A&H

Tottenham v Ajax

ladbroke8745

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Why do I always find in football, mainly within Europe and sometimes even in major tournaments, that assistants referees look slouched a little and always have the flag in their right hand and not the left when facing the pitch?

Isn't it practice to have it left hand, or at least in a position so that the ref can clearly see?
I've seen some when running have it right hand and with pitch left side thus its completely obscured.
 
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Does it really matter at that level with a buzzer and comms? It's the same idea as the referee signalling for throw ins and blowing whistle for goal etc
 
Does it really matter at that level with a buzzer and comms? It's the same idea as the referee signalling for throw ins and blowing whistle for goal etc

But they do that too at some levels in European football.
What if comms broke down? If I recall hearing, during the Leeds and Aston Villa fight the other day, Atwell lost communication with his 4th. Could have been his assistants. The buzzer could fail too.
Just because you have these tools doesn't mean you forget the basics still.
 
Well played ref for stopping, ensuring he is literally fit to return and going over when Vertonghen went off again clearly in distress.
 
Most South American refs keep the flag in their right hand. The strict practice that the flag must be in a certain hand at all times is really a British (and American) thing. Most nations only care if the AR gets the call right. What hand they have the flag in doesn't really matter.
 
Most South American refs keep the flag in their right hand. The strict practice that the flag must be in a certain hand at all times is really a British (and American) thing. Most nations only care if the AR gets the call right. What hand they have the flag in doesn't really matter.

That's what I thought.

I get "lazy" and have the flag in my right hand at times but that is because I am very right handed.
I then get pulled up for it when observed at lower level games whilst the pros outside UK do it as norm.
 
That's what I thought.

I get "lazy" and have the flag in my right hand at times but that is because I am very right handed.
I then get pulled up for it when observed at lower level games whilst the pros outside UK do it as norm.

That's because you referee in England and it is expected that the flag is always in the hand closest to the referee. If you make it to FIFA you can relax a bit, although you'd still have to do it that way in English games.
 
It is very much an English thing, but it's also why we have some of the best ARs in the world with technical skills that aren't really matched
 
This is not an English thing. It is actually written in plain English on the laws of the game:

Flag technique
The AR’s flag must always be unfurled and visible to the referee. This usually
means the flag is carried in the hand closest to the referee.
 
This is not an English thing. It is actually written in plain English on the laws of the game:

Flag technique
The AR’s flag must always be unfurled and visible to the referee. This usually
means the flag is carried in the hand closest to the referee.

But it seems that we're the only ones to follow that strictly
 
No TV here in deepest darkest Stathpeffer North of Inverness, they've only just got running water and the old dears are playing Bingo downstairs... What have i missed???
 
We are. I hate watching foreign ARs. Think it looks messy. I think technically the home nation ARs are superb. Not specifically decsion making vs foreign refs but definitely aesthetically

Also if you watch some of the Northern European assistants you'll see they do it "properly". As an example Norwegian assistants used to look really messy but now they look really good and you could be forgiven for thinking you are watching an English assistant. There's been a lot of cross training over the years and I think the likes of Phil Sharp and David Elleray went out to train their officials.
 
We are. I hate watching foreign ARs. Think it looks messy. I think technically the home nation ARs are superb. Not specifically decsion making vs foreign refs but definitely aesthetically
Not just the left hand thing, continental ARs also have vastly different looking signals for goal kicks etc. You're right in that they tend to look a lot more messy than the strict protocol of English ARs, not that it matters in the grand scheme of things.
 
Also if you watch some of the Northern European assistants you'll see they do it "properly". As an example Norwegian assistants used to look really messy but now they look really good and you could be forgiven for thinking you are watching an English assistant. There's been a lot of cross training over the years and I think the likes of Phil Sharp and David Elleray went out to train their officials.
Finns are also taught and demonstrate great technique IMHO. A few variations: not in int games but they show the right hand to signal ”not offside” instead of walking the dog, no standing diagonally at half way if a corner in the other half, and both assistants mirror the sub signal. Otherwise lots of super neat tight ARs up here⚽⚽⚽
 
But it seems that we're the only ones to follow that strictly

Gee whiz, would you give us colonists some credit? In the US we are also (overly?) precise with the flag signals and which hand the flag should be in.

(I believe USSF still believes that there should not be a signal for "not OS"--the signal for that is not raising the flag. What is often seen at lower levels (and requested by some refs) is the non-flag hand raised.)
 
I'd argue the US is even more strict with flag signals since we generally use neutral ARs in almost every match from the lowest level U11 up to pros.
 
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