Quote:
Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle
A well thought out response, thank you.
One quibble, however, is with the notion that the only, or perhaps just the best, way to ensure consistent application of advantage is for the center referee to be the only one with a whistle. As I understand it, when you get to the highest levels, you very likely have a crew composed of seasoned center referees. In other words, the center referee for today's match was likely an AR on yesterday's match, and the ARs on today's match may each be center referee on tomorrow's matches. Every one of the officials on the field are qualified to read the play and apply advantage.
We do it every night of the week on the basketball court, and usually manage to be fairly consistent in our application of advantage/disadvantage.
I would be curious to know how often ARs make "foul calls" during an average match. Being as the center referee has the whistle, and I don't really know what to watch for, nor are the cameras on the ARs most of the time, I have no idea if this is done occasionally, frequently, seldom, 20 times a match.
|
Actually, at the highest levels, referees must declare whether they wish to continue their career path as an AR OR as a center referee, but NOT both. This applies, for example, at the MLS level. The biggest challenge with multiple whistles is the dreaded advantage situation. The difference is, in basketball, if we see a travel, we call a travel. We do not wait to see if the player throws a pass directly to the opposing team. If a player is bumped while going up the court, we cannot wait two or three dribbles to see if the point guard was able to play through it or loses his/her balance a couple steps later. We need to make that decision much more quickly (several SECONDS can pass in soccer before we cannot go back and "get the foul"). Yes, we can AND SHOULD have a slow whistle in basketball, but doing both sports, there is a HUGE difference in the timing of events resulting in an advantage/disadvantage in each.
In my opinion, the coordination involved in soccer for the "advantage" clause if FAR more complex than in basketball. While it would be possible to get this level of coordination in soccer, it would lead to a less consistently officiated game, in my opinion. The size of the court in basketball would make the use of a center referee very difficult -- we would constantly be in the way of the play -- or at least a player. But, how many times have you reffed a basketball game with a partner who calls a dramatically different game? This is especially true when working with a brand new official. This can be extremely frustrating for the players. What is a foul in one referee's area is NOT a foul in the other. What is an illegal dribble (palming) in one referee's area is permitted in the other.
Such situations are dramatically lessened in the Diagonal system (center referee running a diagonal). Of course, adding the extra ARs would give the center referee more flexibility for positioning (we currently try to get to the left side of the ball). But, that is another story.
As to how often ARs make foul calls, this varies dramatically by game. I am sure that you have reffed basketball games in which you go in at half time having called five total fouls between the three referees. You have also gone into the locker room have called 20 or more. It is somewhat dependent on the center referee's view of the game. I try to make calls in my quadrant that the center referee would also call if he were able to see the play as I did. Some HS/USSF center referees really like to let the players try to play through things. Others prefer to call a tighter game. In many cases, the center referee will reign in the teams if he/she feels the game is getting a bit too physical. In these cases, I will try to mirror his/her calling of the game. In most basketball games I have witnessed, each referee tends to call his/her own game much more so than in soccer.
To directly answer your question, I have gone halves of games without making any fouls only indicating throw-ins and goal kicks/corner kicks. As a center, I have also had many ARs go through halves without making any foul calls. There are other games in which I have made 15-20 or more offside calls and/or 5 or more other foul calls in a half.