I have twice had youth matches get totally out of control, and both were early in my career doing matches for which I was not at that point qualified. Since then, I am careful to intervene early, calmly and authoritatively at the first sign of any trouble. A bad analogy...I used to live in a large condominium building. There were times when for one reason or another I didn't introduce myself to someone on the elevator during that first meeting. After several months of running into to one of these individuals, not speaking became the norm between us, and it would have seemed very awkward to all of a sudden say, "By the way, I'm...," or whatever. Similarly, waiting to establish authority during a soccer match when that first issue exists, whether it be with players, coaches, or spectators, makes it more difficult to do so later on. This needn't be direct interaction with any of these parties; the way that any of them sees the referee deal with someone from any other party, or even just that he exudes a general air of confidence, begins to set the norms with all involved as to what the scope and depth of his authority is.
Jim Allen answered this a month or two ago. Said stay away. Personally, if there is an active fight going on, I would stay (far) away. If the fight has not yet erupted, and I thought I could calm things down, then I would intervene. But, if one or both sides did not 'like' my recent performance, then my presence might inflame things--and drag me into it--which would be the worst of both worlds! Tread very carefully.
So what about if there's a fight just a couple yards away from the field DURING the game? Do I let the game proceed like if nothing had hapenned? And btw, my assesment wasn't during THIS game. It was during another game I had last weekend. And games, at any age, at any level, in this part of the country get pretty intense, because it is someones "world cup final"
I would get the attention of the 2 coaches and direct their attention to the parents. Remind them that they are responsible for their parents, then go back to completing My paperwork. If you do see the confrontation become physical, add a note to your report. As a former club disciplinary chairman when a referee report made it "up the chain" then got back to Me at the club, I would use the report as a "third party witness" to initiate an investigation. In our state the coach is responsible for his players and their spectators from the time they arrive at a venue until they leave the venue. As DC I would have been sanctioning both the Coach and the parent(s) who were involved in the confrontation. Got rid of that job 3 years ago, thankfully.
Someone I know always says its the referee's job to deal with stuff within the white lines. Over simplification? Of course, but it brings up some good points. My feeling is that as referees we need to be aware of what's going on outside the white lines but we don't necessarily need to do anything about it. We pay attention because we need to understand what is going on and watch to see how it affects the game (the players). When it impacts the players, you can decide to act. This usually means stopping the match and doing one of the following: 1. Get someone who is responsible for the field involved. Could be the home coach, staff, field marshal, etc. 2. If you know the culprits belong to a team, you can advise that coach that play will not be restarted until the issue is resolved. In order for the issue to be resolved, X and Y participants need to leave.
No clear cut answer on this one. However, go back to the LOTG basics. You have no authority over them, no responsiblity for them. If the players are safe and happy to keep playing, ya, let the game proceed. If the parents cause an interference in the game, feel free to stop the game, send players to the bench area, grab AR2 and get out of the way. When the outside interference is gone, re-start with a dropped ball.
Referees are typically advised to leave the field at the end of a match, particularly if someone is behaving irresponsibly. Instead of hanging around the bench, why not do that paperwork in the referee tent or in your car? - QC
There was no tent and I had another game on the same field right after. The situation didn't arise until after I sat down in the bench. The parents were crazy during the game, but nothing out of the ordinary
You see this setup a lot with youth referees. They are to young to drive. Mom drops them off for multiple games, so they are in effect "stuck" at the field if anything goes wrong. Best you should do in your situation, stay on the bench, pay attention and add it to the game report, do not get involved if at all possible.
Tu night Girls HS regional opener - 2 hour drive each way. Ugh Wed night boys HS district semi-finals (20 min drive ). White leading 2-1 late in the second half. Blue gets a free kick from 25 out. Nice little pass leads to a shot which the keeper just gets a finger on. Ball is rolling across the line when an offside player toe-pokes it across. Fans are screaming with joy. Announcer is going nuts: "GOOOOOL...." Great fun, actually. The side ref is signaling offside, and I am trying to get the attention of the celebrating players so they understand asap. Players figure it out before the restart. No real issues. But the stands are oblivious. They still think it's a goal. As the IDK is being taken, a woman screams at me: "That's not how you restart, ref!" Kids were great. I had a blast.
It's been a long week already. Three days in Indianapolis for the NFHS Soccer Rules Committee and then a very long day getting home.
Had I known I would've kept the ice, snow and rain from falling here! Hope you had good luck navigating downtown - I haven't. Thanks NFL!
We walked where we went for meals and our meetings were in the hotel. Last year was worse weather. One of the conference rooms down the hall had Super Bowl tickets stored there and there was a guard outside the room the whole time. But then a hotel guy came along and asked if we needed a door unlocked.
True, last year was 5-6 inches of ice, then a foot of snow for good measure. Shut down the city for a solid week, and finally drove me to buy a snowblower! I presume then you have Super Bowl tickets for sale, or did you decide some doors are best left locked?
When I took my initial refereeing course, oh so many years ago, one of the main things I remember from it was to "referee every game as if it is the World Cup final, because to at least one of the players it is."
Ah, first games of 2012, tonight - full-size indoor field where management supports the referees - 3-man crew with strong refs alongside, - 3 games with the first at 7:40pm, the last at 10pm - forecasted low is 14 (F) while running in an unheated facility I love soccer in January.
I'm sure it was along the lines of wearing zebra stripes, taking attendance properly, and the dangers of peanut butter cookie wrappers to the allergic kid.
Hello I joined bigsoccer to ask you guys a question about offsides. In my game a few days ago, we had a situation where a defender had possesion of the ball, attempted to clear the ball and the ball deflected off an attacking player who was not attempting to touch the ball, and went straight to a player who was offsides. The referee called offsides, which ended up benefiting me, but did he make the right call? Or is he onsides because it was a deflection and not a pass as the other team's parents were saying?
He did not call offside befause it ended up benefiting you, but because offside is measured at the moment the ball is last played or touched by a teammate of the attacker. In your example, as I understand it your situation D1 had control of the ball and kicked it so that it touched A1 At the moment the ball touched A1, A2 was in an offside position The ball went to A2 who then touched or played the ball There is no question whatsoever that this is offside. (The confusion may come from the rule that applies to a ball that deflects off a defender: offside is not reset unless a defender controlls the ball, so if an attacker is offside at the moment the ball is played or touched by a teammate, and the ball deflectis off a defender, the attacker is still offside. The rule is simply different for the defense and the attack.)
Funny you should mention soft reds. Soft reds are history. No replacement for any red carded player. We also made two minor changes (advantage on DOGSO and outside agents interfering with PK's). All three changes move us closer to FIFA Laws of the Game. These are the only changes. For the first time in NFHS history, no changes to rules 1, 2, 3, or 4. Remember that these changes are not efective until Fall 2012, in case your state plays high school soccer in the winter or spring.