[Back In The Saddle]

I thought seriously about officiating soccer a couple years ago. In the end I decided against it. While toying with the idea I did study up a little about some of the officiating systems used. But I never got to try them, so I'm probably arguing from ignorance here. But with four officials on the game it sure seems like there is a lot those other three guys could do besides just watching for offsides, calling OOB, and taking care of subs. Give the linesmen a whistle and put them to work watching off ball. Better yet, give them primary (or shared with the center referee) responsibility in their "vertical third" of the field. I know it flies in the face of soccer tradition, but if we can call a better game with three officials in basketball, by dividing coverage, putting eyes off the ball, and allowing all three officials to make the judgment calls in their area...there is no way it couldn't help in soccer.