'I thought you refs would have learnt by now' said the spectator alongside me on the touchline. He knew I was a referee although I was not in uniform. It was one of our practical training games and I was coaching the trainee referee running the line. These games are real Sunday league matches where candidates on our training courses get the opportunity of refereeing a quarter of a match to gain practical experience, but have a qualified referee running alongside to ensure that there aren't any major mistakes. As well as their spell in the middle they also spend half the match running the line again under supervision.
In this game the trainee assistant referee in the other half of the field of play had just flagged for offside. The spectator wasn't having a go at me or the officials. He was commenting on the player way back in our half who had shouted 'How could that be offside'. 'You should be teaching your trainees' the spectator continued, 'the best place to judge an offside position is always miles back in the opposite half. His comments were of course meant as sarcasm of the player who shouted and he was leaning against an open door as far as I was concerned.
I must admit that it really does annoy me as a referee when a player criticises my decision from a position that is no where near the action. For instance, in a recent game I was on or about the halfway line and gave a player offside who was ten to fifteen yards inside his opponents half. One of his team mates who was standing on the edge of his own penalty area shouted, 'that was never offside, how could you tell from there'. 'At least' I replied, 'I was in a better position than you'.
I know when I sit in the stand at the Madejski Stadium and a Reading player is given offside in the other half of the field of play, the idiot supporter behind me will scream out, 'How could that be offside, you must be blind linesman'. There is only one place to judge an offside correctly. That is on the line, level with the second last defender who is usually an outfield player (with the goalkeeper the last defender). We tell our trainees that they must be like a t-square across the field.
The assistant referee will have had training and many years experience and his main job of the afternoon is to look for any breaches of the offside law. He's perfectly placed to make such a judgement and yet the spectator half way up the West Stand can always see better. Next time you go to a professional match take time out to watch the assistant referees. You will find that they are never still, always adjusting their position so that they remain with that last-but-one defender.
A lot of people think that the assistant referee has an easy job. Our trainees often say when they have finished their spell in the middle, now I can do the easy bit, running the line. They usually change their mind and tell us that they found it more difficult. You cannot relax your concentration for a moment or you will suddenly find you are called into action and you have drifted out of position.
If you would like to join one of our training courses to become a referee then now is the time to apply. One course has just ended and another is half way through but we will be starting another course in September which will include, as always, practical training. We already have a waiting list so you will need to apply quickly. You can do so on our website,
www.readingrefs.org.uk
or phone Brian Wratten on Reading 9782681.
Dick Sawdon Smith