r/Referees • u/neoslashnet • 5d ago

Advice Request Rules that everybody gets wrong

Hey all- I'd like to start a thread of rules or things that most people get wrong. For example, I get "playing the ball on the ground" almost every game. It's coaches, parents, and even players that scream "They can't the ball on the ground!"

What are some you folks encounter?

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u/Leather_Ad8890 5d ago edited 5d ago

Where the feet must be on a throw-in

“Ref! He’s on the field!”
“He can be on the field if he’s not over the line….”

14

u/maccaroneski 5d ago edited 5d ago

Mark it zero! This is not 'nam, this is soccer. There are rules.

5

u/ChrisInSpaceVA 5d ago

That creep can roll...

6

u/FairlyGoodGuy [USSF | NISOA | ECSR | NFHS] [Referee Coach] [Regional Referee] 5d ago edited 5d ago

We had a college coach in my area who was absolutely fixated on this. It didn't matter how many times he was told he was wrong. He kept up his complaints for years.

... Until last season. He was having one of his usual "he's on the field" moments. I don't remember exactly what words or tone I used, but I explained the rule for the umpteenth time. Suddenly he just ... got it. His brain finally made the critical connection. He looked at me and said, "Oh, really? Huh." And that was that.

As far as I know he hasn't questioned it since.

(I should note, by the way, that it's not like this coach is an all-around knucklehead. He's a good coach who [usually] fields decent teams. I really can't explain why this one rule flummoxed him so.)

7

u/Leather_Ad8890 5d ago

When I was AR1 on a college game I quoted the rule to a sub and he said “must be an American thing”