AYSO National Referee Program

Refereeing with Fewer Than Three

Course Objectives

• Understand Diagonal System of Control (DSC) principles

• Understand the priorities for referees

• Apply those principles and priorities when fewer than three referees are available.

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What Do Officials Need to Monitor?

• Scoring of a goal• Ball over a boundary line• Offside• Fouls/misconduct• Technical infringements (on restarts)

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Core Principle of the DSC

Referees constantly vary their positions to maximize the likelihood that one is properly situated to judge any event that occurs

– The referee always makes the decision– The assistant referees communicate

(signal) what they have seen, assisting the referee to make a decision

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DSC with Three Referees:Boxing Play

5

Touch line

Go

al l

ine

AR1Offside

Fouls and injuries

R

Direction of play

AR2

DSC with Three Referees:Boxing Play

6

Touch line

Go

al l

ine

AR1

OffsideAR2

Fouls and injuries

R

Direction of play

DSC with Three Referees:Boxing Play

7

Go

al l

ine

Touch line

AR1

OffsideAR2

Fouls and injuries

R

Direction of play

DSC with Three Referees:Four Eyes on Play

8AR1

AR2

R

DSC with Three Referees:Where Should The Referee Be?

9AR1

AR2

D D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Direction of play

DSC with Three Referees:On the Diagonal?

10AR1

AR2

D D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Direction of play

R

DSC with Three Referees:A Better Position

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AR1

AR2

D D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Direction of play

R

DSC with Three Referees:Re-establishing Position with AR2

12AR1

AR2

D D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Direction of play

R

What Governs the Referee’s Movement?

• Where must he be…– To observe what is happening now?– To observe what will happen next?

• These can be contradictory demands!• The assistant referees help resolve the conflict • This is what makes refereeing with fewer than

three officials hard!– Less information from others means more

constraints on positioning– Referee can’t do it all by himself, so must

prioritize

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DSC with Two Referees

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DSC with Two Referees

• One is the referee, one is an assistant referee

• A club linesman is used on the other touch line

• This is the only acceptable configuration

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The dual system (two referees on the field with whistles) is

not authorized for use in AYSO matches!

DSC with Two Referees: Positioning

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Touch line

Go

al l

ine

AR1

CL

Fouls and injuries R

Direction of play

Referee will need to lead play to watch for offside

DSC with Two Referees: Idealized Referee Coverage

17AR1

CL

R

DSC with Two Referees: Realistic Referee Coverage

18AR1

CL

R

DSC with One Referee

• Recruit two club linesman• Never do a game solo without linesmen!

– Physically and mentally taxing– Can’t watch everything– Must focus on priorities: goals, offside, fouls– Linesmen worry about ball into touch

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DSC with One Referee: Realistic Referee Coverage

20CL

CL

R

DSC with One Referee: Implications

• Coverage is shallower and narrower• Judging ball on goal line is next to

impossible• Obvious offside (younger players) is easy• Judging close offside requires being ahead

of the ball at both ends, which is impossible→Don’t call offside unless you are sure!

For older players, tight control is essential→Limit use of advantage

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Restarts

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Where Should the Referee Be?

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A

CL

R

B

D

E

C

Direction of play

A = Corner Kick Referee Side

B = Corner Kick Club Linesman Side

C = DFK Referee Side

D = DFK Club Linesman Side

E = Penalty Kick

AR1

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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A

CL

R

A = Corner Kick Referee side

Direction of play

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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BCL

B = Corner KickClub Linesman side

R

Direction of play

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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CL

R

C = DFK Referee Side

C

Direction of play

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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CL

R

DD = DFKClub Linesman Side

Direction of play

DSC: Restarts with Club LinesmanReferee Position

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CL

R

E = Penalty Kick

E

Direction of play

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DSC with Fewer than Three Referees: People Management

DSC with Fewer Than Three Referees:People Management

• Younger players’ games– Focus on the adults– Have pre-game discussion with coaches

• Older players’ games– Focus on players, not coaches/spectators– “Sign up” the players for low offside

expectations– Limit use of advantage– Failure to detect fouls can lead to loss of

control30

Fouls Off-the-Ball

• Identify problem players early• Be nearer to problem players• Take a wider position to see more• Ask AR (not club linesman) to watch

players• Speak to players early; prevent escalation• Consider cautioning earlier than usual

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DSC with Two Officials: AR Helps with Problem Players

32AR1

R

CL

AR1 watches players behind referee’s back

When play is here

Summary

• Refereeing with fewer than three referees is a compromise

• Use principles of the DSC to adjust position to compensate

• Prioritize your duties and position yourself to maximize your ability to judge goals, offside and fouls

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And remember: the dual system is not authorized for use in AYSO!

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Referees: Our Role in the AYSO Experience

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Who are the Referees’ “Customers?”

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Everyone Plays!

“Customer service is not a department, it’s an attitude”

- Unknown

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AYSO Ambassadors

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Great Refereeing = Great Customer Service

• The Game Matters!• We Honor the Laws of the Game• Nurturing New Referees

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Tips and Tools

• Use “The Triangle”• Teaching the Game• Embracing: Troublehsooters, “Help Desk.”• The Thank You

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We’re AYSO Ambassadors!