The first thing to understand about a referee is that his / her greatest trait is invisibility. Ideally, the referee will make virtually no impact on the progress of the game. Nevertheless, the referee must be prepared to take control of the situation when necessary.

In order to know best when it is necessary to insert oneself into the game, a few things are required:

• Knowledge of the Rules or Laws of the Game
• Being in the proper position to see what fouls may be committed
• Having the support of a strong training and mentoring organization, providing instruction prior to, and feedback after the game
• Being personally dedicated to doing the best job possible

Too often, referees are observed (particularly during youth games in the younger divisions) walking back-and-forth across the center circle, calling the entire game from there. This behavior not only doesn't afford the referee the position necessary to make critical decisions (as mentioned above), but it also shows lack of respect for the kids who would like to have fun playing a game that is played under safe conditions. These kids are playing their best and deserve to have a referee who will both keep them safe and teach the game by example.

Two excellent presentations of the duties and mechanics of refereeing (in the three- or four-referee system) are provided by Al Kleinitis (USSF Manager of Referee Development and Education): Guide to Procedures for Refereees and Assistant Referees (.pdf) and Proper Positioning Presentation (.ppt).

Alternative Mechanics

While it is not sanctioned by the USSF, some college, high school and youth club games may require officiating using the two-referee, one-referee or one-referee with club linesmen system. The mechanics of these systems deserve discussion, and the reader is welcomed to comment in our blog.

Two-Referee System

The best way to describe a good two-referee system would be to start with the "AR" (Assistant Referee) positioning as described in the Kleinitis references. From that baseline, assume that the referees have whistles instead of flags (to be a bit obvious) and that, rather than staying "in touch" they are on the pitch. The two referees should be on opposite sides of the pitch. The referee to whom the play is coming is the "lead" referee, and the other is the "trail" referee. The lead referee is primarily responsible for the whistle and is the one who will control play on restarts after fouls, place kicks, substitutions, etc. Nevertheless, the trail referee is fully empowered to call the game as he / she sees fit and is not considered "junior" in any way. Clearly, mutual respect and good communication contribute tremendously to the two-referee system.

The two referees should position themselves so that the play is between them and that they can see one another. The lead referee is responsible for offside calls. If play is on the same side of the pitch as the lead referee, then the lead should be near (or across) the touch line, and the trail referee should "cheat" in toward the middle of the pitch. Clearly, if the play is on the same side as the trail referee, then the trail referee should be near the touch line and the lead should drift into the pitch.

In order to provide adequate support, the trail referee may often need to move forward of the offside line, meaning that, when play is reversed, the transition into lead referee requires quick reaction and rapid recovery back to the offside line. In particular, during set plays, the trail referee should be positioned close to where the referee is shown in the Kleinitis presentations, with the lead referee positioned as shown for the "lead" AR.

One-Referee Mechanics

When serving as the lone referee, one hopes to be bigger and stronger than the players and thus capable of calling offsides on both ends of the field and, otherwise, always being close enough to the play to be able to make good calls at all times. Clearly, the lone referee has little choice other than to abandon the effort of maintaining a "diagonal" and must often rely on the players themselves in determining when the ball has gone into touch (across the sidelines) or across the goal line. The referee must always be prepared, though, to determine who gets possession after an out ball. In some of the younger leagues there is no offside rule, but in others, the referee must simply do as well as possible in making the offside calls. In general, the positioning should be somewhere between (referencing the Kleinitis presentations) the position shown for the referee and the "lead" AR.

Mechanics for One Referee with Club Linesmen

Rule #1: unless the "club linesmen" are both known to be referees, they may be relied upon only for signalling when the ball goes into touch or across the goal line. That means, of course, that the referee's mechnics and responsibilities are essentially the same as they would be without the club linesmen. As tempting as it may be, it is not fair to rely on one of the linesmen as a full-fledged referee and the other just a an out-ball caller so, if one of the two is a referee, treat them both as though neither was. Alternatively, perhaps the teams would accept a two-referee system with the experienced referee participating.

As a courtesy, (particularly when the club linesmen are not referees) the referee should instruct the club linesmen that they are responsible only for running the field from mid-field to the goal line. Otherwise, (and often despite these instructions) they might wear themselves out running the field goal-to-goal. Suggest to them that you are happy to have them flag when the ball goes into touch on your end of the pitch, but they don't need to be standing there when it does so.

Rule #2: Though there is little control over the teams changing out the linesmen they provide, if the same two club linesmen run the entire game, they must not be allowed to swap sides between play periods (quarter or half), thus essentially refereeing the same offense / defense across periods. For the sake of fairness, each club linesman must be responsible for different offenses and different defenses across the periods.

Rules / Laws of the Game

While all of the leagues and organizations base their rules / laws on FIFA's Laws of the Game, each may have a number of modifications to address different age groups, different venues, etc. Below is listed how each of the organizations deal with the issue.

• NCAA and NAIA — See 2006 Men's and Women's Soccer Rules and Interpretations.
• NFHS — The rule book, published annually in May, is not available online, but can be ordered online: 2006-07 Soccer Rules Book. It can also be ordered by mail by ordering Item #: SORB07 on the Publications Order Form.
  Discussions, including interpretations of the rules, can be found here.
• USSF — There are several laws resources provided by the USSF:
  • Laws of the Game 2006/2007 (.pdf). Laws for the outdoor game, largely conforming to the FIFA laws.
  • 2006 Futsal Laws of the Game (.pdf). Futsal comes from something like 'Salon Futbal', so this is USSF's laws for the indoor game.
  • Beach Soccer Laws of the Game (.pdf) no date.
  • The page Laws of the Game contains these and a number of other links on it which are worth perusing.
• USYS — For Under 13 and older games, USYS uses the FIFA Laws of the game. For other age groups, they use (all .pdf):
  • Official Modified Under 12 Playing Rules
  • Official Modified Under 10 Playing Rules
  • Official Modified Under 8 Playing Rules
  • Official Modified Under 6 Playing Rules
• AYSO — Laws of the Game 2007/2008 - AYSO Edition is a version of the FIFA laws marked up with several changes addressing the various age groups. The Rules and Regulations are AYSO's specific rules regarding such things as uniforms and patches as well as great detail about the handling of different age groups.
  Several other valuable resources can be found at Referee Publications.
• SAY — SAY's Playing Rules (.pdf) are basically the FIFA Laws of the game, modified to accommodate the several age groups that SAY serves.
• U.S. Club Soccer — given that there is no reference made to the particular set of laws used in the U.S. Club Soccer league, we will assume, until new information is made available, that they use the FIFA laws. This assumption is consistent with their philosophy of development of highly competetive teams and players.

Resources from Amazon

Referee's handbook for youth soccer

United States Soccer Federation Recreational Youth Referee Course

Referees Handbook for Youth Soccer