A&H

Who was playing him on then ref?

Cheshire Ref

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One of my biggest pet hates as a referee is being asked the question, "Who was playing him on then ref?" when calling a player on side. More often than not i get this on the line and more often than not i can answer the question. I was after a bit of advice as to what the answer is if you don't actually know.

This happened in yesterdays game and i annoyed myself a bit. Ball is pinging around the penalty area and eventually a goal is scored, there was no way in a million years the red player was offside but the appeals went up and when asked the inevitable question i couldn't confidently answer. My response was that two yellow players were playing him on side but i was then asked "who?, which player?". Like i say 99% of the time i have clocked him and can say "Number 6, deeper than everyone else" but what would your response be if you have missed which player it was?

Hope that all makes sense :)
 
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I generally point to the must sheepish looking one and go him! :oops: 99.9% of the time I am right or the one doing the lest protesting or just go the fella on the back post they never know who that was!
 
I try and use the number when I can. If not I say 'the centre back' or 'left back' or 'player on the far side'. That seems to work for me
 
I tell them I go by the colours not the numbers and, it was the bloke in red playing the bloke in blue onside. I'll add it was farside, middle or nearside if I feel it was merited or match control is helped by it. There's usually plenty going on without having to worry about number identification all the time.
 
Yeah, this is above and beyond what you should be expected to do. If you have the information and feel your match control is helped by quoting it then do so, but if not, you're entitled to not give a straight answer.
 
In my experience, it doesn't matter what you say as long as you seem confident in what you're saying. You might not have a scooby doo who was playing them offside but if you immediately say 'number 6 at the back there', it's very hard to argue with from what I find.
 
It's a common question and one which really does need your reply in order to appear credible. Whether it's the number 5, left back or big fellow at the far post you need to identify someone - doesn't even need to be correct, just said in a convincing manner. However, it's probably not a great idea to say it was the same player who is asking unless it blatantly was him/her (and it often is!).
 
It's a common question and one which really does need your reply in order to appear credible. Whether it's the number 5, left back or big fellow at the far post you need to identify someone - doesn't even need to be correct, just said in a convincing manner. However, it's probably not a great idea to say it was the same player who is asking unless it blatantly was him/her (and it often is!).

Thats pretty much what i did. I hate the question full stop, they are just trying to trip you up, so to speak.
 
Just to offer a dissenting voice here, I have never answered this by giving a number. I think this is pandering to players. Explaining decisions should be avoided where possible and I think this is easy to avoid. "My colleague on the line had a clear view", "he/she's a professional" if cheeky is appropriate or more often "it's offside, let's get on with it".
 
Just to offer a dissenting voice here, I have never answered this by giving a number. I think this is pandering to players. Explaining decisions should be avoided where possible and I think this is easy to avoid. "My colleague on the line had a clear view", "he/she's a professional" if cheeky is appropriate or more often "it's offside, let's get on with it".

I can fully understand this but disagree - I always prefer to explain my decisions to players if they want it. It shows to them that I know exactly what I'm doing. Even if they disagree, they can at least see my thought process which I feel boosts my credibility.
 
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I can fully understand this but disagree - I always prefer to explain my decisions to players if they want it. It shows to them that I know exactly what I'm doing. Even if they disagree, they can at least see my thought process which I feel boosts my credibility.
I meant the unnecessary detail should be avoided ;)
 
I tell you what really riles a persistently moaning player, say absolutely nothing, totally ignore him, forget he's even made a squeak, he will have two choices then, he either shuts up because he ain't getting any answer at all, ever OR he gets so riled he talks himself into your book at least once, hopefully twice!!!.... Everyones a winner....FA enjoy chicken dinner!!! :cool:
 
When you get the chance, get the back four's (usually four) numbers imprinted in your mind. I.e. after the first 5-10 mins of a game, I can tell you that LB-CB-CB-RB are numbers 3-4-5-6. Makes it a lot easier when they ask "who was it ref" - I can say number 4 or signal with four fingers.
 
Why cause yourself grief, defenders would normally be facing you so how can you identify shirts of offside call? No reason to even specifically answer, that leads to a denial, a rebuttal and more fecking questions!!
 
I try not to confuse the situation by guessing if I've not seen the number clearly. A quick "played on at the back post/in the middle" etc will suffice.
 
Semi final on Monday night captain of red team comes running out to me "ref, you need to be in a better position to see the off sides" I give him my best Colligna glare, point calmly to the official AR on the sideline....captain "Sorry ref, forgot about him" my response "at least one of us knows what he is doing!" His team mates pissing themselves laughing! Love it :cool:
 
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