Assistant Referees

The requirements of a top Assistant Referee

To assist at all times

 

Being the PGMOL Select Group Assistant Referee Manager, I have been asked what are the requirements to become a top Assistant Referee.  Within my post I work with the top 50 Assistant Referees in this country.  Amongst the best in the world.

The training and standard of our Assistants have been respected over a number of years, especially recently.  The 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup finals have had Englishmen on the line.  In 1998, Mark Warren was an Assistant Referee in the France v Brazil final, and Philip Sharp in the 2002 Brazil v Germany final.  This must surely act as recognition of the esteem with which the Assistant Referees in this country are held within FIFA.

An Assistant Referee’s role requires a set of skills that is quite separate and different to that of a referee.  Such a position is universally accepted as a specialist role requiring unique skills and attributes.  Running the line is an art.

Assistant Referees must display a 100 % concentration level at the highest level.  Their positioning is of paramount importance if they are to make a valid and credible ‘offside’ judgement.  If an Assistant is slightly out of line it will give a distorted view of whether or not a player is offside and this can make all the difference as to the correctness, or otherwise, of that judgement.

If there is an attacking player in an offside position, an Assistant Referee has to be aware of the exact movement of the ball, and has to be sure that the ball was passed by another member of the attacking team.  Using his knowledge, interpretation and application of the Law, the Assistant must then decide if that player becomes ‘active’ and so flag, or if he remains ‘non active’, in which case the Assistant will refrain from flagging.

Assistant Referees are asked to use the ‘Wait & See’ technique as a primary method of analysis to judge whether or not a player in an offside position actually commits an offence.  There is an emphasis these days on delaying the flag and giving the benefit of the doubt to the attacking team.

Remember that being in an offside position is not, in itself, an offence.  Before indicating that the player in an offside position should be penalised, an Assistant must ensure that the attacker has committed an actual offence.  An Assistant has to consider if the attacking player:  Has played or touched the ball?  Has interfered with an opponent?  Has gained an advantage by being in the offside position?  If an Assistant decides that the attacker has committed one of these offences then the attacker will be flagged offside.  The referee will then decide whether play needs to be stopped or not.  These three elements formulate the basis of what is referred to as the ‘PIG’ method of analysis, whereby an attacking player in an offside position will only be flagged offside by the Assistant Referee if he commits a ‘PIG’ offence, namely, Playing the ball, Interfering with an opponent or Gaining an advantage by being in that position.

Assistant Referees, and the players themselves, will often be running at full pace when an offside judgement has to be made.  With this in mind, not only must Assistants be fully conversant with the offside Law, but they must also be in the best possible position in order to make as accurate a judgement as possible.  Top Assistants have to be extremely fit and physically prepared in order to keep up with players who are such highly tuned, professional athletes.  At the very highest echelons of the game, Assistant Referees must undertake and pass the approved FIFA Fitness Test at the start of each season before they are permitted to be appointed to any PGMOL fixtures.  This involves six 40 metre sprints and a series of twenty High Intensity runs covering a total of 10 laps of a standard outdoor running track.

As part of their preparation, top Assistant Referees will enjoy a healthy lifestyle which will involve eating a balanced diet and ensuring that their bodies are suitably ‘fuelled’ before each game or training session.  The training that they undertake involves various types of training as opposed to merely ‘plodding round the streets’.  They will undertake weight and resistance work and core stability exercises in order to strengthen the body.  They will also do High Intensity running-based training to improve their cardiovascular fitness, and also Speed Endurance training which gets them accustomed to performing repeated sprinting with limited recovery time, as they would be required to do during a match and Speed and Agility work which boosts their dexterity and straight line running speed.  Their training data is recorded with the use of Polar heart rate monitors and each Assistant must submit training data on a weekly basis to the PGMOL Sports Scientists for analysis and feedback on the type of training undertaken from week to week and the perceived benefit that this will have for each individual.

During a match Assistant Referees must retain total concentration, remaining fully alert and aware at all times.  Even when play is not in their near vicinity, top Assistants need to be totally focused and ‘switched on’, always ready for any eventuality and to ‘expect the unexpected’.

Assistants need to be aware of any misconduct that occurs out of view of the Referee so that they may inform the referee of the appropriate action to be taken.  This may involve a free kick or penalty kick being awarded and/or even a red or yellow card being administered to the offending player.  Assistants will also be focused upon any on-field offences that occur, particularly when they may well be closer to the incident than the Referee and/or may have a credible viewing angle from which to judge.

A top Assistant Referee will always be able to tune in to the referee’s style, ensuring that all Match Officials operate on the same wavelength.  Top Assistants will have eye to eye contact with the Referee in particular when situations arise such as ball in or out of play, or on-field offences.  For the credibility of all of the Match Officials on the game it is important that teamwork is seen to be harmonious and the Assistant and Referee should never be seen to be at cross purposes.

Before indicating for an onfield infringement, Assistant Referees will take into account a variety of factors that will dictate whether or not a flag is required.  Assistants will focus upon a number of considerations that will include:  Where is the Referee in relation to the incident?  Is the Referee actively seeking assistance?  Is it credible to get involved?  Assistant Referees need to have the necessary courage.  It could be an all important involvement that may well, in certain circumstances, influence the outcome of the match.

Flag Technique is a basic skill of a top Assistant Referee.  The proper and correct use of the flag can help to sell and enhance the final decision making process.  For example, Assistant Referees who indicate a ‘tight throw-in’ that could possibly be given either way, in an unconvincing, ‘wishy washy’ manner may well formulate the opinion that they are unsure as to the award of that particular throw-in.  However, if that very same indication is delivered positively and with confidence, using a sharp, crisp, clear signal then the decision will be more readily accepted as correct.

In the highest echelons, an Assistant Referee will have the use of ‘buzzer flags’ to alert the Referee’s attention.  The Referee will wear a battery operated pack on his arm, similar in size to a mobile phone, that vibrates and emits a loud noise that can generally be heard over the noise of the crowd to inform him that an Assistant requires his attention.  The Fourth Official can attract the Referee’s attention with a similar device which can be of particular assistance, for example, when a substitution is required.  All four Match Officials are also wired up with a communication aid that allows for four way communication between themselves.  This gives an Assistant the opportunity to communicate verbally with the Referee, and can obviously be of great benefit in a number of instances.

However, the technological aids, whilst extremely helpful to the Assistant Referees in attracting the Referee’s attention, must not replace their basic lining techniques and the use of the most important tool – The Flag.  Top Assistants adhere strictly to the basic techniques such as keeping the flag in the hand nearest the Referee (usually the left hand when facing the Field of Play, or the hand nearest the Field of Play when side-on).  Whenever possible, top Assistants will move sideways up and down the touchline which they are patrolling, a style of movement known as ‘crabbing’.  This will ensure that their maximum peripheral viewing angle of the Field of Play, with as many players as possible in view, is as wide as possible.

Running the line is certainly an art.  Top Assistant Referees will continue to strive to improve their knowledge, awareness and understanding of perfecting their ‘art’ by monitoring and evaluating their own performances by watching DVDs of the matches on which they officiate.  Many will do their homework on the teams that will be participating in their next match.  For example:  What style of play do the teams use?  What formation do they employ?  Do they use an ‘offside trap’ in an attempt to catch out opposition players?  Many of these questions and more will be posed and analysed by the top Assistants in order that they can prepare as thoroughly as possible in order to avoid being caught unaware on the day of the match.

As part of my role, I arrange meetings for all of the Select Group Assistant Referees, so that they can study clips of incidents that have occurred in recent matches.  These will be discussed in detail so that a more uniform approach is achieved by all of them when they officiate at matches throughout the country.  ProZone is used to evaluate Assistants’ performances with particular regard to fitness, positioning and offside judgements.

All Match Officials on all games at the highest levels have their performance monitored by Assessors, who are all ex-Referees or ex-Assistant Referees themselves, with a respected background in officiating.

Assistant Referees have to work in almost total isolation and must be able to ‘shut off’ from all the external pressures around them.  These distractions can include members of the Technical Area personnel, substitutes warming up, the crowd and even the players themselves.  With all the media coverage and television cameras, there really is no hiding place.

As can be seen, there are many aspects and attributes required to become a top Assistant Referee who can often take many years ‘working the way up’ through various levels of local, regional and national matches before reaching the very highest echelons of the game.

An Assistant will be required to concentrate fully, with heightened levels of alertness and mental awareness, often under extreme pressure.  An Assistant will also need the ability to apply Law interpretation when judging a variety of potential offside offences, remembering always to afford the benefit of the doubt to the attacking team.  An Assistant will assist the Referee with on-field infringements and misconduct and must exude confidence with correct and approved flag techniques.  An Assistant must also be physically fit, and be able to keep pace with highly tuned professional athletes, working hard to be in the optimum position to make a variety of judgements.

I hope that this has enlightened you to some of the requirements of top Assistant Referees, the pressures they have to perform under, and some of the skills that will be required to enable them to reach the very top of their profession.

Paul Rejer 

PGMOL Select Group Assistant Referee Manager

© RefWorld. All rights reserved.