There are lots of very good and knowledgeable officials throughout the state but the problem I've seen is new officials do not get the training to be affective in a competitive match. Sometimes they are assigned matches they have no right doing.
I witnessed a two man crew recently where a keeper carried the ball into the goal. The keeper, players, coaches and many fans thought there was a goal. The official on that end of the field allowed play to continue. While discussing the play with the official after the game, he stated he thought as long as the keeper had the ball it was not a goal. I could not believe what I was hearing. This particular official has been officiating soccer for two seasons but also does two other sports. He had no prior soccer playing or officiating experience.
Here in lies the problem. Are assigners so desperate for bodies they will take anyone regardless of experience or knowledge of the game? Soccer is a very difficult game to officiate and it's officials like this that give good officials a bad name. When you see a good crew let them know it, because they usually only hear the criticism.
