A&H

First AR senior fixture

Egg man

Member
Level 5 Referee
This weekend will be my first senior fixture (step 6) as an AR. I have done one junior fixture as an AR in an semi-final just wondering how different this will be?
 
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This weekend will be my first senior fixture (step 6) as an AR. I have done one junior fixture as an AR in an semi-final just wondering how different this will be?
I'd imagine step 6 football to be of a significantly higher standard.
At least the expectation of the players, managers and spectators anyway.
The referee will be a level 4 (maybe a 5 to 4 candidate) and will want things to be done in a certain way.
You may get observed.
 
Speed of the game is likely to be quicker so you need to make sure you concentrate.

Likewise the defenders are likely to be a bit more organised in terms of their gameplan (pushing up to play offside or having a defender drop in deep).

Make sure you keep eyes on the referee, at Step 6 you'll be working with referees that are used to working with Neutral Assistants, as opposed to at junior level refs who may be used to working with CAR's.
 
I've done a few lines now as a relative newbie and really enjoy it. Below are my observations...

Hopefully the ref will give a clear briefing of what they expect from you. If you are not sure, ask. I did and it really helps.

Keep focused and when it looks like an attack is going to break, be prepared. It's very hard to make up the ground if you are flat on your feet. They'll be down in the corner while you are still near the centre circle!

I was very lucky to be AR with an L2 ref a couple of weeks ago - it was a real eye opener the amount of non verbal communication that goes on with a really high quality ref. It really made my job so much easier and the shared confidence of working effectively together. With lower level refs there still need to be plenty of eye contact. You will either need to follow their lead or they will be looking to you so they can follow yours.

The bit that I found hard transitioning initially from being a regular CAR to a NAR is flagging for fouls. I forgot that I could. Use the period at the beginning to gauge the Ref's tolerance level and try to match.

Signal, be confident, hold your signal until its been acknowledged. Get into position and signal, don't try to run and signal.

I hope it helps. Still new so if anyone more experienced thinks I've got stuff wrong, let me know as I'll keep on getting it wrong 😂
 
Think. Talk to yourself. Imagine that every shot is going to hit the bar or be dropped by the keeper. Use all your senses - listen to the ball being kicked if it helps you judge if there is a player in an offside position when the ball is kicked.

Look at your ref. Take your time. Enjoy!
 
Well the game went well Saturday, took 18min before I had to make a decision, not to much to report back on, referee was very good the only thing he mentioned was to hold my flag higher. Also had some good feedback from the clubs both surprised it was my first senior game.
 
Well done!

don’t get complacent. Expect the unexpected!
Definitely!

In my final yesterday, my AR didn't track back to the goal line for a ball lofted into the penalty area, looked like the keeper was going to collect it and it bounced over him...

Was a close one, and as the AR was nowhere to be seen, and obviously I wasn't on the goal line as the middle R, we just played on, to the expected moaning etc...

Expect the unexpected!
 
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