By Nigel Holman
Referees apply the Laws of the Game. But where are they published? How can I read the Laws for myself? Fortunately, they are all easily found on the internet.
The Laws of the Game are published every year by FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association), world soccer’s governing body. The current Laws are at http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/federation/81/42/36/lotg_en_55753.pdf. They are intended to apply in all key respects to all games, although modifications of the length of games and size of the field and balls are permitted, for example, for youth games.
This document also contains a long section entitled “Additional Instructions and Guidelines for Referees”. It is actually longer than the Laws themselves, so obviously contains a great deal of relevant information for referees and those seeking to understand referee decisions.
An alternative source of the Laws of the Game is the publication of the USSF (United States Soccer Federation), the national organization affiliated with FIFA, that can be found at http://images.ussoccer.com/Documents/cms/ussf/07_law_of-the-game.pdf. It was published for the year ending June 2008, but as there were no significant changes to the Laws in 2008, no new USSF Laws of the Game book was published and the 07-08 book remains in effect.
USSF also has supplemental publications intended to assist referees to apply the Laws. The annual “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game” can be read (but not printed) at http://images.ussoccer.com/Documents/cms/ussf/Advice%20Final%20Aug2007.pdf. Referee signals and procedures are published by USSF in their “Guide to Procedures For Referees, Assistant Referees and Fourth Officials” that can be found at http://images.ussoccer.com/Documents/cms/ussf/2008-09%20GTP.pdf.
When USSF feels as though these hundreds of pages of Laws and guidance are not adequate to describe the correct procedures that referees must follow in specific circumstances, they publish so-called “Position Papers” online at http://www.ussoccer.com/laws/papers.jsp.html.
