Practical guidelines for match officials

Spirit of the game and positioning

Apply common sense within the Laws. At lower levels, safe matches may continue with team agreement despite missing corner flags, minor marking errors or non-white goal frames; report the defects. Safety remains essential.

• Use a wide diagonal, keep play between the referee and lead assistant, remain close enough to observe without interfering, and monitor off-ball incidents.
• Assistants align with the second-last defender or the ball when nearer the goal line, face the pitch and use side steps for short movements.
• Additional assistants normally stay behind the goal line and enter the field only exceptionally.

Restart teamwork

• At corners, the assistant stands behind the corner flag on the goal line and checks placement without obstructing the kicker.
• At free kicks, monitor the offside line and be ready to follow a shot towards the goal line.
• At goal kicks, verify placement before taking the offside line; an additional assistant can check placement instead.
• For goalkeeper release, check handling against the penalty-area edge, then recover the offside line.
• For a penalty, the assistant normally covers the goal-line/penalty-area intersection; if technology covers encroachment and goals, a touchline position level with the penalty mark is recommended.
• In a shoot-out, one assistant covers the goal-line/goal-area intersection and the other the centre circle; additional officials change this division of duties.
• Assist with distance or substitutions when needed, and wait for the assistant to recover position before restarting.

Goals, fouls and confrontation

For a clear goal, exchange eye contact and the assistant runs 25–30 metres towards halfway. If a scored goal is unclear, first raise the flag to gain attention. In mass confrontation, the nearest assistant may help on the pitch; the other observes and records, while the fourth official monitors the technical areas.

• Signal unseen or nearby fouls after considering the referee’s view and possible advantage.
• For unseen defending fouls inside the area, flag, use the beep and move towards the corner; a clear movement towards halfway indicates an offence outside the area.
• Maintain an offside flag until acknowledged or the defending team clearly controls the ball.

Whistle and communication

Use the whistle for kick-offs, free-kick or penalty stoppages, suspension/abandonment, period endings, managed-distance free kicks, penalties and restarts after cards, injury or substitution. Most routine restarts and clear boundary decisions need no whistle. An erroneous whistle stopping play leads to a dropped ball.

• Tell players clearly when they must await the whistle.
• Agree discreet hand signals and electronic communication before the match; keep the assistant’s flag visible and make controlled signals facing the field.
• A missed sending-off flag may still lead to discipline after a restart, but cannot then create a retrospective free kick or penalty.

Advantage, holding and injuries

For advantage, weigh severity, location, immediate attacking prospects and match atmosphere. A sending-off offence normally requires stopping unless a clear scoring opportunity exists. Intervene early against holding before restarts: warn, then caution if it continues; holding after the ball enters play can require a direct free kick or penalty and caution.

• Support medical staff, especially for serious injury or head-injury assessment.
• For quick treatment after an opponent’s cautioned or sending-off physical offence, the injured player may remain. The general guide is no more than 20–25 seconds beyond readiness to restart, except serious/head injuries; account fully for the lost time.

Offside examples

Offside position alone is insufficient. Touching the ball, challenging an opponent or clearly obstructing a goalkeeper’s view can create an offence. A player may be penalised before touching if no onside team-mate can play it. Rebounds, deflections and deliberate saves do not erase the original offside position; a later team-mate pass creates a fresh position assessment.