Referee Mechanics in Seasons Co-Op Gameplay, and perhaps the entire game
Supp FC world. First, let me say good on you EA sports for dropping the previous title and their ridiculous charge. you will never need them again. Let’s see them stay afloat without you.
I have been a certified referee for the better part of 20 years. I am also a US Soccer certified coach. I love rules and rule interpretation. I’ve been a committed gamer on the PlayStation soccer platform since 1998. My Stillwater runs deep… alright. I love the game. Which is why during my most recent endeavor playing co-op seasons with my boy, I was stunned at what transpired. Allow me to paint the picture:
We are in a great match that eventually turned into a 7-4 shellacking by our opponents. However, during the game while it was tight around the 65 minute, when the game was in the balance and we were losing 3-2 at the time, something strange took place. We were fouled on a challenge and the ref immediately allowed advantage to be played. However, on the ensuing pass immediately following the challenge, and with the referee ‘advantage’ icon displayed in the top right hand corner, the pass was played to a player that was deemed offsides, thus negating the advantage. Whistle blown. Yellow card issued. Proper mechanics thus far right? Wrong. Possession changed hands and the ball was a direct coming out for our opponents rather than a direct kick going in from the spot of the foul. So 3 things I take umbrage with:
Number 1: there is no advantage for an offsides player. You cannot allow the game to allow a pass to an offsides player and allow the pass to take place. The team with the advantage cannot take advantage of the advantage. Feel me? It should be blown dead and a restart takes place at the spot of the foul.
Number 2: Allowing the pass to be played by the ref when the game knows that the player is in an offsides isn’t proper mechanics from the ref. I feel like this is a slight oversight on the part of research and development. It’s a small oversight, however if you want to represent the game to billions of users globally, the rules aren’t different based on what country you play in. Once there is no advantage, the play is dead and the ball goes back to the spot of the foul. You cannot allow the game to recognize the foul and then NOT award a free kick to the team the foul occurred on.
number 3: it could just be a glitch and not a scenario of intentionality. I know the game allows some ref error but if this is a glitch, just go ahead and fix the glitch.
These are suggestions but I will keep tabs on the comment section because I feel like this may have happened to other users. Albeit this was the first time for me encountering this scenario in 19 odd years of playing the EA Sports soccer product. If you would like me to come to Europe and or Japan to have this discussion with your developers in person I would be happy to. Continue putting out a bang up product that has addicted users for years. Love the game and where it’s going. Hope I can help. Sound off FC Nerds.
