Refereeing Rules for Volleyball

Referees in volleyball are much like those in tennis: The first referee is seated in line with and above the net and has the final say on calls. Other referees watch for fouls and keep an eye on the lines of the court, to judge whether balls are in or out, and keep score. In the United States, referees work for USA Volleyball, the official organizing body; in international competitions, they work for the International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB).

  1. Positional Requirements

    • In all sanctioned matches, there must be a first and second referee, a scorer and assistant scorer, and two or four line judges.

    Whistles

    • The first and second referees are the only referees allowed to blow a whistle during a match unless a team commits an error in its rotation, at which point the scorer may blow a whistle or use another audible notification device. The first referee blows a whistle to signal a serve and both whistle the end of a rally--when a foul has been committed. After the whistle, they indicate what the foul was, such as a ball being hit out of bounds or illegal contact, and also which team will serve. They also might identify the player committing the foul, if there is any doubt.

    First Referee

    • The first referee is in charge of the match, including equipment and conditions of the court, from the floor moppers to the temperature. His decisions are final. He may overrule any referee and may replace a referee if he deems it necessary. Although he may not discuss his decisions, he is allowed to explain an interpretation or application of the rules to a team captain. He also must authorize a protest by a team captain who disagrees with a ruling. During games, the first referee may issues warnings and sanctions.

      Before play, the first referee inspects the court and equipment, tosses the coin to determine serve and oversees team warm-ups. After matches, he checks and signs the score sheet.

    Second Referee

    • The second referee stands across the net from the first referee, but on the floor, and is the first substitute for the first referee if the first referee cannot finish a match. She can use hand signals to indicate faults outside of her jurisdiction, but cannot use her whistle in those cases or insist on the accuracy of her call. She is in charge of the scorers and oversees the conduct of team members who are not playing, reporting misconduct to the first referee.

      The second referee is in charge of all aspects of timeouts and other game interruptions and regulates their length, including technical time-outs. She also is in charge of allowing and identifying substitutions, including those involving injury, and is responsible for maintaining court and ball conditions. During games, the second referee makes fault calls, including net contact.

    Scorers

    • The scorer keeps the score sheet, signals any irregularities to the other referees and lists match information such as team names and starting lineups. He records points, controls serving order, uses a buzzer to indicate substitutions and lets referees know when sets are over and when the eight point (the midway point) of a deciding set has been reached, so teams switch sides. He also acts as a recorder of infractions and the like.

      The assistant scorer writes down libero replacements and watches for irregularities, operates the manual scoreboard and verifies agreement between the scoreboard and score sheet.

    Line Judges

    • Line judges watch the sidelines and baselines to identify foot faults and typically use flags to indicate whether a ball lands in or out of bounds, if a ball has been touched by a player before going out of bounds, if a ball hits the antenna or passes outside the antenna, and if a player is standing outside of the court boundaries during a serve.