Group play for the Champions League started earlier this week, which means that the Champions League’s rebranded little sister – the Europa League – also starts this week (why this isn’t staggered – so that people might actually watch the Europa League on the Champions League off weeks – is a discussion for another time). Apart from unveiling a snazzy new logo, there isn’t much that’s changed since the old UEFA Cup in terms of competition format.
However, there is one big change in how the matches will be officiated. The International Football Association Board has authorized the continuation of an officiating experiment that started in the U-19 European Championship. That experiment – cleverly titled the “Additional Assistant Referees Experiment” – will debut on it’s biggest stage yet today, when every Europa League match will be officiated by five officials instead of the standard three.
Read on after the jump for more details on how, exactly, this is supposed to work.
First off, let’s look at why this is happening. Per the media paper, the objectives of this experiment are as follows:
The objectives of the introduction of two additional assistant referees are:
• To enhance the control of the match in accordance with the Laws of the Game in key areas of thefield of play (particularly inside and near to the penalty area) by adding an extra pair of eyes near to each penalty area:
o to support the referee
o to identify infringements
o to reduce match-changing errors
o to deter players from committing infringements
• To improve the game
That emphasis is theirs, not mine. There have been quite a few missed calls lately; just off the top of my head, Howard Webb’s Confederations Cup gaffe, Eduardo’s dive, and numerous instances where the ball has crossed the line without a goal being awarded have required FIFA to look into a way to fix the problem; these incidents all detract from the spirit of the Laws of the Game, and something needed to be done.
While we’re on the subject of the Laws of the Game: it’s important to note that the presence of these “goal line officials” doesn’t change any laws; it simply allows the referee to have an extra pair of eyes and ears on the pitch to help him. His call is still final.
What do they do, then? Let’s take a look at the “Duties of the Assistant Referees”:
Two additional assistant referees will help the referee to control the match in accordance with the Laws of the Game, particularly inside the penalty area or when the additional assistant referee has a better view than the referee.
The final decision is still always taken by the referee.
For me, the key phrase is “particularly inside the penalty area”. It’s key because it doesn’t exclude anything; the new assistant is particularly – but not exclusively – responsible for assisting in calls made inside the penalty area; that’s not to say that he can’t help the referee out on other things. From their point of view, the entire field is visible, including areas of the pitch that the ref isn’t looking at because his back is turned as he’s watching play. The positioning diagram reinforces this:
From Left (Circled): The Referee, the Assistant, and the Additional Assistant
Key thing to note here: the additional assistant isn’t behind the goal (as is often stated), he’s next to it on the side the linesman can’t see. That greatly increases the chances that one of the three guys will see an infraction, and also give the additional assistant a spot-on view of the goal line.
Oh, and let’s talk about flags: he doesn’t use one. All communication between this assistant and the referee is done via radio.
All things considered, this is an interesting initiative. The thing that most fans clamor for is better officiating, and this can theoretically provide that. It also, however, adds to the potential for confusion; three people watching an incident will very rarely see the same thing, which could lead to a situation where a linesman and additional assistant see a clear penalty that’s ignored by the referee because he didn’t see it. One would hope the communication would be better on these teams, but you never know.
Personally, I like the additional ref; this is an angle that a referee (who, in theory, should be traversing along a diagonal route opposite the side covered by the linesman) doesn’t get a good angle on, and it opens the door to better officiating. I’m not sure it goes quite far enough, however, or that it’d be necessary if FIFA instead decided to acquiesce to reality and introduce goal-line replay (which doesn’t need to be anywhere near as inefficient as the NFL’s replay system).
