Goal or No Goal?

[Eastshire]

Originally Posted by ref2coach

What requirement of TLOG do you feel I have ignored?

Possession

In my opinion I have stated that I see the GK's hand or hands on the ball. After seeing that, I see #7's leg contacting the left arm of the GK at that point we can judge either a kicking foul or challenging the GK in possession. Either one within TLOG requires a DFK for the GK's team.

The only point the keeper has both hands on the ball is when his teammate disposes him. At no point after that does the keeper hold the ball between his hands or between one hand and another object. The keeper is liable for challenge in this situation. I don't believe that either blue player touched the keeper. Certainly, I don't see a kick that rises to careless which means there can be no foul for kicking.

Again I "see" this using frame by frame advancement and enlargement. I admit that any referee in real time may or may not see that sequence. I am going to give the benefit of the doubt to CR and AR no matter which way they judge. The ONLY reason I would discuss it with the crew is to be sure they fully understand TLOG and how and why they arrived at either decision.

You may be so confident in your judgment using a camera from somewhere behind the touchline half a field away to "mark down" a referee's judgement but when I am assessing, if the referee tells me he saw the GK's hand or hands on the ball, then be contacted or challenged, I am going accept his judgment. Why? because it is fully supported by TLOG, the ATR and the additional instruction found on the USSF approved askasoccerreferee website.

Look, there's the ability to apply the Laws and then there's good judgement. If you are only assessing ability to apply the laws, you are doing a huge disservice to those you are assessing. In one of the areas I used to work, there was a referee who could have quoted the LotG to you backwards. I'm sure he aced every test he ever took on the subject. He was also the absolute worst referee in the area because his judgement was horrible.

It's one thing to say you couldn't tell from where you were how the referee's judgement; it quite another to just accept the referee's judgement when the purpose of assessing is to see if his judgement is good in the first place.