When the ball hits the referee?

[p_malinich]

Quick question.  The officials are considered part of the field of play, right?  

Tonight, in a game that went to golden goal period, the game became quite intense as the clock ticked down.

As a ball was getting cleared by an opposing defender, one of the duals was running up the sideline.  The ball hits his feet and stays in bounds (right in front of me).  I'm yelling to the boys that it's still in play.  The official stops, picks up the in bounds ball & tries to toss it out of bounds.  However it lands on the line (still in play).  He signals for our ball & one of our players picks it up & proceeds with a throw-in.

Shouldn't it just have been a play on scenario?  He at least gave us the ball as if it had gone out, but didn't feel like the "right" call.

Thoughts?

[laffysoccermom]

Seems like wrong call..... Most of time our ARs jump out of way.

Speaking of part of the field, this is my personal opinion, if a ref gets hit with ball more thsn three times in a game, he needs to more vigilant about trying to get out of way. Similarly if players are constantly having to run around him....

Not really a rule but sometimes it gets ridiculous.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using proboards

[time2retire]

The referee is part of the field of play. A good, agile referee with a little foresight and knack for the flow of the game will anticipate where the ball is headed next, move toward that area, and stay clear of the passing lanes. There are a couple of resources that give referees some guidelines to follow to be in a better position, but the run of play really dictates where the referee goes.

The referee determines whether the ball is in or out of play. In the situation you describe, no call should have been made and he should not have tossed the ball toward the touchline.

"Play on" is generally reserved for situations involving fouls.