Over the years I’ve taken an interest in refereeing to better understand the game. Through reading forums, the rules, etc. I’ve seen a difference in how the referees are taught to officiate the game and how fans want refs to officiate the game. Some of this is natural bias by the fans but I think some of this is because the fans don’t have the full picture of how refs are taught to see the game.
This column is my attempt to bridge that gap as the new season starts. A couple of caveats. First: I am not a ref, I’ve taken no refereeing classes, and all statements below are my understanding of the rules after many years of reading ref forums.