A funny thing happened at the Madejski Stadium a couple of weeks ago. The
referee of Reading's match was injured. That's not funny of course, although it is
amazing how spectators laugh and cheer whenever a referee falls over or has to
have any treatment for injury.
On this occasion however, no one apparently
knew the referee was injured until he failed to make an appearance for the
second half. What many people thought funny-peculiar was that his place was
taken not by the senior assistant referee, but by the fourth official.
I think that many people have the false assumption that the fourth official is a long way
down the pecking order. It should be remembered that all four officials at any
Football League match will be experienced referees. The two assistant referees
will almost certainly be refereeing on the Nationwide Conference on the weeks
they are not running the line. This will also be true of the fourth official if he is
not a Football League referee in his own right.
At games in lower competitions with only three officials it is the senior
assistant referee who takes over if the referee is not able to continue. One of the
first things a referee will ask of his two assistants, is 'who is senior?' so they are
prepared should he collapse. The senior assistant will then usually take extra
responsibilities, such as controlling substitutes, looking after the technical
areas.
Incidentally you can always tell who is the senior assistant at a game, because
he will have red on his flag even if it is just a red edging at the bottom. This is
mainly for the benefit of any assessors who may be there, to make sure they give
the correct marks to the right person.
When a referee receives an appointment as fourth
official, however, it will tell him whether he is reserve referee or reserve assistant. This has always been the
case ever since fourth officials were introduced back in 1991. The regulations
state that the organisers of the competition should state clearly whether in the
event of the referee being unable to continue, the fourth official will take over as
match referee or whether the senior assistant would take over and the fourth
official become an assistant referee.
At the beginning the duties of the fourth official were quite limited. He would
help with substitutes, checking equipment prior to them entering the field of
play. He was also expected to control any replacement footballs but quite how
he could do this at the Madejski, where ball boys and girls throw on a new ball
every time one goes out of play, I'm not sure.
These duties have been extended
and the fourth official now informs the referee of any irresponsible behaviour by
the occupants of the technical area. That can sometimes be a full time job. He
must also assist the referee with what is happening on the field of play. For
instance he must indicate if the referee has cautioned the wrong player due to
mistaken identity, whether a player is not sent off having been given a second
caution.
Presumably he should do it the other way around, such as when Steve
Bennett was going to send off Leeds' Danny Mills for a second yellow card
when he had not received a first one. He must also report to the referee any
violent conduct committed out of sight of the referee or the two assistants.
The real reason I think spectators were surprised to see the fourth official take
charge at the Madejski was because they hadn't seen it happen before. But let's
face it, when did you last see a referee having to be replaced? Very few suffer
injuries on the field, and that at least I feel, is something to smile about.
Dick Sawdon Smith