Editing Referee (section)

== Football (association) ==
{{main|Referee (association football)|Assistant referee (association football)}}
[[File:Matt Reis Carlos Ruiz yellow card.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A referee (right) issues a [[Penalty card|yellow card]] to a player during a game of [[association football]].]]

Originally team [[captain (sports)|captains]] would consult each other in order to resolve any dispute on the pitch. Eventually this role was delegated to an ''umpire''. Each team would bring their own partisan umpire allowing the team captains to concentrate on the game. Later, the referee, a third "neutral" official was added; this ''referee'' would be "referred to" if the umpires could not resolve a dispute. The referee did not take his place on the pitch until 1891, when the umpires became linesmen (now [[Assistant referee (association football)|assistant referee]]s). Today, in many amateur football matches, each side will still supply their own partisan assistant referees (still commonly called club linesmen) to assist the neutral referee appointed by the governing football association if one or both assistant referees are not provided. In this case, the role of the linesmen is limited to indicating out of play and cannot decide off side.

An [[association football|association football (soccer)]] match is presided over by a referee, whom the Laws of the Game give "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5). The [[referee (association football)|referee]] is oftentimes assisted by two [[Assistant referee (association football)|assistant referee]]s, and sometimes by a [[fourth official]].