A&H

AR movement

alexv

RefChat Addict
Level 5 Referee
Seen more and more of ARs walking backwards and forwards, rather than sidestepping. Noticed it a few times last season, in all games during the WWC and in this pre-season friendly I'm watching. What is the preferred way of movement for the AR? What's preferred by observers and assessors?
 
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The trend is towards common sense and injury prevention. Side step when needed but otherwise use common sense and walk naturally. If there's no possibility of an imminent offside decision or there's no attacker near the 2LD, then walk.
 
Seen more and more of ARs walking backwards and forwards, rather than sidestepping. Noticed it a few times last season, in all games during the WWC and in this pre-season friendly I'm watching. What is the preferred way of movement for the AR? What's preferred by observers and assessors?
Observers in England Don't like to see you walking.
I specifically got pulled up for walking backwards once.
Sidestepping and crabbing unless you are running is the order of the day.
 
Bad news for the knees of all Level 4's in later life but undoubtedly true! :)
Weirdly I crab a lot, I mean a loooot, way more than necessary, maximum possible, really a lot... but no knee knack (touch wood)... instead I get toe blisters and some foot bone bruising. I wonder how much techniques differ... my heels are up..,
 
Side to side facing the FoP with flat fully visible to the Referee is my preference. Works for me but I am fully aware that it may not work for others
 
I was recently watched by a professional AR here in the US. He said I was sidestepping way too much. Sounds like the observers in the UK are just in the "we've always done it this way" mindset.
It is a load of nonsense though. Assuming your positioning is correct, how can you sidestep too much? To differentiate between officials above a certain level, these kinds of observation comments seem pointless and manufactured. Besides, why should your observers comments be correct when we've 'always done it this way' for a reason?
 
But why sidestep when you don't need to? It's much more natural to walk. If there's no possible offside decison and no attacker in an osp or near an offside position then just walk.
 
IMHO, sidestepping is an important skill when it matters. In other words, when there is a potential OS decision to be made, sidestepping is the only way to be well positioned, square to the field, in order to make a skilled call. But when there is no potential impeding call to make, who cares? I suspect that the professional AR talking to @cwyeary wasn't criticizing so much as pointing out that it is unnecessary. Just as players sprint when they need to and jog or walk when they don't, I think ARs should crab/sidestep when they need to and use less physically challenging modes (jog/walk) when there is no impending OS issue to worry about.

Of course, anyone being told to sidestep unnecessarily because that is what the powers that be want needs to follow those instructions to advance.
 
IMHO, sidestepping is an important skill when it matters. In other words, when there is a potential OS decision to be made, sidestepping is the only way to be well positioned, square to the field, in order to make a skilled call. But when there is no potential impeding call to make, who cares? I suspect that the professional AR talking to @cwyeary wasn't criticizing so much as pointing out that it is unnecessary. Just as players sprint when they need to and jog or walk when they don't, I think ARs should crab/sidestep when they need to and use less physically challenging modes (jog/walk) when there is no impending OS issue to worry about.

Of course, anyone being told to sidestep unnecessarily because that is what the powers that be want needs to follow those instructions to advance.
Maybe we're all on the same page. If there's any requirement to do so whatsoever, we should either be crabbing or legging it
 
It's all about credibility really. If you are slightly out of line and not facing into play, then players will call you out on it whether you're walking crabbing or doing a soft-shoe shuffle
 
Observers in England Don't like to see you walking.
I specifically got pulled up for walking backwards once.
Sidestepping and crabbing unless you are running is the order of the day.
Thank you! I really don't like crabbing and sidestepping unnecessarily on those strips of astro you occasionally get, but I've been trying to do it every time I can because I thought that was preferred, but after specifically watching pro ARs in England and also the WWC, I wasn't sure which was best
 
I was recently watched by a professional AR here in the US. He said I was sidestepping way too much. Sounds like the observers in the UK are just in the "we've always done it this way" mindset.
Not the case at all. The styles of movement employed by ARs are reviewed regularly for accuracy and efficiency, just as refereeing styles are. If something is found to provide high levels of accuracy and efficiency, then it will be adopted as the standard to aspire to.

Also the Observers in England, who observe neutral ARs on Supply and above, work to a pre-determined set of performance criteria. They are defined by The FA. So if you have a beef about what an Observer says, don't blame the Observer. You sound like a player complaining about a referee when you do.
 
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You need to crab when appropriate,
There is nothing that says you should either be sprinting or crabbing as some observers and assistants believe.
There are times when there is no possibility of an immediate offside decision, you’ve got other priorities that may be suited by a different movement style in those circumstances.
Caveat of that is that most assistants who think they are doing a lot of crabbing aren’t.
 
"When appropriate" and "when needed" are the key phrases here. Watch the PL ARs, they won't crab unless play is pretty much in front of them.

I'm almost certain that the problems I have in both knees are related to crabbing. It just isn't natural and when I've spoken to physios they have been amazed at what we were asked to do.

As an observer, I don't really worry too much about how an AR moves, the key thing is they are level and facing play at the time they have to make the decision. What I hate is when they keep changing directions and hands when the offside line is moving slowly in front of them as that is wasted energy that could be replaced with small side steps, but I'm not going to expect an AR to side step trying to catch fast play.
 
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