Changes to the Laws of the Game

SoccerGeek said:
So cal has the worst referees. Its funny how they think the know the laws of the game! Calsouth needs to improve referee education.
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You get what you pay for.

Better refs would require ongoing field evaluations, mandatory attendance at the monthly meetings, mentoring like in AYSO, and yearly field reviews. I’ve been through both the cal south stuff and the AYSO intermediate stuff and the support and education in AYSO is just so much more superior.

But then ayso can force its volunteers into the program and you get a lot that just want to do the bare minimum. Calsouth has a bunch of working stiffs as refs looking to make extra cash. Forcing them to take further education time in the middle of their busy schedules just isn’t worth it to them. They are already losing weekends by doing games.

Want better refs? You gotta pay them more. But then everyone will complain how soccer isn’t accessible for poor kids and that’s why the us is falling behind. Or you know we might treat the refs better and then maybe more people would be willing to step up. But more education for a bunch of abuse and little pay?

You can have your soccer accessible, competitive or professional... pick 2.
 
The summaries of the changes are out now. They go into effect in June.

With my kid now out of the AYSO organization again, I'd been on the fence about whether to renew. I'm renewing my ref license in case kiddo has any scrimmages they need a volunteer for, but I'm effectively out at least for a year, both club and AYSO, given the rule changes. I'm out (mike drop). It's clear they made the changes with the pro game in mind, and the goalkicks rule isn't even the biggest change.

They've managed to make an even bigger muck of the handball rules by keeping the deliberateness standard, but then adding a bunch of conditions which are automatically handballs (which would have been alright) but then adding situations which aren't. I get how it adds clarity to the pro game, and how refs on the experienced level like Surfref will be able to call it, but newbs like me (let alone the do-the-minimum club refs or the clueless-AYSO-volunteer refs) will never be able to call it correctly....a new AYSO ref will need at least 3 hours on just the handball to be able to decipher it since it's now as complicated as the offside call.

They've effectively banned the contested drop ball but now a ref after getting struck will have to keep in mind a) who has possession, and b) whether the change in possession leads to a promising attack. Not usually the first thing in my mind (which is screaming GET OUT OF THE WAY). It will encourage youth refs who like to hang in the center circle instead of in the middle of the action along the diagonal to hang in the circle since there will be a fear of getting struck and then having to make the call. For the very small ones, it might even make refs more reluctant to call a stop if the ball strikes a player and the player goes down (as happens so very much in the U8 games) for fear of altering the game.

On the plus side the goalkeeper penalty rules will make kiddos' life easier. Goalkeepers can't move or stand behind the line...the can't move is not a big loss since that's horrible GK technique anyway...but the one footed rule allows them to respond to a strikers stutter by beginning the extension dive. Won't make much of a technical difference since GKs at high levels are doing this anyway already, but removing the fear of having it called is always a plus for younger keepers.

My review IMHO: good for keepers, good for the tone and tenor of the game, bad for refs, and it makes the youth game needlessly complicated which will further irritate parents and players.

http://static-3eb8.kxcdn.com/documents/786/111531_110319_IFAB_LoG_at_a_Glance.pdf
 
Grace T. said:
The summaries of the changes are out now. They go into effect in June.

With my kid now out of the AYSO organization again, I'd been on the fence about whether to renew. I'm renewing my ref license in case kiddo has any scrimmages they need a volunteer for, but I'm effectively out at least for a year, both club and AYSO, given the rule changes. I'm out (mike drop). It's clear they made the changes with the pro game in mind, and the goalkicks rule isn't even the biggest change.

They've managed to make an even bigger muck of the handball rules by keeping the deliberateness standard, but then adding a bunch of conditions which are automatically handballs (which would have been alright) but then adding situations which aren't. I get how it adds clarity to the pro game, and how refs on the experienced level like Surfref will be able to call it, but newbs like me (let alone the do-the-minimum club refs or the clueless-AYSO-volunteer refs) will never be able to call it correctly....a new AYSO ref will need at least 3 hours on just the handball to be able to decipher it since it's now as complicated as the offside call.

They've effectively banned the contested drop ball but now a ref after getting struck will have to keep in mind a) who has possession, and b) whether the change in possession leads to a promising attack. Not usually the first thing in my mind (which is screaming GET OUT OF THE WAY). It will encourage youth refs who like to hang in the center circle instead of in the middle of the action along the diagonal to hang in the circle since there will be a fear of getting struck and then having to make the call. For the very small ones, it might even make refs more reluctant to call a stop if the ball strikes a player and the player goes down (as happens so very much in the U8 games) for fear of altering the game.

On the plus side the goalkeeper penalty rules will make kiddos' life easier. Goalkeepers can't move or stand behind the line...the can't move is not a big loss since that's horrible GK technique anyway...but the one footed rule allows them to respond to a strikers stutter by beginning the extension dive. Won't make much of a technical difference since GKs at high levels are doing this anyway already, but removing the fear of having it called is always a plus for younger keepers.

My review IMHO: good for keepers, good for the tone and tenor of the game, bad for refs, and it makes the youth game needlessly complicated which will further irritate parents and players.

http://static-3eb8.kxcdn.com/documents/786/111531_110319_IFAB_LoG_at_a_Glance.pdf
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Point of clarification. The Law changes state that the nets/goal posts/crossbar must not be moving, not that the goalkeeper can't move.

Mostly agreed that this round of changes is aimed at the pro game with little thought to the grassroots game.
 
Tea and Busquets said:
Point of clarification. The Law changes state that the nets/goal posts/crossbar must not be moving, not that the goalkeeper can't move.

Mostly agreed that this round of changes is aimed at the pro game with little thought to the grassroots game.
Click to expand...

You r right. The semicolon threw me. So what do you do on a windy day when the net is moving? Wait for a break in the wind when the net settles down?
 
jrcaesar said:
I think this part only refers to what happens when the referee is struck by the dropped ball.
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Hmmmm....another illustration of how the new rules aren't very clear on a number of points. But I don't think that's right. Under the current rules, a ref is treated like a goalpost or flaw in the field...if the ref is struck oh well. The original article I cited seems to say the intent in "certain instances" when the ref gets struck is to restore the status quo by way of dropped ball....that the ref shouldn't change conditions on the field. But those certain conditions seem to be limited to the ball going into the goal, possession changing or a promising attack starts (and so sort of works like advantage....if no change in the balance of the game no call). Here's my counter to the argument....what of circumstances when the ref jumps out of the way (I've opened my legs before to let the ball roll or ducked to avoid getting struck in the head)....those situations also change the circumstances of the game, so the rule change doesn't really achieve the balance it seeks to achieve because even though the ref wasn't struck, the ref's body may have altered the game.

The other interesting point is in the PA the dropped ball must go to the goalkeeper. I suppose the goalkeeper could just tap it to the big legged defender and have the big legged defender "send it". But it's inconsistent that's a requirement, but the goalkeeper still isn't required to take the initial goalkick (though I suspect many long ball youth coaches will have the keeper tap up a rolling ball to the big legged defender and have the defender "send it" under the new goalkick rules) or a FK in the PA.
 
p.s. Here are 2 scenarios. You have a coach that likes to tell his kids to "kick the ball out" if they get in trouble in possession particularly in the PA. Well, the ref has just become an out (it would be even worse if striking the ref results in an automatic dropped ball in all circumstances, but thankfully they don't, which I suspect will lead to quite a bit of discretion, which leads to more dissent from the lines). A clever coach might still have the defender aim for the ref (what's possession if the defender is just woofing the ball to clear it?) because worse case the ball gets cleared if it misses the ref, but best case, they gain control (either outside the PA or to the goalkeeper inside the PA). I suspect the less agile among the refs will avoid being in the PA like the plague, though to be fair most refs with good positioning won't ever be in the thick of the PA.

Second, a U10 rec game where a battle for the ball is going on at the top of the PA. One kid gets struck by the ball, and the ball goes into the PA and leads to a promising attack. Refs might be less likely to call a stoppage because the stoppage will result possession being transferred to the GK automatically. So the little one (and his parents) might have to wait, which will lead the parents to be calling out "ref ref kid down".
 
Ah, yes, I read it as part of the Dropped Ball section, but it's clearer in the summary of changes document:

Law 9 • Dropped ball if the ball touches the referee (or other match official) and goes into the goal, possession changes or an attacking move starts
 
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