Referee (association football)

thumb|[[Malang Diedhiou refereeing during a 2018 World Cup match]]

In association football, the referee is the person responsible for interpreting and enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. The referee is the final decision-making authority on all facts connected with play, and is the match official with the authority to start and stop play and impose disciplinary action against players and coaches during a match.

At most levels of play, the referee is assisted by two assistant referees (formerly known as linesmen), who advise the referee on whether the ball leaves the playing area and any infringements of the Laws of the Game occurring outside of the view of the referee. The final decision on any decision of fact rests with the referee, who has authority to overrule an assistant referee. At higher levels of play, the referee may also be assisted by a fourth official who supervises the teams' technical areas and assists the referee with administrative tasks, and, at the very highest levels, additional assistant referees and/or video assistant referees. Referees and other game officials are licensed and trained by its member national organisations.

Powers and duties

The referee's powers and duties are described by Law 5 of the Laws of the Game. The referee:

:Overall

:*enforces the Laws of the Game

:*controls the match in cooperation with the other match officials

:*acts as timekeeper, keeps a record of the match and provides the appropriate authorities with a match report, including information on disciplinary action and any other incidents that occurred before, during or after the match

:*supervises and/or indicates the restart of play

:Advantage

:*allows play to continue when an offence occurs and the non-offending team will benefit from the advantage, and penalises the offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue at that time or within a few seconds

thumb|Referee [[Bojan Pandžić showing a red card to Finland under-21 player Moshtagh Yaghoubi.]]

:Disciplinary action

:*punishes the more serious offence, in terms of sanction, restart, physical severity and tactical impact, when more than one offence occurs at the same time

:*takes disciplinary action against players guilty of cautionable and sending-off offences

:*has the authority to take disciplinary action from entering the field of play for the pre-match inspection until leaving the field of play after the match ends (including kicks from the penalty mark). If, before entering the field of play at the start of the match, a player commits a sending-off offence, the referee has the authority to prevent the player taking part in the match (see Law 3.6); the referee will report any other misconduct

:*has the power to show yellow or red cards and, where competition rules permit, temporarily dismiss a player, from entering the field of play at the start of the match until after the match has ended, including during the half-time interval, extra time and kicks from the penalty mark

:*takes action against team officials who fail to act in a responsible manner and warns or shows a yellow card for a caution or a red card for a sending-off from the field of play and its immediate surrounds, including the technical area; if the offender cannot be identified, the senior coach present in the technical area will receive the sanction. A medical team official who commits a sending-off offence may remain if the team has no other medical person available, and act if a player needs medical attention

:*acts on the advice of other match officials regarding incidents that the referee has not seen

As well as other various duties and powers described fully in Law 5 of the Laws of the Game, pursuant to current updates.

Regulation

Referees and assistant referees are regulated at a national level. FIFA requires that each national organisation establish a referees committee composed of former officials that has authority over refereeing in that territory. FIFA also mandate that referees pass tests to show sufficient physical fitness and knowledge of the Laws of the Game, as well as an annual medical. In matches with goal-line technology, referees will have on their person a device to receive the system's alerts.

Whistle

Referees use a whistle to help them control the flow of matches. The whistle is sometimes needed to stop, start or restart play but should not be used for all stoppages, starts or restarts. FIFA's Laws of the Game document gives guidance as to when the whistle should and will always not be used. Overuse of the whistle is discouraged since, as stated in the Laws, "A whistle which is used too frequently unnecessarily will have less impact when it is needed."

The whistle was not mentioned in the Laws of the Game until 1936 when an IFAB Decision was added as footnote (b) to Law 2, stating "A Referee's control over the players for misconduct or ungentlemanly behaviour commences from the time he enters the field of play, but his jurisdiction in connection with the Laws of the Game commences from the time he blows his whistle for the game to start."

In 2007, when IFAB greatly expanded the Laws of the Game, an Additional Instructions section became available, which is a full page of advice on how and when the whistle should be used as a communication and control mechanism by the referee.

History

Referees in football were first described by Richard Mulcaster in 1581. In this description of "foteball" he advocates the use of a "judge over the parties". In the modern era, referees are first advocated in English public school football games, notably Eton football in 1845. A match report from Rochdale in 1842 shows their use in a football game between the Bodyguards Club and the Fearnought Club.

The promotion of referees to the dominant position they occupy today, and the reformation of umpires into the linesmen role, occurred as part of a major restructuring of the laws in 1891.

Other systems of control

While the Laws of the Game mandate a single referee with assistants as described above, other systems are used experimentally or explicitly by some non-FIFA-affiliated governing organizations.

Dual system (two referees)

The dual system, has two referees with no assistants. The system is used some matches played under the rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in the United States, and in other youth or amateur matches. Both referees have equal authority, and the decision of one referee is binding on the other. Each referee is primarily responsible for a specific area of the field similar to those of the assistant referees in the diagonal system, except that the referees are allowed and encouraged to move away from the touch line into the field, particularly as play approaches the goal lines. Like the assistant referees in the diagonal system, each referee is responsible for patrolling one touch line and one goal line and determining possession for the restart if the ball goes out of play on either of those two boundaries.

Positioning in the dual system is similar to that used by officials in basketball: each referee is either termed the "lead" or the "trail", depending on the direction of the attack. If the attack is against the goal to the referee's right (when facing the field from their assigned touch line), then that referee is the lead, and the other is the trail. The lead is positioned ahead of the play, even with the second-to-last defender to the extent possible, while the trail is positioned behind the play. Both are responsible for calling fouls and misconduct and determining the restart when the ball goes out of play on one of their assigned boundary lines. Since the lead is in a better position to determine offside, the lead is responsible for calling offside, while the trail provides an extra monitor for fouls and misconduct while the lead's attention is focused on offside. When the attack changes direction, the trail becomes the lead and vice versa. Each referee has the same authority for decision making. It is authorized in the United States for college and high school matches although it is rarely used.

References

The Man in Black: History of the Football Referee, Gordon Thomson, Prion Books Ltd, 14 October 1998,