Another AR 'problem'

[PinnerPaul]

Following on from the resurrection of the AR v The Benches thread. Set me thinking of another common 'difficulty' that comes up.

How do you justify and/or explain a decision made by the referee you don't agree with?

I'm discounting all the 'easy' ones where the referee is closer than both you as an AR and the benches - easy to shut them up then.

I'm not just talking KMIs like penalities, but maybe once or twice a match there will be a challenge in front of me, where I'm thinking and even saying to myself, no foul there and then lo and behold the referee will give it. That prompts the obvious shouts of 'Why didn't you give it lino'; 'You didn't think it was a foul' etc

In summary, how do you 'sell' a decision that you have not given/may not agree with?

Thanks

 

[alexgr]

I ignore most of the ‘why didn’t you give it Lino?’/‘aren’t you going to flag for that?’ comments - nothing to be gained by engaging with those. If you have to, a very brief, quick explanation - it’s not a foul, player was offside etc and then get away. The only time I engage properly is if the bench is near or players are crowding round, at which point I’d say ‘a free kick has been awarded.’ If they go “BUT what do you think?!”, a quick “I’m not the referee tonight, he/she is and it’s a free kick.” It’s hard, and often I’ll repeat “a free kick has been given” 3 times or so before they get bored and get back into position. It’s as close as you can get to boring them to death really.

 

[RustyRef]

Simple answer is don't try to defend the indefensible, applies more for 4th official but also applies to senior AR. If everyone at the ground knows the referee has goofed you are going to get yourself in a mess trying to defend him. Explain that different angles make things look different, or you can try and blag the "I was looking at the offside line" excuse and do a Wenger claiming you didn't see it. If it is blatantly wrong and hasn't changed the game then say that you agree from that view and will speak to the referee at half / full time, but obviously don't do that if it is a game changing decision or one that might lead to a goal.

 

[AlexF]

One thing I was taught early on... if it's a statement (or a statement "phrased" like it's a question), it doesn't deserve a response.

If it's an honest question, then give an honest response... even if that response is... "the referee is 10 yards from the play, we're 55 yards."

 

[one]

Agree with a lot of above. Ignore rhetorical questions especially from a frustrated person. If the easy simple stuff works use it, "we have different angles" etc.

If its an obvious error, as Rusty said don't defend it. An error can be seen as an error, defending it is seen as disingenuous and kills your credibility. But don't throw the referee under the bus either. Use something like "The referees opinion is the only one that counts", "The referee makes the decisions".

For the 50-50, 60-40 or the 70-30s I'll try and back the referee by stating what I think the referee gave it for even if I don't agree with him, "yep, he got him for tripping".