U-10G, C division. Black leads blue, 4-1. It's within the final thirty seconds of the end of the game. Blue takes a shot which the black keeper smothers, but doesn't catch. The ball is on the ground and black keeper pins the ball against the ground, with her hand on top. Blue kicks the ball from under the black keeper's hand, into the net. I confidently whistle the play dead, award an indirect free kick for black, and confidently and calmly explain, loudly enough for the coaches and parents to hear, exactly what I've called - keeper had possession, blue kicked it away, black indirect coming out. Blue's parents - of course, it's at their end - explode. Comments range from "making up rules," to "I've never heard of that," etc. They were already frazzled because they felt I missed a penalty in the area (for what I deemed to be shoulder to shoulder). Did I make the correct call? This might sound bad, but I'd be more concerned if it were a closer game, but I want to make sure it's the right call. At that level I tend to err on caution, too.
You were unlucky... To have to make a correct decision that takes away a goal in a decided U10G match. The goalkeeper is deemed as having possesion in this case. You made the right decision. The fact that the parents think you're making up rules is not surprising. Of course they've never heard of it before, the Referee isn't allowed to disallow goals from THEIR team! Especially because they all have clearly read the laws and the Advice to Referee's.... or wait, no they didn't do that, if they had maybe they would have stayed quiet. I find it mind boggling that parents will "blow up" at ANY call made in a U10 game anyway.
Good call. Protecting the keeper is key, especially at that age. A few points, the first from the ATR: 12.16 GOALKEEPER POSSESSION OF THE BALL The goalkeeper is considered to be in possession of the ball while bouncing it on the ground or while throwing it into the air. Possession is given up if, while throwing the ball into the air, it is allowed to strike the ground. As noted in Advice 12.10, handling extends from shoulder to tip of fingers. While the ball is in the possession of the keeper, it cannot be lawfully played by an opponent, and any attempt to do so may be punished by a direct free kick. Note they call for a DFK, not an IFK. This would be for kicking or charging, rather than preventing the keeper from releasing the ball (which is an IFK foul). Coming out of the penalty area, it doesn't really matter. U10 is the hardest age group to referee. The players play like they're invincible, the bodies are flying, and the parents and coaches know just enough to be dangerous to themselves and others. The keeper in the example you describe is in possession of the ball. The ball is pinned to the ground by the keeper, with the hand on the ball. That's possession. A ball in possession of the keeper cannot be played. It's dangerous to the keeper and in violation of the laws. Further, the parents ought to be ashamed of themselves. What if that was their kid on the ground with some other nine-year old trying to take his fingers off? They'd be screaming at you for not red-carding the little guy. Rest easy.
In fairness, I should amend this. "Explode" carries a certain weight. I should have typed, "...became fairly vocal."
Shocking that they "became fairly vocal" after a call against their team. USSF REF obviously hasn't done many U-10 games lately. Good call, correct call! [soapbox on] Ok here is my current observation...I actually like to do adult men's matches more then youth matches because, no matter how much the men whine and complain during the match, after the game they will usually come up and shake your hand, thanking you for coming out to referee. Parents and youth coaches for some reason think they are entitled to having referees at their kid's games and that we have nothing better to do then listen to them complain about rules they don't even know. [soapbox off]
Did a select girls tournament last weekend. One of the U12 keepers dived on a ball and ended up with the lower half of her body over the endline. The ball was still in play. One of the fathers yelled "she's out of bounds." I couldn't help myself as I was near the touchline near him, and said "learn the rules." Neither one of us could believe I said that! Moral of story - most parents don't know the LOTG!
Can't help but thinking you could have scored bonus points with "learn the laws... Especially at this age group.
Or maybe, "Yeah, but it was in the normal course of play so I won't caution her." -- thus leaving him to wonder not only why you didn't call a corner kick, but also why you might consider carding her. All that being said, it's not usually a good idea to point out the parents' ignorance in such an in-your-face manner.
Not only did you make the correct call, but the little bugger is lucky you didn't give them a stern lecture. At the u-10G level, most players will shy away from tangling with the goalkeeper. Given the level of skills and emphasis on safety at that level, that is to be encouraged. By giving the player a stern talking to (or a card if flagrent) you are educating 2 teams as to the illegal and dangerous nature of this play. I am not a big believer in carding u-10s, but if this was done when possession was obvious and endangered the goalie, this would be an exception to the rule. As for the parents, it is almost humorous that they scream about safety if their little Johnny falls down, but when an illegal play really could hurt someone, they act like safety doesn't matter as much as a meaningless goal.
I agree with this, but maybe be careful on how stern you get. The player who kicked the ball may have been overexcited, or also has never been taught the rules (look at the reaction from the parents--wonder what the coach was saying?) But I do think, with play stopped, you say in a loud voice "when the keeper is touching the ball, you cannot kick it!" And repeat. It helps them learn, and (in this case) might have cooled out some of the overreaction from the parents. Although I think keeping parents under control is a coach's responsibility--I coached for nine years, always tried to explain rules to my parents, and kept them in line (they were pretty well behaved to start).
In my girls U-10 travel league (in MD), all of us coaches were reminded at our start of the season meeting that goalie protection at this age is first and foremost. In this league, a keeper with as much as a finger on the ball is considered as having posession and the refs have been informed to err on the side of caution when stopping play (a rule I agree with - noone wants to see a young player kicked in the head by an over-agressive attacker). I also agree that way too many parents (and coaches) don't keep up with the laws of the game. Many have never even learned them to begin with. I try to talk to my parents about this issue and tell them that I'm the only one who will talk to a ref, other than to say 'Good Game' or 'Do you want one of our extra snacks - they're chocolate chip cookies'. I really bite my tongue sometimes when I don't agree with a call, but I at least hope this shows my players and parents to do as I say AND as I do. ps. Rep for you for making the right call.