For the Integrity of Soccer

Sharing my stuff...

    Several readers have asked whether I share with other instructors the presentations I put together, and if so, could they have copies.  The answer, as you might have guessed, is yes to both parts of the inquiry, but inevitably these days, technology does complicate things...

Off the pitch keeps a forward onside ?

The other day this incident in the Italy-Holland match of Euro 2008 stirred up the spectators, the press, the know-it-alls and know-nothings on both sides of the Atlantic, and I suspect, in other parts of the world as well.  Ruud van Nistelrooy was apparently in an offside position when the ball was played to him by teammate Sneijder, and by flicking out his right foot to pop the ball past Buffon and into the net, he clearly gained an advantage from that position.  Surely he had to be offside, since the last defender Panucci (see above and below) was on the ground outside the goal-line holding his head after a collision moments before?  Well, no, Ruud wasn't offside, despite what seemed to be obvious, and the referee and assistant were correct in allowing the goal to stand.  How could that be, you say?  Well, read on . . .

A busy summer, on and off the field...

    It has been a busy few weeks in my soccer-world, what with meetings, tournaments and individual assignments to assess potential national referees.  So I have been preparing audio-visual presentations (Advantage: Use and Misuse; Recognizing Illegal Use of Hands; What the Da Silva Injury Means for Referees; The Professional; Managing the Communication Network Among the Crew; and various pieces for local meetings of assessors), and delivering them.  I’ve assessed eight games in Region 4, from PDL games to tournament games in Open, Amateur and Over-30 divisions; taught sessions for AYSO and for local referee groups.  It has indeed been a busy month…