A&H

AR Instructions

man in green

New Member
Hey refs, hope this is the right section to ask this, I have been refereeing a while now and have begun to get fixtures where I have two assistants as opposed to being on my own in the middle. I haven't yet been able to come up with a detailed set of instructions that I'm happy with. Has anyone any advice on how best to give instructions without forgetting things or leaving things out. If you are experienced in being in the middle what are your instructions to ARs.

Any help greatly appreciated!
 
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I don't often have neutral assistants so I don't have a definitive set of instruction to give.

On the occasions I have had them I have planned what I want to say to them in advance and I type it up and then print it off. When I give my talk I use this as a checklist.

I have been with referees of all sorts of levels who also do this
 
Refereeing Magazine - Issue 16 April 2012 (amended for updated instructions on indicating a penalty kick should be awarded)

1. Pre- match
Any pre-match preparation should be conducted on the field of play allowing the assistants the opportunity to visualise different situations. Try to do this at least 45 minutes before kick-off.

2. Who is senior?
The most senior assistant should operate on the side of the field with the dugouts/technical areas for both halves. The senior assistant should keep a full match record (taking note of cautions/red cards/substitutions), whilst the other assistant should take the role of the referee’s ‘eyes and ears’.

3.Substitution
Substitutions should be made cleanly from the half-way line, with the exiting player leaving the pitch before the substitute player goes on. The time of the substitution should be recorded.

4. Concentration
Assistant referees take the ‘outside rights’. On arriving on the pitch the team should break, check nets (also after half time) and then reconvene to witness the coin-toss.

5. Goal kicks and corner kicks
All goal-kicks and corner-kicks should be correctly flagged. Monitor all goal-kicks from the 18-yard area and then adjust your position in-line with the second rearmost defender.

6. Throw ins
To ensure the correct award of throw-ins the pitch should be divided it into thirds: the referee taking one third, and the assistants taking one third each. The referee will look to the assistants for all decisions in their own third. When decisions are being made in the middle of the pitch eye-to-eye contact is a necessity. Discrete signals which point in the direction of the throw can be given by the referee and assistants are encouraged to look at the referee before signalling. If the assistant sees something the referee has missed then the assistant should lead the referee in. If for any reason there is a difference of opinion, the assistant should drop their flag and go with the referee’s decision. In front of the dugouts/technical areas, the referee and assistant should be patient, make eye-contact and get the decision correct to make sure complaints from both dugouts do not follow.

7. Offside
Offside decisions are left to the assistants for the duration of the match, unless a wrong application of the law is observed. If this happens the referee should ask the assistant to drop their flag. If there is a stoppage in play the referee may come over and explain the reason. Take your time with all offsides, the only time a quick flag is encouraged is if there is the possibility that the attacker and goalkeeper may collide.

8. Free-kicks
The area in which I would expect assistants to flag for a free-kick is in the area from the edge of the 18-yard area to the halfway line, as this gives the assistant the most credibility. When doing so it is important to take into account the proximity of the referee; the necessity of assistance increasing the further the referee is from the incident. When giving free-kicks it is important to keep on the move and not be caught static, if there is an opportunity to play advantage then the referee should do so.

9. Penalty Kicks
With penalty-kicks there are four possible situations:
• The referee knows that it is a penalty and gives the decision.
• The referee knows it is not a penalty and will be cutting the grass to let everyone know that they will not be giving the decision (no input is required here).
• The referee is unsure whether it is a penalty and will be looking at the assistant inviting them in, if the assistant thinks it is a penalty they should display and agitated flag and run towards the corner flag, the referee will give the penalty and should curve their run in front of the assistant to help prevent any players disputing the decision.
• The ball has been played forward and the referee is not up with play. If the referee indicates a foul, clarity will be required from the assistant to indicate whether the offence is inside or outside the area. The referee will look to the assistant for the appropriate signal. Following this the assistant should act as the goal judge. When the penalty is being taken the assistant should observe the goalkeeper’s movement, if there is concern and reason for a retake the assistant should stand their ground, ensuring the referee knows they are not happy. In this scenario it is important to be consistent and sensible.

10. Mass Confrontation
Mass confrontation could occur in any game and it is difficult to dictate exactly where an assistant should stand. It is important for the assistants to get into a position that allows maximum view– ideally the officials will from a triangle with the confrontation ‘wedged’ in between. If the officials are stood together then it is obvious that this is the wrong position. In this situation it is important to be patient, deal with any red card offences initially, then any cautions and finally ensure play is restarted correctly.
 
I look at it this way - if there's ever been a situation where you, as an AR, weren't sure what the referee expected of you (or an area where you know different referees expect different things) then cover it in your prematch. In a nutshell, I would cover (in no particular order)...

pre-kickoff - after coin toss check nets
Penalty kick - FK right on edge, run to goal line if PK, not if DFK. What signal I want for a PK I've missed (2 scenarios - something I've completely and utterly missed, or when you think I might have a view but I'm looking to you for help)
Fouls - look for eye contact, close it is to them more I rely on them, especially if it looks like they have a better view. If it's in the middle of the park and you can see me looking across, then I'm looking for help. Especially things like shirt pulling where it's easy for me to be blindsided
offside - wait and see, early flag if 50-50 with keeper
Match record - Record everything, but there should never be 3 of us with our heads down. Far AR to record first as much as possible.
Apologise in advance if I ever overrule - it's just because I think I had a better view. If I screwed it up I'm the one who wears it anyway
Throw-ins, CK/GK - eye contact first, flag down on the side you want to signal (especially if you have a few moments as the ball approaches the line), that tells me what you think it is and I know to signal first if I'm going to disagree, and mirror my signal.
Managing subs - try to get the player ready to go first, go to halfway, I'll wait for you to be back in position
Dissent - call me over if it needs a card or if the bench is starting to cross the line
mass confrontation - AR1 to manage the benches, ARs to come onto the field if needed, I'll need them to tell me who did what because I have a bad habit of getting stuck in the middle
Off-the-ball play - you guys are the eyes in the back of my head. Keep an eye on potential situations or late tackles
Manage players as much as you can, let me know if somebody needs a card
Run to me at halftime to meet in the middle
Both AR's to bring full referees kit out (cards, whistle, etc)
Have fun!

I might modify certain aspects a bit if I know it's a particularly inexperienced AR, just judge it on how they're feeling about their confidence and capability. If I'm doing a warmup, then my ARs are going to join me and I'll just cover the prematch while stretching. I'll preface it by stating it's all the usual stuff :)

It's a lot, but it's not that unusual in my area. When if refereed in my old area where most refs don't even do a prematch I'd cut it down a bit. When in Rome, etc.
 
Lots of great stuff here guys as I'm whacking something together for my County Cup final next week.
 
I go end to end, side to side.

Start from Goal line and worth through defensive FK's in the box, GK etc on the 6yd line, PA (from defensive point of view) for GK, flying kicks, moving through defense towards the midfield, to the centre circle and heading forwards as the attack comes, Offsides, DOGSO, Advantages as they all move forward into the box, penalties, corners. Including area's of credablity for them / you / shared.

Then side to side from benches (identify who red flag and yellow flag are), subs, and management, in and out, feet and hands, over to the other side.Including either what you want, or not want to happen etc and where, how you want signals (want crisp, sharpe signals - let everyone know what you are giving, correct hands). you;d be surprised how many don't actualy know the signals, so dropping them in might help them.

Seems to make a fluid explanation starting from end to end and side to side.

Then Mass Con, any questions, then grab out the Haribo and get changed.
 
From experience try not to be better than your AR's. Dont think you are the boss of the game, and that the AR's are there to work for you.

If you make life as easy as possible for AR's, they will do a better job for you.

I tend to get my AR's to signal after me (for throw ins), as it gives the AR's greater focus on line calls.

Remember you are the referee and responsible for everything. The AR's are only their to guide you, as only you have the whistle.
 
From experience try not to be better than your AR's. Dont think you are the boss of the game, and that the AR's are there to work for you.

If you make life as easy as possible for AR's, they will do a better job for you.

I tend to get my AR's to signal after me (for throw ins), as it gives the AR's greater focus on line calls.

Remember you are the referee and responsible for everything. The AR's are only their to guide you, as only you have the whistle.
Contradiction there I think. Don't be the boss but remember you are responsible for everything? The referee is the leader of the team and needs support from the assistants. He is in charge, simple as that.
 
Re: Don't be the boss means:
- don't tell your AR's what to do. But also accept the responsibility if you make a decision based on the assistance of the AR. Sometimes it easy for say..."oh the AR signalled", rather than saying I the referee signalled.
 
Re: Don't be the boss means:
- don't tell your AR's what to do. But also accept the responsibility if you make a decision based on the assistance of the AR. Sometimes it easy for say..."oh the AR signalled", rather than saying I the referee signalled.
You have to tell your ARs what to do, that is the whole point of the instructions. You set out clear expectations of what you require them to do to support you in that game. Yes sometimes you do blame the assistant And the assistant will be blaming you. That's because you can run away and the assistant is trapped on a very short repetitive patrol path.
 
How can you not be the boss but get them to signal after you? So essentially your giving all the decisions and they go with you. I plan on telling them to give the throw whatever way they see it and I'll go with it!
 
I think the comment about you not making them feel like you're the boss (or whatever it was) is about making sure they're part of the team rather than just your minions. Some referees make AR's feel like the latter.
 
But an AR must realise that the buck ultimately stops with the ref so it is in the man in the middles best interest to make sure things are right. They are there to assistant, the referee is there to lead the game. That said I do realise there are ways to do this and make everyone feel included.
 
How can you not be the boss but get them to signal after you? So essentially your giving all the decisions and they go with you. I plan on telling them to give the throw whatever way they see it and I'll go with it!
Can I come and watch, I will love to see the number of "crosses" etc that will occur - or the s**t you will hear.
For throw-ins, it is all about teamwork and "leads"...
 
Can I come and watch, I will love to see the number of "crosses" etc that will occur - or the s**t you will hear.
For throw-ins, it is all about teamwork and "leads"...

Cheers for the positive words. Without being funny I am of course nervous and never refereed with neutral assistants before. But nice to see an assessor knocking my confidence before the big day. And there was me thinking this was a supportive community of refs.
 
Can I come and watch, I will love to see the number of "crosses" etc that will occur - or the s**t you will hear.
For throw-ins, it is all about teamwork and "leads"...
I did three games this weekend (2 as Ref, one as AR, all with proper ARs). We had one cross-up on a throw-in, and that was my voice saying the correct thing and my arm pointing the other way.

Typically here, in the AR's "quadrant", the AR gets the call. The Ref tends to do a low signal with an arm on the side s/he believes the throw to be. In the other quadrants, the ref gets the call, but the AR can assist by putting the flag in an appropriate hand.

It's all about communication between the Ref and ARs. Over in the UK at your lower levels when you use club ARs, I can see how communication between the team of officials isn't always the easiest thing to come by or accommodate, but it's a hugely valuable skill, especially when you do have proper ARs with you.
 
Cheers for the positive words. Without being funny I am of course nervous and never refereed with neutral assistants before. But nice to see an assessor knocking my confidence before the big day. And there was me thinking this was a supportive community of refs.
Sorry, Dave if you took it the wrong way. It was the just "i will go with you regardless" had to be commented on.

NAR's will help you, they are there to help not hinder. For throw-ins, my advice would always be look at me first before flagging in case I go early, forgetting they are there - which is possible.
 
The game looks better when everyone signals the same way. Cross signalling is horrible.

I only look for the assistance of AR's when i am not sure who played the ball last. There is nothing worst than over-ruling your AR. It can be very demeaning for for AR and the players and coaches will quickly get on their backs for every contentious decision.

Pre signals are the best! But some central referees prefer AR's to pre signal if the central referee likes to signal quickly.
 
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