Lineman

Lineman or linesman may refer to:

In personal roles:

In other uses:

See also

Assistant referee (association football)

In association football, an assistant referee (known as a linesman or lineswoman before 1996) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. At most organised levels of football the match officiating crew consists of the referee and two assistant referees, with one assistant referee assigned to each touchline. The assistant referee's duties generally consist of judging when the ball has left the field of play – including which team is entitled to return the ball to play, judging when an offside offence has occurred, and advising the referee when an infringement of the Laws of the Game has occurred out of his or her view. Depending on the local match rules and the discretion of the referee, an assistant referee may also be responsible for various administrative tasks, for example managing substitutions, helping the referee control the players, or replacing the referee if he or she is unable to continue. The assistant referee functions in an advisory role, and all judgements made by an assistant referee may be overruled by the referee.

Official (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, an official is a person who has some responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. There are two categories of officials, on-ice officials, who are the referees and linesmen that enforce the rules during game play, and off-ice officials, who have an administrative role rather than an enforcement role.

On-ice officials

As the name implies, on-ice officials do their job on the hockey rink. They are traditionally clad in a black hockey helmet, black trousers, and a black-and-white striped shirt. They wear standard hockey skates and carry a finger whistle, which they use to stop play. They communicate with players, coaches, off-ice officials, both verbally and via hand signals. Starting in 1955 with the introduction of the black-and-white jersey, NHL on-ice officials wore numbers on their back for identification. In 1977, NHL officials removed the number and had their surnames on the back of their jerseys for identification, normally in a single row across the shoulders. (Some officials with long names would have their name in two rows, the most notable example being Andy Van Hellemond.) Starting in 1994, however, NHL officials returned to wearing numbers on their shirts, a procedure adopted by other leagues.