CAR / PITA

[WilliamD]

so a few games into my reffing career now and one thing I didn't expect was what a pain in the arse club assistants are...almost every game they create more chaos than they solve. I am super clear in the briefing that I don't want them calling fouls but every time they are trying to "help" by letting me know if a foul is in our out of the box etc...also in the brief I tell them they can signal for offside but I will make the final call based on what I see...this has been a huge source of controversy also. I genuinely think I would have better control of the match and not miss anything critical if they weren't there.

What do people think of CARs? Useful or more trouble than worth?

At this point it's a huge source of motivation to move up to a level with NARs.

 

[Padfoot]

CAR's are very much like referees....some good, some not so good & some downright awful.

As for offsides.....if they are 20-30 yds away from being in line then you have much more credibility in waving down their flag.....if they are actually somewhere near being in line, and you are 20-30 yds behind them, your credibility is diminished.

With experience you'll be able to suss out how effective they are going to be within the first 10 minutes.......

 

[mikedn]

Had Division 3 game today with club assistants, absolute nightmare, didn't keep up with play and not flagging throws and despite me asking them to they were too busy watching the game. So i took it upon myself to do offsides,throw-ins, corners/goal kicks......

 

[RustyRef]

LOL, I'm not sure you can ask a CAR to not watch the game. One thing to say that to neutral assistants, but you can't expect a CAR to concentrate just on the second last defender and his credible area and not watch the game. If his team is attacking he will be looking down the other end of the pitch and all interest in his defensive line will have gone ..!

As Padfoot has said, the key thing is to suss out early how good they are. Get as close to level as you can for the first few offsides, and you'll quickly see how level they are and whether they are waiting to see who touches the ball before raising the flag. If they are putting the flag up as soon as a long ball is kicked, and we've all seen this happen, you know you are likely going to need to overrule them. Whereas if they are waiting, and you can see they are making an effort to stay in line, you know that they are more likely to be taking it seriously.

For throw ins all I'm interested in is whether the ball crossed the line or not. They can indicate direction if they like but ultimately I'm making that decision. Offside and throw-ins are two very different things. For offside it is often IMPOSSIBLE for the referee to judge on this, as he is likely to have been facing away from the defensive line as the ball was played, and a large number of offside decisions will be a total guess if the referee is on his own. In the time it takes you to spin round a player who was offside a fraction of a second earlier may now be onside, and vice versa. So if you have someone on the sideline who can credibly help that may be of benefit.

For throw-in direction you will almost always be looking at play when it goes out, so you shouldn't need help from a CAR as to what the direction should be. Where you might need help is whether the ball went out or not, as even if you are 10 yards from the line it can be impossible to tell, especially when the ball is in the air.

Free kicks and any kind of misconduct are an absolutely no no for CARs, that would just open up a whole new can or worms.

 

[CO. DOWN REF]

Here they only do throw ins and always from the halfway line (the second bit not in the rules). You'll soon learn who the one arm bandits are in your league.

 

[Will Triffitt]

I had one last weekend who gave absolutely nothing apart from the odd offside! unfortunately the away club had no one who could replace him so on this occasion I kept him!

 

[OIREF!]

In Scotland (my area/level at least) CARs are restricted to indicating when the ball goes out of play. The idea that they might also give offsides, fouls etc horrifies me.

 

[CapnBloodbeard]

I always tell my CAR's to not get upset at me if I overrule them for anything - it's not about a lack of confidence in them but simply because I think I had a better view. As others have said, get into a good position for the first few offsides to get a measure of how good they are.
Critical scenarios like ceremonial FK, I'll often stand right in line with the 2nd last defender myself. Compromises my position elsewhere, yes.

Aside from that, even if they seem good make sure you're constantly looking for the offside yourself. Don't just trust that they've got it like you would with NAR>