QuestionIt is the final of Euro 2008. You are the ref and your assistant referee is having a
TERRIBLE game.
Every time the ball is played forward in his half he flags for offside. He makes two or three decisions that you can clearly see are wrong and you overrule him, allowing play to continue.
At half-time you are fortunate enough to see footage of several clear goalscoring opportunities that were ruled out by your assistant. You have a word with him and he assures you he is fit and well and, from where he was standing, the players appeared to be clearly offside.
In the second half the scenario is reversed - the assistant's flag stays down for 20 minutes and a goal is scored when the player looked offside to you, but you couldn't be sure.
After overruling the assistant for the second time on a CLEAR decision, you are faced with the possibility he may be getting these decisions wrong, not by accident but on purpose.
You have stopped play for offside. The managers and the players of both teams are understandably angry, but not doing anything that warrants action from you.
One team is asking for the assistant to be removed, the other is berating you for constantly overruling him.
What would you do?QuestionIt is the dying seconds of a game and the away team are desperately hanging on to a 1-0 lead when they concede a corner.
A defender is standing on the goalline inside the post. From the corner a forward blasts the ball at goal and it hits the defender full in the chest and knocks him backwards off his feet.
The rebound goes straight back to the forward who volleys it back in, but the defender on the goalline stops his fall by grabbing on to the post. By holding on to the woodwork he is able to prevent his fall and put out his leg to make another goalline clearance, preventing a certain goal.
The forward insists the defender has gained an unfair advantage by using the post to stop him falling on his back and preventing the ball from going in the net.
The captain confronts the referee and says: "Sort it out ref. It you swing on the crossbar and head the ball out it's a card - give him a yellow!"
The manager is even more furious and argues that he has denied an obvious goalscoring chance. He calls for the referee to punish the player with a red card and give a penalty for an infringement in the box.
What would you do?