Which Refereeing Job is Toughest?

[Admiral Yi]

I'm inclined towards basketball.  Game is quick, the line between a charge and a block is so thin, there's continuous incidental contact and continuous wrestling in the low post and on rebounds.

[Grey Fox]

Football, so many rules, it's crazy.

[saskganesh]

hockey. just thinking about goal disputes, even in the age of instant replay, is enough reason alone.

[Barrister]

I'm going to go with baseball.

There are lots of tough calls in football, and a lesser extent hockey, but this is the age of video replay.  That has to take a lot of the pressure off.

But trying to judge the strike zone on a 90mph fastball?  And with no video review to speak of?  Man thats tough.

[Neil]

hockey. just thinking about goal disputes, even in the age of instant replay, is enough reason alone.

Really?  It seems to me that anything even a little bit controversial is decided out of Toronto anyways.

[saskganesh]

hockey. just thinking about goal disputes, even in the age of instant replay, is enough reason alone.

Really?  It seems to me that anything even a little bit controversial is decided out of Toronto anyways.

yes. but as a ref, you make the first on the spot decision, there's an appeal, the tape goes to review, HNIC replays it by every angle to an audience of 2 million, and then the decision is overturned. the ref loses the room, the ice and the country. his career stalls, manure is dumped on his lawn, a horse head is found in his bed and eventually he retires for family reasons.

[fhdz]

Baseball.  There are so many close calls in the strike zone and at the bags, and the umpires just have to eyeball them.

[jimmy olsen]

I'm going to have say baseball, with the ball moving that fast, just calling balls and strikes must be hard.

[Berkut]

I've done both basketball and football, and basketball is a lot harder.

And I do basketball with someone who is a minor league baseball ump, and he says basketball is harder.

Balls and strikes are not really that hard.

[Berkut]

There is a saying among basketball officials:

Baseball is a game invented for the players.
Football is a game inventred for the coaches.
Basketball is a game invented for the officials.

No other team sport where the officials have such an intimate influence (for better or worse) on how each game is played. And no other game where the line between legal and illegal play is razor thin, often subjective, and constantly challenged.

[Monoriu]

Soccer.  Ok, a bad referee call in, say, bastetball may cost a team 2, 3, 4 points.  That is not that big of a deal in a game where teams frequently score 60-100 points. 

One bad call in soccer may cost one goal.  Most soccer matches are decided by one or two goals.  One decision and it makes or breaks a team for an entire season.

[Neil]

Soccer.  Ok, a bad referee call in, say, bastetball may cost a team 2, 3, 4 points.  That is not that big of a deal in a game where teams frequently score 60-100 points. 

One bad call in soccer may cost one goal.  Most soccer matches are decided by one or two goals.  One decision and it makes or breaks a team for an entire season.

Yeah, but calls in soccer are easy.  Every time somebody falls over, you randomly decide which team gets a free kick, since every takedown in soccer includes both a foul and a dive.

[dps]

American football would have to be physically the toughest, I'd think.  I realize that's not exactly what the question was really getting at.

[FunkMonk]

since every takedown in soccer includes both a foul and a dive.

That's the beauty of the sport. 

[Syt]

One bad call in soccer may cost one goal.  Most soccer matches are decided by one or two goals.  One decision and it makes or breaks a team for an entire season.

Over here players usually say, "Referees' misjudgments will cancel each other out over the season."

They often have to decide within seconds - offsides or no? Did the guy go for the ball or the opponent's shin? Across the line or not? Who touched the ball last before it went out. And all of that without instant replay - it's brought up again and again, but general consensus is that they rather live with human error than take long time outs. If there's a huge fuck up it may lead to the ref being reprimanded, or post-match suspension of players or repeat matches.