Soccer Ref's Are Professionals But Sometimes They Get It Wrong

Here's an article by Dr. Robb Webb as part of their Ask the Ref series.  It's currently posted on SoccerNation.com.

Worth a read....
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“We are, after all, professionals.” Hunter S. Thompson, The Great Shark Hunt
Referees, after all, are professional, and they get it right. However, sometimes they make mistakes. It happens. Referees are human, just like the rest of us. When I first put on a badge, many years ago, I was told ‘you’re going to make mistakes, it’s going to happen’. Since then, I’ve learned that when I blow a call to acknowledge the error, to learn from it, and to move on. What else can you do?

I was just asked to write an article about alleged incidents that occurred in a particular State Cup game that a particular parent did not like. There was allegedly a missed offside call that resulted in a goal that allegedly decided the outcome of the game. Also, one of the AR’s was allegedly less than professional in his dealings with the coach and players.

I’m not sure what to write about. The ref may or may not have blown an offside call. That's news? It happens on occasion. We all wish it didn't, but it does. Even in the World Cup. And don't think I'm trying to be rude here, but that’s the way it goes. Even if I did look at the video (which I haven’t) and said ‘yep, looked offside to me’, what difference would it make in the outcome of the game? And the video only offers one point of view, and not the view of the ref making the call, and that is the only view that matters.
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READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE