Behind the Whistle: Sight Lines & Advantage

Описание: Rule 12.1 Advantage: a penalty is awarded only when a player or team has been disadvantaged by an opponent breaking the rules.

Umpiring Skills (Page 44) 3.3.c…umpires must take responsibility and be prepared to assist when their colleague is unsighted or has difficulty seeing certain parts of the field. If necessary and if mobility is good, umpires must be prepared to cross the centerline and go as far as appropriate into a colleague’s half of the field to assist. This helps to reassure players that decisions are correct.
Umpiring Skills (Page 45) 3.4.a…umpires must be mobile so they can move to appropriate positions throughout the match.
Application: At the 7-second mark of the video you can clearly see and hear a stick interference just inside the 23 meter line. The ‘trail’ umpire, in front of the team benches, indicates the foul, but does not blow the whistle to stop the play. The player loses control of the ball and is then dispossessed by the defender and play is allowed to continue and leads to a goal.

Guidance: Run the video in slow motion to see the development of the play. The foul happens in a very gray area for umpire responsibility in which “both” umpires can make the call, if a proper sight line and position are established. The lead umpire appears to have a good sight line on the play. The trail is on the opposite side of the midway line and looking through a number of players after attempting to play advantage. Is there really an advantage to be played in this instance? From this angle, it appears the player in white could not maintain control of the ball after being fouled by the player in black and is immediately dispossessed…thus no advantage. Do not signal unless you are prepared to make the call especially from a long distance. Showing a signal and then not calling it can be perceived as being unsure and players can lose confidence in you.

Additional Guidance: The team attacking going toward the trail umpire has no player in their attacking half of the pitch. Thus, no real need for the trail umpire to be in that half. A better sight line for this situation would have been just over the midway line in the opposite attacking half out near the sideline. Keep mobile, read the play and create the best sight line possible at all times.