Day 20 – Officials and Video Assistant Referee (VAR)
Lesson
Topic Point: Officials were introduced in 1891 with a central referee and two “linesmen”(now called assistant referees). Depending on the level of play, a 4thofficial may be present who supervises the bench area and assists withsubstitutions. Finally, the Video Assistant Referee was incorporated between2017-2019[1]for high level matches.
The system of the central referee and twoassistant referees or linesmen is coordinated so that everyone has an area tomonitor. One linesman covers a sideline from one endline to midfield. The otherlinesman covers the sideline diagonally from his/her counterpart, which willcover the other endline to midfield on the opposite side of the field. Thereferee covers the field in a diagonal such that he/she stays on the oppositeside of the field from the corresponding linesman. The linesman should be ableto see down the sideline and the endline he/she is overseeing and will raisethe flag if the ball goes out of play, as well as signal the appropriaterestart (direction for throw-in, corner kick, and goal kick). The assistantreferee aligns with the last defender before the goalkeeper (second to lastdefender overall) to watch for offsides. They may also raise their flag if theywitness a foul, however only the referee has the authority to call the foul.
Ted Lasso: Refereesand assistant referees are in all the matches shown in Ted Lasso. They play arole at several moments duplicating real-life functions. In S1E10, Ted “yells”at the assistant referee about an offside, though he legitimately has questionsabout the rule. Also in that episode, Keeley reveals that she pretends to beinvested in a match by yelling at the referee.
Other notable moments include S1E5 when Tedtells the 4th official that he wants to make a substitution; S2E6when Nate yells at the referee during the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley Stadium;S3E11 when the assistant referee asks Ted if he wants to continue with 10players; and finally S3E12 where the referee has the biggest spotlight in theshow as he has to check the netting to see if Isaac’s penalty shot was good andthen address George Cartrick, coach for West Ham United. Also in S3E12, VAR(Video Assistant Referee) plays a role in checking if a goal is legitimate (aplayer from West Ham was offside and the goal was disallowed).
Soccer-related note: Officials will use the whistle for fouls, out-of-bounds plays thatare not obvious or play does not stop, and to signal play stoppage for avariety of other reasons (a quick restart that must be called back; end of halfor end of game; substitutions and injuries). However, it is not supposed to beused for all stoppages and restarts.
Officials used to wear all black unless oneteam was black or dark blue, and then officials wore red jerseys with blackshorts and socks. In the mid-1990s, additional color options were implemented.Now FIFA permits five shirt colors (black, red, yellow, green, and blue).Officials must wear black shorts, black socks, and black shoes.
VAR was officially approved and added tothe Laws of the Game in March, 2018. Its first international use was in the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
American Sports comparison: Officials wear black/white vertically striped shirts (Americanfootball, basketball, ice hockey) with black pants. Baseball umpires typicallywear a black, navy, or light blue polo shirt with gray pants. Whistles are a major part of the official’sfunction and used to start/stop play in both American football and basketballat every instance.
Instant replay was first used in the NFL in1986 but was abolished in 1991. It returned in its current form in 1999. Forthe NBA, it was first used during the 2002-03 season. In MLB, it was first usedin 2008 and limited to foul balls vs home runs; it was expanded in 2014. TheNHL started using replay to review goals in 1991-92. Replay use was expanded in2003 and 2015.
[1] The 2-year time frame is due to VAR introduced gradually as varioustop tier leagues adopted the process, and FIFA then permitted it forinternational matches.
Interactive:
Below is a diagram from the International Football Association Board (IFAB) showing the referee and assistant referee positioning on the field. The link to the Rules of the Game section describing the positioning is below. There you can find other recommendations from IFAB regarding positioning of the referee and assistant referee for many other situations such as corner kicks, free kicks, goal kicks, kick offs, and when the goalkeeper has the ball.
Also, find a link to a video from the 2019 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg match between Manchester City and Tottenham. The VAR disallowed a goal in stoppage time which ultimately proved fatal to Manchester City as Tottenham won the match and moved on to the semifinal.
Some new rules will be introduced for the 2026 World Cup. The information in the graphic below (circulated on Facebook) summarizes some significant ones.
There are some additional rules being implemented.
The rules target several areas already discussed such as injuries, substitutions, the clock, timeouts, coaching, and one that we will discuss - restarts (throw-ins, goalkicks). Ultimately the rules are under the purview of the officials, so they are included here.
The rules are to improve the overall game for players and fans: reduce time wasting, improve ball-in-play time, and reduce player misconduct.
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