Additional Assistant refs for the Setanta Cup semis
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Additional Assistant Referees will be introduced to domestic football as of next week. The ‘penalty box’ officials will make their first appearance in next week's Setanta Cup semi-finals. The Setanta Sports Cup Tournament Committee agreed to the introduction of the officials following lobbying from the Referee Departments of the IFA and FAI.
Rob Rogers and Tómas Connolly will be the first League of Ireland officials to fulfill the role when Cork City travel to Tallaght to take on Shamrock Rovers next Tuesday. IFA officials Mervyn Smyth and Ray Crangle will be monitoring the penalty areas at Hunky Dory’s Park for the other semi final between Drogheda United and Sligo Rovers.
John Ward, Chairman of the FAI’s Elite Referee’s Committee says the use of referees over assistant referees is preferable for these roles.“ The key to it working properly is good communication between the referee and the additional assistant referee and that is why UEFA recommend that referees be used for this role rather than assistant referees.”
Milo Corcoran, Head of the Setanta Sports Cup Tournament Committee, is delighted with the latest innovative move being introduced in the tournament; “This is the first time Additional Assistant Referees will have been used in domestic competitions and there is no doubt that two extra pairs of eyes focusing on the penalty areas will be of valuable assistance to the referee who will continue to be the person who makes the final decision.”
The officials in the Borussia Dortmund vs Malaga Champions League game came under scrutiny after failing to spot two crucial offside’s which led to goals, but these mistakes are the exception to the rule. Of the 1,200 games with Additional Assistant Referees analysed by UEFA they found that it resulted in better control of the match, a reduction of incidents at set-pieces, better control of the goal line and an improvement in the accuracy of decisions made by assistant referees.
In Euro 2012 UEFA found that the officials were correct 95.9% of the time with offside decisions within one yard of the offside line. This improvement can be attributed to the extra delegation of responsibility with the new officials.
