A&H

Assistant refereeing

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Reuben Watt

New Member
Thanks all the guys who helped me get in contact about assistant refereeing! I am doing my first one in late Jan early February. I have been told to arrive in shirt and tie. What other stuff should I bring? Ano any tips as it will be the first time I have done it.
Thanks
I am really looking forward to doing it
 
The Referee Store
Bring anything that you would usually take to a game - cards, whistle, notepad, etc. Anything could happen on the day and one of your colleagues may forget something! Also take a set of flags, the referee should bring a set, but once again, just incase.

Enjoy the experience and watch what the referee does, it'll be a good learning experience.
 
Reuben Watt said:
Would you contact your team before hand?
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Generally the referee should make contact with you before the game, say on the Wednesday for a Saturday game. If this doesn't happen, I'm sure they won't mind if you drop them a line and ask what time they would like you there.

What level will you be assisting at?
 
Reuben Watt said:
Thanks all the guys who helped me get in contact about assistant refereeing! I am doing my first one in late Jan early February. I have been told to arrive in shirt and tie. What other stuff should I bring? Ano any tips as it will be the first time I have done it.
Thanks
I am really looking forward to doing it
Click to expand...
One of the things the referee should do pre-match is nominate one assistant as "senior" and one as "junior" (if he doesn't say those exact words, the senior assistant will be the one on the same side as the benches).

If you're nominated as senior (unlikely on your first outing, but the other assistant might also be on their first line), you will be looking after subs, and will also be responsible for stepping into the middle if the referee is injured and cannot continue. Because of this, you'll want to turn up to the match with everything you normally would and if you're senior AR, fill your pockets with everything you normally would carry if you were in the middle. If you're junior, the referee will tell you pre-match if he wants you to keep a record of anything, or if you're just there to be "eyes and ears" - you can let this influence how much equipment you need to carry.

I would also run two watches if you're senior and one if you're junior - players, officials and spectators will ask you how long is left and as long as you don't take your eyes off the action, it's fine to answer and will help you seem more human in case you make a decision they don't like.

Everything else is down to the referee on the day - follow his instructions as closely as you can and enjoy the experience!
 
The ref will give you full briefing before the game. If you have any doubts or questions - do ask!

Although it doesn't feel this way at times, you have as much time as you need. Refs will often lead with decisions quickly, you just follow their lead. If there appears to be a long pause and he is looking for help, go with what you have seen and he will follow you. He may even use pointing low down to lead you, penguin style is the phrase I hear a lot and use myself.

The most important and vital thing to remember is to enjoy it. Use the experience to soak up the learning- what you like, didn't like.
 
They key thing to remember is that you will be there to assist, not insist. It doesn't matter how wrong you think the referee's decision is, don't go against it unless it is right under your nose, and even then you need to think about what kind of view he had, or he has told you to bail him out if he is about to make a terrible, terrible decision and you are 100% it is wrong. Listen to the pre-match instructions carefully as he should cover this as well as many other things, and if you aren't sure it is better to ask for clarification rather than guess. One of the biggest complaints about new assistants is they get too busy and try to get involved in things that really aren't for them. I had it last season on a step 6 game where the assistant flagged for a free kick way over on my diagonal - which meant I was 10 yards away and he over 50 yards - and also meant it had no credibility and I had to wave him down.
 
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