AYSO National Referee ProgramRefereeing with

Fewer Than Three

Workshop number: # 313

Course Objectives• Understand Diagonal System of Control

(DSC) principles

• Understand the priorities for referees

• Apply those principles and priorities when fewer than three referees are available.

10/8/2014

Duties of Referees• Referee’s Job: Keep Game Safe, Fair and Fun

• More specifically: Perform duties stated in Laws 5 and 6 of LOTG

• How? Use principles of Diagonal System of Control (DSC) (modified, when there are fewer than three referees)

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Core Principle of the DSCReferees constantly vary their positions to maximize the likelihood that one is properly situated to judge any event that occurs

– The referee always makes the decision– The assistant referees communicate

(signal) what they have seen, assisting the referee to make a decision

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What Do Officials Need to Monitor?

• Scoring of a goal• Ball over a boundary line• Offside• Fouls/misconduct• Technical infringements (on restarts)

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DSC with Three Referees:Boxing Play

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Touch line

Goa

l lin

e

AR1Offside

Fouls and injuries

R

Direction of play

AR2

DSC with Three Referees:Boxing Play

10/8/2014

Touch line

Goa

l lin

e

AR1

OffsideAR2

Fouls and injuries

R

Direction of play

DSC with Three Referees:Boxing Play

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Goa

l lin

e

Touch line

AR1

OffsideAR2

Fouls and injuries

R

Direction of play

DSC with Three Referees:Four Eyes on Play

10/8/2014 AR1

AR2

R

DSC with Three Referees:Where Should The Referee Be?

10/8/2014 AR1

AR2

D D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Direction of play

DSC with Three Referees:On the Diagonal?

10/8/2014 AR1

AR2

D D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Direction of play

R

DSC with Three Referees:A Better Position

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AR2

D D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Direction of play

R

DSC with Three Referees:Re-establishing Position with AR2

10/8/2014 AR1

AR2

D D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Direction of playR

What Governs the Referee’s Movement?

• Where must he be…– To observe what is happening now?– To observe what will happen next?

• These can be contradictory demands!• The assistant referees help resolve the conflict • This is what makes refereeing with fewer than

three officials hard!– Less information from others means more

constraints on positioning– Referee can’t do it all by himself, so must

prioritize10/8/2014

DSC with Two Referees

10/8/2014

DSC with Two Referees• One is the referee, one is an assistant

referee• A club linesman is used on the other touch

line• This is the only acceptable configuration

10/8/2014

The dual system (two referees on the field with whistles) is

not authorized for use in AYSO matches!

DSC with Two Referees: Recruit a Linesman

Why recruit linesmen?– Today’s linesman is tomorrow’s referee

(linesmen are good source of recruits for referee training)

– AYSO is a volunteer organization; volunteers are needed (spectators might need reminding)

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DSC with Two Referees: Positioning

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Touch line

Goa

l lin

e

AR1

CL

Fouls and injuries R

Direction of play

Referee will need to lead play to watch for offside

DSC with Two Referees: Idealized Referee Coverage

10/8/2014 AR1

CL

R

DSC with Two Referees: Realistic Referee Coverage

10/8/2014AR1

CL

R

DSC with One Referee

• Recruit two club linesman• Never do a game solo without linesmen!

– Physically and mentally taxing– Can’t watch everything– Must focus on priorities: goals, offside,

fouls– Linesmen worry about ball into touch

10/8/2014

DSC with One Referee: Realistic Referee Coverage

10/8/2014 CL

CL

R

DSC with One Referee: Implications

• Coverage is shallower and narrower• Judging ball on goal line is next to

impossible• Obvious offside (younger players) is easy• Judging close offside requires being ahead

of the ball at both ends, which is impossible→Don’t call offside unless you are sure!

For older players, tight control is essential→Limit use of advantage

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Restarts

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Where Should the Referee Be?

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A

CL

R

B

D

E

C

Direction of play

A = Corner Kick Referee SideB = Corner Kick Club Linesman SideC = DFK Referee SideD = DFK Club Linesman SideE = Penalty Kick

AR1

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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A

CL

R

A = Corner Kick Referee side

Direction of play

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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BCL

B = Corner KickClub Linesman side

R

Direction of play

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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CL

R

C = DFK Referee Side

C

Direction of play

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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CL

R

DD = DFKClub Linesman Side

Direction of play

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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CL

R

E = Penalty Kick

E

Direction of play

DSC with Fewer than Three Referees: People Management

10/8/2014

DSC with Fewer Than Three Referees:People Management

• Younger players’ games– Focus on the adults– Have pre-game discussion with coaches

• Older players’ games– Focus on players, not coaches/spectators– “Sign up” the players for low offside

expectations– Limit use of advantage– Failure to detect fouls can lead to loss of control

10/8/2014

Fouls Off-the-Ball

• Identify problem players early• Be nearer to problem players• Take a wider position to see more• Ask AR (not club linesman) to watch

players• Speak to players early; prevent escalation• Consider cautioning earlier than usual10/8/2014

DSC with Two Officials: AR Helps with Problem Players

10/8/2014 AR1

R

CL

AR1 watches players behind referee’s back

When play is here

Summary• Refereeing with fewer than three referees

is a compromise• Use principles of the DSC to adjust position

to compensate• Prioritize your duties and position yourself

to maximize your ability to judge goals, offside and fouls

10/8/2014

And remember: the dual system is not authorized for use in AYSO!

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Goal for the referees:Support the delivery of a great AYSO experience for the players and others.

How will today’s workshop help you support this goal?

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