Fourth official
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In professional football there is a fourth official who supports the football referee and assistant referees . In the event of the failure of the main referee, the fourth official has to continue the game as a substitute referee.
tasks
The fourth official assists the referee with all administrative tasks before and during the game as instructed. Otherwise, he is responsible for checking the equipment of the substitutes and monitoring the environment, in particular the behavior of the football coach , the substitute and the officials (e.g. place stewards). With a scoreboard he shows the shirt number of the player to be substituted and the player to be substituted on. The red number on the scoreboard (see picture) of the fourth official shows the number on the shirt of the player leaving the field. The number of the player to be substituted on, who stands by next to the fourth man, is then displayed in yellow or green on the scoreboard. Furthermore, if necessary, shortly before the end of a half of the game, according to the referee's instructions, he will indicate the length of the added time in minutes.
He informs the referee if the coach or the substitutes leave the technical area or behave improperly in it. He has no direct influence on the course of the game.
The fourth official has long been the norm for international matches, in the German Bundesliga since the 2002/03 season. The fourth official was also introduced in the second division for the 2009/10 season.
Since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, there has also been a fifth official .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fourth official in future also in the 2nd Bundesliga. June 12, 2009, accessed May 31, 2020 .