Referee for life?

I received this (really good) question a while back, and neglected to answer it at the time. Fortunately the author gave me another shot and asked again the other day. Special thanks to Steve from bringing this one forward. 

Here is the question:

I was wondering if at the international level ( and others too if different ) if referees are designated as either center or assistant ( or 4th )? Really trying to ask if the same referee will always be in the center or as an assistant or if individuals will take assignments at both position. For example I have seen countless matches with Howard Webb in the middle, but does he ever work the lines?

My answer ranges from "yes" as a matter of procedure at one end of the spectrum to "not always" in the middle to "yes" as a matter of practically at the other end of the spectrum. Let me explain.

US Soccer currently has (12) active grades in the US and several emeritus grades for referees who retire and keep their grade as an honorary title. A copy of the list can be found here, but the most current and complete list can be found in the Administrative Guide for referees at US Soccer.

If you look at that list there is no place where a position is noted except in Grades 2 and 1, International Assistant Referee, and International Referee respectively.

So plainly speaking, if you are wearing a FIFA badge, you must be performing that function commensurate to the badge you are wearing at the international level. If you are wearing a FIFA referee badge, you must be refereeing, or acting as alternate (4th) official. If you are wearing a FIFA AR badge, you must be running a line.

This does NOT mean that all a FIFA referee or AR will do forever is act as a referee or AR. Take a look at the last line on page (2) of the guide. It states:

*International Assistant Referees must wear the USSF National Referee badge when assigned as
referee in all matches.

FIFA AR's when they serve as referee at levels other than International, need to wear their National badge. Take note that FIFA referees need not do so when serving as an AR in other than International matches. It is my experience that these folks do "other" matches and in different positions from time to time.

So at one end of the spectrum, the international level, Referees and 4th are always that, and AR's are always that as well. At this point, at the MLS level each referee is on a path of either serving as a referee, or as AR in nearly all cases and at that point, it will rarely change.

Take great note that sometimes this path is not always the choice the individual would make, and at times bases itself in other more unconventional reasons beyond raw talent, ability and performance. These reasons could include age, space on a particular international list, geography, and yes, political savvy of a candidate, or their state association.

This was not always the case. It was only until the mid-90's that FIFA made this delineation between referee and AR, and one quite frankly I agree whole heatedly with. Being an AR is a specialty, and a really tough one. I personally was very lucky as when I was coming up the ranks and got to serve as 4th, AR, and referee in the MLS, eventually being asked to specialize as referee.

When you are asked to specialize that is all that you wind up doing generally. For example in my post Role Reversal, I opine about just how terrifying it was to pick up a flag of nearly a decade not doing so previously. Keep in mind though in the middle of the spectrum are amateur matches, and all referees will be asked to perform all duties at any time, so one will have solid experience to be able to perform in these other roles.

At the youth level, it is generally a mixed bag also, with an exception of just starting out. At that time I find that you will generally run lines to "get your feet wet" at local youth matches. This isn't a horrible thing as is gives a referee an opportunity to be a part of the game, without having the responsibility of match management yet.

There are several nuances to this, and a few funny stories too as this system was getting off the ground in the US, but hopefully this paints the general picture that one has to be competent in both disciplines through their career, but at the highest levels domestically and internationally, there is specialization.

Role Reversal

So there I was minding my own business, when all of a sudden, an assignment came in.

I held my breath a little and a wave of fear came over me.

It was not because it was with a FIFA AR.
It was not because it was between two good teams.
It was not because there were former professional players coaching.

It was because I was assigned as an AR.

Now without going into the gory detail, while I have been fortunate enough to be an AR up to and including International friendlies, I was asked to specialize as a referee very shortly after becoming a national referee, and just held a whistle. So in essence, at the moment I received this assignment as AR, I had not held a flag for 10 years, give or take.

Fear turned into panic.

This emotion was not for concern that I had forgot in which direction to run on the line, or that my knowledge of Law 11 has suddenly vanished, it was over the knowledge that there is particular skill and fitness necessary to run an line well. These skills take practice. Just being a referee does not cut it to be able to run a line well.

While I won't get into the technical facets here (that will be for another time from a true expert such as FIFA AR Tom Supple), it is sufficient to say these referees are part of the team necessary to maintain match control. Further, they suffer the same as the referee themselves, as is clear from this article where AR Steven Craven resigned his post as professional AR in Scotland over reversing a penalty decision between Celtic and Dundee United.

As with any highly skilled craft, it is absolutely necessary to regularly "sharpen the saw" to stay at peak performance. A brief story to illustrate.

In 1990 as many are aware, we had a single referee representing the US. Vincent Mauro. In the weeks leading up to departing for Italy, Vinnie took the initiative and asked to serve as AR on a series of matches. Recall that at that time, there were not FIFA ARs yet, so the referees were the ones who ran the lines. His actions in preparing made him that much better than others for what he was going to be asked to do ... and he was ready.

While obviously I was not asked to be an AR at a World Cup match, I sure could have used some practice before taking the field the other day. While not completely horrible, to me, and my FIFA friend, it was pretty clear that my saw needed some sharpening.

So by way of a life lesson, keep your skills up to date. You just never know when you are going to be called on to use them.

Here is another 2015 MLS controversy for you ...

Orlando City chief soccer officer Armando Carneiro leaves position

Orlando City's chief soccer officer Armando Carneiro has resigned for personal reasons, the MLS club announced on Monday.

Carneiro joined Orlando City from Porto less than two months ago to oversee operations and staff.

"We fully understand Armando's personal reasons for stepping down from his role and respect his wishes. We thank him for his help and wish him luck with his future career," Orlando City president Phil Rawlins said in a statement. ...

Seethe whole story here, courtesy of ESPN.

Kicking Back Comments: This is not great news for OCSC and comes as a bit of a shock to me. Some have stopped to wonder if the personal reasons were the uncertainly of OCSC and MLS in general. Others have wondered if a move from a football power like Benfica, to well, an MLS team had something to do with it.

Either way, it is a loss for MLS and a stunning reversal after MLS was crowing about the arrival a little over a month ago. This is bigger than OCSC if I had to guess ... and that to me is a real controversy.

FIFA Prepares to re-vote on 2018 and 2022 World Cups!!

It would seem that the independent ethics probe lead by Michael Garcia has done far more than survived the plot to overthrow him, it has now fully convinced the FIFA EX-CO that a revote on 2018 and 2022 World Cups is needed to save a shred of ethical fabric and show the world FIFA can again be a pillar of good will for football.

Mr. Garcia now has strong EX-CO support lead by Mr. Blatter and Mr. Boyce, who recently stated that he "would have considered quitting" had Mr. Garcia's probe been cut short.

Granted there are very strong words from both Russia and Qatar, with both nations angry at FIFA for allowing  revote and not giving back any of the monies both nations "advanced" to FIFA for being considered a host nation.

While Mr. Putin was busy with other matters apparently, sports ministers Alexander Sidyakin and Michael Markelov, have demanded that the US is thrown out of the 2018 World Cup. While largely unreported it is apparently for Mr. Garcia's ethics probe and nothing to do with the gun running Russia was caught doing under Mr. Garcia's watch. Sounds like sour grapes to me.

Qatar was equally nonplussed with FIFA's sudden reversal on a vote and immediately ceased work on all those air conditioned stadia which needed to be ready for 2022 in a clear sign of defiance. This however did give the Qatar organizing committee and FIFA an opportunity to discuss workers rights which as we know is a vital concern to both FIFA and Qatar.

One clear winner would seem to be Japan who is willing to undertake the 2022 role should FIFA strip the Qatar nation of its duties.

Even England is not without controversy in this go around as recently Howard Webb expressed regret at some of his decisions in the 2010 final.

In hearing this, FIFA immediately expelled Webb from further consideration at the 2014 World Cup and replaced him with Springfield USA native Homer Simpson, as announced on 30-MAR-14 on Fox.

Happy April 1st.