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What's The Correct AYSO Answer?

Test Your Knowledge

July 8, 2009

My son just started playing AYSO soccer and seems to enjoy it quite a lot. I want to learn more about soccer so I can support my son's efforts to learn the game. I'm a typical sports fan and am more familiar with sports such as football, baseball and basketball. I'm puzzled by several things that seem different in soccer from what I am used to in other sports.

Why is it that spectators are given very little information by soccer referees?
Why don't referees explain things more to coaches and spectators about the fouls and who committed them?
How does anyone know how much time is left to play when the referee seems to be able to add on more time if he wants to?
Why can't coaches call time outs to help their teams make adjustments?

Answer: Soccer is different from many popular American sports in some rather significant ways. Basically, many American sports are designed as coach's games which allow considerable coach participation and accommodate frequent stoppages so officials can confer and spectators and coaches can be informed. Indeed, it is not uncommon in some popular American sports for considerably more time to be spent waiting for officials to make decisions and to inform spectators about those decisions than is actually spent playing the games.

Soccer, on the other hand, is designed primarily as a player's game and interference in the game by coaches and officials is intentionally minimized. The AYSO National Rules and Regulations contains the following quote taken from an earlier edition of the Laws of the Game (Rules of Soccer) which best expresses the spirit of the game and the philosophy of refereeing:
The Laws of the Game are intended to provide that games should be played with as little interference as possible, and in this view it is the duty of referees to penalize only deliberate breaches of the Law. Constant whistling for trifling and doubtful breaches produces bad feelings and loss of temper on the part of the players and spoils the pleasure of spectators.

Additionally, soccer referees are authorized to not call an infraction if the team that was fouled would have more of an advantage if play was not stopped. The Laws of the Game direct the referee to...
"allow play to continue when the team against which an offence has been committed will benefit from such an advantage..."

Fundamentally, soccer officials are expected to enforce the spirit behind the Laws of the Game and not simply enforce the letter of the Laws. Although these concepts may be foreign to those not familiar with soccer, understanding that the spirit of the game and the philosophy of refereeing intend for the game to maximize playing time for the players and to minimize interruptions by coaches and officials, should, at least, help you and your son understand why it differs from some other sports.

Here are more direct answers to your questions:

As mentioned above, soccer is a player's game that is designed to flow with very few interruptions. If play must be stopped by the referee, the Spirit of the Game requires that the stoppage only last long enough to deal with the situation and then get the ball back into play. Taking time to visually indicate or voice the exact nature of the infraction to the coaches and spectators each time play is stopped adds nothing to the player's game except distraction. (A good way for a spectator to understand the reasons behind stoppages is to understand the Laws of the Game, and the very best way to do that is to become a referee!)
Fouls fall into two categories: ones that result in a direct free kick for the opponents (may score directly) and ones that result in an indirect free kick (a second player must touch or play the ball before a goal can be scored). There are lots of different kinds of fouls that fall into these two categories but all a coach or spectator truly needs to know is which kind of kick will be taken. This is easily recognized because the referee will hold his/her arm up in the air to indicate an indirect free kick. If his/her arm isn't held up, the kick is direct. If players are guilty of misconduct, the referee will hold up a yellow card to indicate the player has been officially cautioned that any further misconduct will result in the player be dismissed (sent off) from the field. When the referee holds up a red card, this means the player is being dismissed (sent off) and can no longer participate in the game. In addition, this player's team must now play with one less player on the field.
The length of the game is specified and varies with the different youth age groups. Because the Laws of the Game want to maximize the playing time for players, the referee is allowed to add on time at the end of the game for any time he/she feels was lost due to injury, substitution, a team wasting time or any other cause. In many other sports, the referee accomplishes the same thing by "stopping the clock".
There are no "time outs" in soccer because it is designed as a game which has very few interruptions. Coaches cannot call time outs in soccer as this would interfere with the game and with players' playing time. All good soccer coaches know that practice is the time for coaches to coach and games are the time for players to play.

These are just a few suggestions to help you and your son to get started with enjoying the most popular sport on earth. As with any sport, the more you understand the game, the more you can appreciate the beauty of the game and its more subtle aspects.