In volleyball, can the up referee overrule the call of a line judge?

Question

During a match today, I was up refereeing. The teams strong side goes up, attacks the ball, and it lands JUST outside the line. My line judge called it out, but i clearly saw it was in. Multiple people told me that I could not overrule the line judge's call, but I stood my ground. Was I right in what I did? CAN the line judge's call be overruled?

Answer 1

Yes the referee ALWAYS has a right over the line judges!

Answer 2

yes you can

Answer 3

of course you can...thats your job

Answer 4

Yea you the ref has the final say in the matter. The line judge is there to assist the ref in case he/she can't see if the ball landed in or out, like at a back line. Also, they are there so that the ref can focus on other plays like net violations and have someone to fall back on if the ball was in or out.

You were right in over ruling the line judge because it is your descision that is final and you are responsible for awarding the point. And really the player can't argue about that with you because it is your call, and as a university player we never care what the line person says because we know the ref is all that matters.

In fact most players prefer having the ref makin the descision because they are usually more experienced then line judge's. In my final year we were in the quarter-finals in our provincials and like in your case our power hitter went and killed one down the line in by about a foot, the line judge (who was on the other side of the court) called the ball out, and even though the ref was on the line he decided to listen to the line judge (who was younger then anyone in that gym i am pretty sure lol) and called the ball out which was the game winning point and we lost 26-24 in the deciding set...needless we were ticked off that the ref did not have the stones to disagree with a 12 year old line judge :), even tho the other team called it in and were upset that they felt we had the point .

So in my opinion you were right in overrulling the line judge, they are only there if you need their help.

Answer 5

no they can talk about it

Answer 6

Yes you can overrule the line judge as an up-ref BUT if as you state in your question if the ball landed just outside the line then the ball is OUT.  If any part of the ball touched the line then you were right to overrule the line judge and call the ball in but you also shouldn't be overruling them for a call where they have a much better view of the ball (ie the opposite line from where you are standing).

Answer 7

The first referee can overrule any other official.  That includes the line judges, the scorekeeper and the second referee.  

USAV rule 23.2.1

During the match, the first referee's decisions are final.  He/she is authorized to overrule the decisions of other members of the refereeing corps, if it is noticed that they are mistaken.  

It goes on to say that the first referee may even replace someone that is not performing their duties correctly.  

You are correct.  Not only can you overrule the line judge, you could have replaced them.

Answer 8

yes

Answer 9

the line judges are there to help you make the call, not to make the call. there call is just a suggestion, nothing more. you can choose to agree with there suggestion or to ignore it, it is up to you. it was right for you to stand your ground. good job.

Answer 10

Gonna agree with beaker.....your post says the ball was just outside the line which means it is out. As a R1 you can clearly overrule the other officials but let me ask you this. First did you see it out? Second were you up in the stand high above the court? The reason I ask is that there have been a few instances where the ball appeared in for me up there but in fact was out. From my vantage point the ball landed on the line (which is in) but because the ball is round it did not actually touch the line and my lines judge made the correct call.

So yes you can over rule them and I would only do it if you were absolutely sure they made the wrong call.

Answer 11

yes but the line judges are usually rite so dont doubt

Answer 12

Yes, the line judges can be overruled. What you did was right.

Answer 13

Yes you can, as a referee, you have a better vantage point for some calls.