A&H

AR appointment

boblardo

Active Member
Level 5 Referee
After a short 2 week layoff due to injury I have been given an AR appointment which is quite nice and means I’m easing myself back in

However, I have an issue with the referee appointed to the game. I have no personal issue with him, he’s always been a pleasant chap during any interaction but as a referee I have real concerns

Without trying to be disrespectful I can only describe him as poor. He’s been doing it a while but has clearly not stayed up to date on the laws, he’s communication skills are terrible and he usually loses match control within the first 10 minutes.

I will advise, nudge and suggest where I can pre game and of course it’s another learning opportunity even if it’s I pick up somethings I shouldn’t do but I just wondered what others would do with presented with such a scenario?
 
The Referee Store
Nothing. Make your decisions as you would any other game and let him do the rest, if he messes it up that’s on him but try to back him up when and where you can
 
After a short 2 week layoff due to injury I have been given an AR appointment which is quite nice and means I’m easing myself back in

However, I have an issue with the referee appointed to the game. I have no personal issue with him, he’s always been a pleasant chap during any interaction but as a referee I have real concerns

Without trying to be disrespectful I can only describe him as poor. He’s been doing it a while but has clearly not stayed up to date on the laws, he’s communication skills are terrible and he usually loses match control within the first 10 minutes.

I will advise, nudge and suggest where I can pre game and of course it’s another learning opportunity even if it’s I pick up somethings I shouldn’t do but I just wondered what others would do with presented with such a scenario?
Is he a member on here? :smoke:
 
I've been AR for some absolute shockers. It's tough, but the funny thing is often the referee's faults won't necessary lead to you copping more abuse. I've been asked by managers to sub in for the ref many a time!

Just do what you do - and remember, you're there to assist. So if his tolerance for pushing is really high, so is yours. Sometimes with these referees you can overstep the mark a bit and 'referee' a bigger area than you normally do as an AR, othertimes you know they'll happily wave you down even when you have the best view. You'll get an idea during the game what you can get away with.

You'll also learn what he does if you signal a throw before him that he disagrees with. Sometimes the best thing to do with a bad referee is to be quicker than they are to make decisions and force them to go with you. Othertimes, if you do that they'll oppose you every time. If you get the sense that he opposes you, then all you can do is try to pick up on his body language to see if he wants you to decide before him or not.

If he's going to make a clear error in law (eg awarding an IFK for DHB) then you need to intervene and get his attention. Otherwise, treat him with respect. Like players, referees have varying levels of competencies.

If match control is an issue then place particular effort into monitoring off-the-ball incidents, especially when 2 players have had a clash. You're the eyes in the back of his head.

And don't undermine him - even if you disagree with a decision, I'd advise against saying so. "I've got a completely different view over here" or "He's closer, he's seen something I haven't" usually gets you over the line. And usually the person asking knows what you're actually saying when you say that :)
 
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