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Football: Officials and Refs
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Football Rules
In order to keep order and see that the rules are followed, most leagues have officials who run the game. The number of officials is different for different leagues. College football and the NFL use seven different officials to monitor the game. In high school football there are generally five officials, while youth leagues and middle school will typically use three officials at a game.
Each official has a specific position and responsibilities during the game:
Positions of the different officials
- R - Referee
- U - Umpire
- HL - Head Linesman
- LJ - Line Judge
- F - Field Judge
- B - Back Judge
- S - Side Judge
Referee (R)
The referee is the leader of the officials and makes the final decision on any call. He wears a white hat while the other officials wear black hats.
Position: The referee stands behind the offensive team.
Responsibilities:
- Counts the number of offensive players.
- Watches the quarterback during pass plays.
- Watches the running back during running plays.
- Watches the kicker and holder during kicking plays.
- Makes any announcements during the game like penalties or other clarifications.
Umpire (U)
Position: The umpire traditionally stands behind the linebackers on the defensive side of the ball. Due to many injuries in the NFL, NFL umpires stand on the offensive side of the football except when the ball is inside the five yard line and during the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half.
Responsibilities:
- Counts the number of offensive players.
- Watches the line of scrimmage for holding, illegal blocks, or other penalties.
- Looks for illegal players downfield.
- Watches the quarterback for passes beyond the line of scrimmage.
- Keeps track of scoring and time outs.
Head Linesman (HL)
Position: At the sideline on the line of scrimmage.
Responsibilities:
- Watches for offside or encroachment.
- Makes out of bounds calls on his sideline.
- Marks the forward progress of the ball.
- Is in charge of the chain crew and the current position of the ball.
- Keeps track of eligible receivers.
Line Judge (LJ)
Position: Covers the opposite sideline from the head linesman.
Responsibilities:
- Similar to the head linesman, he rules on out of bounds plays for his sideline.
- He also helps with offside, encroachment, false start, and other line of scrimmage calls.
- In high school the line judge is the official timekeeper of the game. In the NFL he is the backup time keeper if something happens to the clock.
Field Judge (F)
Position: Deep down the field behind the secondary on the side of the line judge.
Responsibilities:
- Counts the number of players on defense.
- Rules on pass interference or holding downfield.
- Calls delay of game.
- Rules on completed passes.
Side Judge (S)
Position: Deep down the field on the opposite side from the field judge.
Responsibilities:
- Similar to the field judge, just covering the opposite side of the field.
Back Judge (B)
Position: Covers the area between the field judge and the line judge. Behind the secondary in the middle of the field.
Responsibilities:
- Counts the number of players on defense.
- Rules on pass interference of holding downfield in the area between the side and field judges.
- Calls delay of game.
- Rules on completed passes.
- Rules on whether field goals are good.
Equipment
Flag: The main equipment used by the officials is the yellow flag. When the official sees a penalty they throw a yellow flag so the players, coaches, fans, and other officials know there has been a penalty. If the official sees another penalty after throwing the flag, they can throw their bean bag or hat.
Whistle: Officials blow a whistle to indicate that a play is over and the players should stop.
Uniform: Officials wear a black and white striped shirt and white pants.
Bean Bag: The bean bag is thrown to mark where a punt was caught or a fumble recovered.
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