Tough situation my partner put us in

[icallfouls]

Very late to the discussion, but what happens to officials that incorrectly administer the rules?

There is usually some sort of suspension or disciplinary action. Assigners cannot defend an official that ignores the rules in order to make things feel good. You might have had to toss the entire blue coaching staff, but that is not the officials problem. They are supposed to know the rules also and conduct themselves appropriately.

Something that might have helped the situation would be to call the coaches over to the table. I might say something like "one of you is not going to like this, but here is what we have. Inadvertant whistle while white had team control. By rule, white will have possession."

I don't really see what is so hard about this situation. Officials can't be concerned with making an unpopular call.

I am sorry Smitty, but if I am you're assignor, I expect you to have thorough rules knowledge and to apply them correctly. Now you and your partner have shown a lack of rules knowledge. If you knew the rule, you could've saved you and your partner, but instead I now have to discipline you both for incorrectly administering a rule. Now when I am looking to assign games I have to put someone on the game with you that I know will get the rules correct.

Additionally, someone from both coaching staff's is likely going to try and determine what the real ruling should be, now they know you missed the rule for the next time they see you. Credibility has suffered with them as well.

In a camp setting, we are auditioning (in some cases) for better games. Officials that take care of business usually get advanced at a quicker rate. If the camp director has an issue with giving the ball back to white, I would tell the director we handled it by rule. What can he say? NOTHING, he didn't even have the rules support to suggest blue should get it.