offside position he was in when the ball was played. At least 5 players of the offending team get quite nasty over an extended period because "it can't possibly be offside there you idiot". (This was an FA Vase game and I was on the line.)

If you don't know the laws, fine. But don't abuse an official as a result of your ignorance.
Well I agree, but not knowing the rules 🙄 and misconduct :mad: are separate issues
Whilst equally prevalent, the latter is far more important than the former
 
Well I agree, but not knowing the rules 🙄 and misconduct :mad: are separate issues

I don't think any referee has ever complained about players not knowing the laws unless this lack of knowledge has led to some sort of confrontation. How would we even know that they don't know the laws unless they start moaning?
 
I have absolutely no problem with players who don't know the laws. Right up to the point that they're screaming at me about a perfectly correct decision I've just made because they don't know the laws.

A recent example: A free kick is given for offside where the offence occurred, which was in the offside player's own half, him having retreated from the offside position he was in when the ball was played. At least 5 players of the offending team get quite nasty over an extended period because "it can't possibly be offside there you idiot". (This was an FA Vase game and I was on the line.)

If you don't know the laws, fine. But don't abuse an official as a result of your ignorance.
I have absolutely no problem with players who don't know the laws. Right up to the point that they're screaming at me about a perfectly correct decision I've just made because they don't know the laws.

A recent example: A free kick is given for offside where the offence occurred, which was in the offside player's own half, him having retreated from the offside position he was in when the ball was played. At least 5 players of the offending team get quite nasty over an extended period because "it can't possibly be offside there you idiot". (This was an FA Vase game and I was on the line.)

If you don't know the laws, fine. But don't abuse an official as a result of your ignorance.
Why was the free kick given in the offender's own half?
 
IDFK from where the offside offence occurred (involved in active play), rather than (as had been the law) where the player in an offside position had been when the ball was played.

So from an offside position a player could come a long way into their own half to get the ball.

I'm still waiting as an AR to be in one half, pointing my flag into the other half. But (different issue), in the EPL or CL with VAR and a delayed flag, I've yet to see an AR run back to where the offence occurred, possibly near the halfway line, to indicate where to take the FK, rather than where play was when the move broke down and he could flag. I suppose if players knew the law, they could tell the ref that they want to take the FK from the right place...
 
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I agree on the arrogance point, but this idea that H&S deps hold all responsibility is a bad comparison because it isn't true
You knew what I meant. I was just trying to illustrate there’s lot of occasions in life that people don’t know all the laws and footballers are no different.
 
Semi-automated offside taking over 3 minutes to create the image in the Liverpool v Napoli game.
 
I have some sympathy here, this is the point of contact, his arms are tucked in and low. A fraction of a second later his arm is in the air. 1667345685686.png

1667345510886.png
 
I have some sympathy here, this is the point of contact, his arms are tucked in and low. A fraction of a second later his arm is in the air. View attachment 6096

View attachment 6095
Tucked in and low might be relevant for accidental handball, but that's deliberate.

It's an offence if a player:
  • deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, for example moving the hand/arm towards the ball

The rest of the law about "unnaturally bigger" is irrelevant if it's deliberate.

Whether the law should be changed to allow players to protect themselves from concussion is another matter (including in a wall).
 
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