The Ref Stop

No Assistants

Alex_the_ref

New Member
Hi all

So I've just joined a new league and have just had my first game, but they don't require the use of club assistants.. is this common? Does anyone have any tips for refereeing without any assistants? I found it quite difficult, as obviously I was quite conscious about trying to get into a position to judge offsides etc..

also If i was being assessed for such a game how would i get marked on 'teamwork'?
 
The Ref Stop
I don't know about the assessing but it is quite uncommon to not use CAR's, if I was you I'd ask for volunteers and if the teams say "we don't have to provide one" then explain to them that the accuracy of your decision making won't be as high because of it. Then they might reconsider or you will have a reason for making bad decisions :)
 
In the event my teams don't have enough players to cover CARs, I speak to the captains before and basically say, I'll try but won't get every one spot on as its not possible. I will not accept any dissent around offside decisions today so I'd ask you to stamp these out so I don't have to. Have a good game lads.

Just cover yourself and don't try too hard to be in position for offside. Truth be told if you're in a good enough position to call each offside then you're not in a good position from a refs perspective.
 
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Tricky. For offside decisions - Just keep your legs moving and don't worry about the diagonal so much. Go to wherever you have the best wide and credible view - not natural as your instinct will tell you to get left of the play/ball - but this will help offside calls while giving you any hope of being close enough to play. It is easier if teams are building up play from the back but becomes impossible with teams relying on long balls (hence the advice to go wide whichever side you can).

The real problem is ball in and out of play. Basically you are guessing at times. Watch body language of the players, again keep the legs moving and hope for the best. :)

As for being assessed, I am interested to hear the views of an assessor on this one.
 
/\/\/\/\ As he said.

Majority of my games are without assistants. Makes the quick pre match brife along the lines of

"I've got no assistants so some you'll like and some you won't. If I think you are OS then I'm going to blow".

As for positioning lines, try the diagonal as guideline but where ever you need to be for the best angle. Corners - go deep towards the goal line so you can see the most importatnt thing - is it over or not. Would rarther see that than a contentious 50/50 somewhere.

You WILL run further, faster and harder than any other game but I find it all worth while when you get a genuine "good game ref" and you know youve done it all on your lonesome.
 
Referees in junior leagues will always have to rely on club assistants, and most leagues now say that clubs should provide an assistant, but you will get the occasion when a team turns up with the bare eleven. In that event try to get some-one from the other team to help you by running the other line, even if he only indicates for ball in/out of play. If this fails, then while monitoring offsides is important, it should not compromise the rest of your game.

An assessor would always take into account such situations, and would not be over critical on positioning.
 
also If i was being assessed for such a game how would i get marked on 'teamwork'?

This is a simple one. Standard 3.5 is automatically awarded.

For positioning & fitness, this would be judged on how you handled managing the lack of assistants, etc.
 
In Scotland CARs are rare. I get on just fine, have always thought the concept would do more harm than good. Try to anticipate when a through ball is coming and scan the defensive line quickly. You will still, unbelievably, have coaches shouting offside. I suppose if you offer them a CAR role before the game and they decline you can later say "hold this flag if you want any input" ;)
 
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