What flag signal to make.
- Thread starter OldNavyRef
- Start date
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
It's one short additional sentence, to cover the most important of signals, and referees have individual preferences re its use. Most importantly, the instruction to be seen to be at the corner flagpost when players look across, and to agree a signal - this forum has already produced several alternatives.
Again, I disagree. Firstly I don’t think it’s ’the most important of signals’. I understand why you say it is as it has the most important meaning, but the most important signal my AR can give is offside. That’s the one they’re gonna use in 99% of matches multiple times.
I’ve been in football 7 years and I’m yet to signal a goal as an AR.
In the extremely unlikely event that the AR needs to signal a goal that hasn’t obviously crossed the line to everyone else, and the even more unlikely event that they don’t know how to clearly signal it, then I would rather take my chances that that situation looks messy, but we still end up with the right decision, because let’s face it, the AR will tell me or be screaming worst case scenario, than waste 20 seconds of extra prematch time every week telling people who know how to signal it, how to signal a goal.
If you want your ARs to actually be engaged during the pre match, I’d advise not treating them like idiots, but that’s just my opinion.
As I say, there are things that differ from ref to ref which is what the pre match should cover (I.e. what I would want my AR to do in the eventuality of a player in an offside position, not interfering with play but possibly in the line of sight of the goalkeeper as a shot goes in). Stuff that isn’t in law, isn’t universal.
Agree to an extent, in 25 years of refereeing I've only had two occasions where I've had to signal ball over line. But I do think it is important there is some level of instruction, specifically around telling the AR to wait by the corner flag until everyone has seen him signalling the goal. The last thing you need is for an AR to signal a goal then have run 10 metres up the touchline by the time people look at him, that is going to kill any credibility of the decision.
I'm confident it was on this forum (but could have been a dev day) where someone said at halftime their assistant said he seen the ball cross the line but didn't know how to tell the ref. So just left it.
marked down by an observer for this!
Maybe I'm being abit dismissive by saying it doesn't need to be in a pre-match, but I would hope / expect that this is a very inexperienced referee, presumably level 7. Obviously a pre-match is tailored to suit the experience level of those you're working with, but I wouldn't expect to need to cover it in my pre-match when I've got 2 level 4s running the line to me. Even if the signal isn't 100% correct I'd expect that they would give me some sort of signal
RefIADad
RefChat Addict
Timely topic, as my crew had this exact same situation happen in a game on Sunday. Attack is going toward AR1's goal (I'm AR2). Attackers have a corner kick, the ball pinballs around, and the ball crosses the line in the air under the crossbar as the keeper makes a desperate attempt to claw the ball out. We are using comms (it was a major college game), and AR1 has the flag in his right hand standing right at the corner flag while calling "goal" through the comms. The referee looks toward him and blows the whistle. After the whistle starts blowing, AR1 runs up the touchline.
After witnessing that play, I really don't think the specific hand matters even if there are no comms involved. On a play like this, there are only two realistic options - offside or goal (I'm assuming that if there was some sort of foul, AR1 would stand at attention at the corner flag and initiate a discussion). AR puts the flag up, R blows the whistle. If AR gives the "near/central/far" flag signal, it's offside and R gives the indirect free kick signal. If it's a goal, AR runs up the touchline and R points up the field.
The key is to have good eye contact, for R to be patient after blowing the whistle, and for the AR to stay at the corner flag with the flag up until making eye contact with R. It may feel like 4-5 seconds, but in reality it's probably only 1-2 seconds before the R signal occurs.
After witnessing that play, I really don't think the specific hand matters even if there are no comms involved. On a play like this, there are only two realistic options - offside or goal (I'm assuming that if there was some sort of foul, AR1 would stand at attention at the corner flag and initiate a discussion). AR puts the flag up, R blows the whistle. If AR gives the "near/central/far" flag signal, it's offside and R gives the indirect free kick signal. If it's a goal, AR runs up the touchline and R points up the field.
The key is to have good eye contact, for R to be patient after blowing the whistle, and for the AR to stay at the corner flag with the flag up until making eye contact with R. It may feel like 4-5 seconds, but in reality it's probably only 1-2 seconds before the R signal occurs.
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RefIADad
RefChat Addict
Update on this - I was observing a State Cup (state's club championship - I'm guessing similar to a county cup competition in the UK) a couple of weeks ago. Saw another "ball just over the line" situation where the AR was at the corner flag, put the flag up in the right hand, waited for the referee to acknowledge him, and then ran up the touchline to signal a good goal.
Having witnessed this play twice in three weeks, any observer making a big deal about which hand the flag is on a goal signal is asking the wrong questions. If anything, having the flag up in the right (or goal-side in a left diagonal DSC setup) allows the AR to make eye contact with R better. Plus, it's just a lot more instinctive to put the flag up in the goal-side hand since that's what we are taught to do when flagging offside.
Having witnessed this play twice in three weeks, any observer making a big deal about which hand the flag is on a goal signal is asking the wrong questions. If anything, having the flag up in the right (or goal-side in a left diagonal DSC setup) allows the AR to make eye contact with R better. Plus, it's just a lot more instinctive to put the flag up in the goal-side hand since that's what we are taught to do when flagging offside.
Exactly.
