[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Yeah, you stated what FIFA does. What you didn't state was the size of the soccer playing area versus the size of a basketball court, or the number of players either.
- an international soccer field is a minimum of 110 yards by 70 yards. The maximum size is 120 yards by 80 yards. Iow, the field must lie between 69,300 square feet and 86,600 square feet.
- A high school court is 84 feet by 50 feet and a college court is 94 feet by 50 feet. Iow, the court must lie between 4200 square feet and 4700 square feet.
- Comparing maximum dimensions, a soccer field is over EIGHTEEN(18) times bigger than a college basketball court.
- Comparing minimum dimensions a soccer field is over SIXTEEN(16) bigger than a high school court.
- Soccer uses one on-field official.
-Basketball uses a minimum of two officials and an optimum of three officials.
- One on-field soccer official is asked to keep his eye on a total of 22 players.
- Two or three basketball officials are asked to keep an eye on a total of 10 players.

Sooooo, to properly evaluate your great idea, we would have to put basketball standards at each end of a soccer field, increase the number of players per team from 5 to 11, and have ONE official try to officiate that game. Of course, you would also give him a person on each sideline to call the out-of-bounds. Under those conditions, I'll kinda agree with you that your poor l'il lonesome official out there better damnwell be in great physical condition, and age restrictions might make sense. It's the same as trying to do a college or pro football game with one official. Of course, what makes more sense would be to put more officials out on the field for better play coverage and thus cut down the physical requirements needed of an official. Obviously, FIFA...and you.....haven't been able to come up with anything quite so.....logical.....as that.

You're comparing apples to elephants.

Your whacko idea might be worthy of discussion but it sureasheck is bereft of even a shred of merit.

So, JR, are you now saying that size matters!

Too bad that you are completely ignorant of the officiating system of soccer. It really makes all that abacus work worth absolutely nothing.

Soccer uses THREE referees, one center and two assistants, plus a 4th official on high level matches to watch the players. All of them are empowered to call fouls. The two assistants do much more than just call the ball out-of-bounds as you so sadly believe. The most recent World Cup Final proves this as, according to the official FIFA match report, it was the 4th official who observed Zidane's headbutt, told the nearest AR, and he then informed the center referee, who displayed the red card.

FYI the 4th official is soccer's most recent attempt to put more eyes on the field to observe the 22 players. FIFA has even experimented with two Center Referees, such as the NHL has implemented.