A Linesman Tools Define His Officiating

By Essie Osborn


Good match officiating means a good game at the end of the day. A linesman in team sport refers to that assistant to the referee that whose work is to signal on-field offenses in terms of fouls and whenever the ball is ought of play and other fouls that the referee cannot see. For all this to be catered for he needs to have a good set of linesman tools.

This is a variety of tools that are out in the market and depend on the type of sport that a particular linesman is in. The field sports that have the position of a linesman are football in this sense, soccer, American Football and finally Rugby. Rugby is the father of the other two sports. Ironically, it is the least popular of the three. Soccer being the first in terms of global following. The tools used are of a variety they include: watches flags, whistles, boots, jerseys, and earpiece sets for communication.

Back in history, 1986 Soccer World cup. Diego Maradona, the best soccer player at that time did the most controversial thing ever. He scored a goal, through handball, against the English team a matter that till date has never left the tongues of many. This simple incident could have been easily avoided if the linesmen had the skills, tools and technological advancements that their counterparts of today have.

A handball to those uninformed is a foul in the Football scenario where a player handles the ball using the arm, which is an offense. Mistakes like this could be prevented, matter of fact they are now, due to the lack of tools, technology and good match officiating.

They at all times has to be alert and be able to make decisions in making decision correctly within a split second of time. This needs well equipping of the linesman. In the English Premier League, Linesmen are equipped with flags, earpiece sets to communicate, jerseys and for the other match officials they get minute boards and watches to keep time.

The flags are important in field sport. For one reason, for communication. It would be quite archaic to use a microphone or speaker every time the ball crossed the line as way to signal that. This is why FIFA and IRB, the soccer governing body and their rugby counterparts respectively, have trained their linesmen in official sign communication with the referee. This is done with the aid of a flag.

Earpiece communication sets are common in Soccer, especially in the English Premier League and American Football. The earpiece is a vital tool for wireless communication and has been termed as a revolution invention in soccer. Referees can counter-check with them wherever in the field without actually going to the linesman, ensure professionalism as the sets can record every word they say. On the other hand linesmen can do the same to other match officials to ensure a more comprehensive sound decision that has in recent times reduced the possibility of the 1986 ordeal.

This tools have prevented match officiating mistakes and misjudgments that over the years have led to stakeholders questioning the legibility of the governing bodies in regards to the various sports.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment