I totally understand about what your saying about the AR having the best view. I guess it would be easier to accept if not for the fact that this particular off-sides call impacted our chances on making it to the championship game essentially knocking us out. While I respect the difficult decisions and rulings each AR has to make under stressful tournament conditions, sometimes making game changing judgment calls while trying to enforce the rules and regulations of Soccer, I am still deeply disappointed and bothered at the lack of consistency on which these rulings are made day in and day out, from one tournament to the next, making times like these very upsetting and almost to much for one to bear. This is not to say that we think every Ref out there is inconsistent and makes bad calls, as we have also seen our share of good Ref's who do an outstanding job that are fair and just when making calls and rulings on the field, but most importantly, they are always consistent in there decisions and fairness, making sure all calls, fouls, penalty's, and so forth are equally called between both teams.
Nonetheless, it was a very confusing sequence of events in which the center ref and line judge had to confer for several minutes of discussion before ruling off-sides, even though initially the line judge never raised his flag to indicate an off-sides penalty against us. As upsetting as it was to our players and coach, it was definitely a hard lesson to be learned about how not knowing or understanding the most basic rules of soccer, can greatly affect and influence the outcome of meaningful matches during both tournament and league play. So now, as we move forward and shake off this painful loss, we will take from this experience, the importance of why every player should know how to interpret and better understand the rules of soccer, which will also boost our soccer IQ and playing knowledge, making us smarter players.
FCGS Goalkeeper Dad......