Well that depends on what you mean by good. I have a number of stories where I developed a very strong rapport with the fans. Answering questions about calls during stoppages, joking, etc. Those are some of my favorite games, the ones where as AR2 you get a set of parents who are curious and receptive to understanding why calls are made a certain way. On the other hand, I also have a number of stories where I've had to deal with terribly unruly fans. The most notable was just this fall, I was refereeing for a select tournament. I was AR2 on a U14B match and it was a close and hotly contested match. Had a spectator behind me laying into me pretty good. I ignored him for the most part but started to respond after I was getting close to my limit. Then he dropped an F-Bomb following an offside call I made and that was the end of that. Called the referee over and he asked the spectator to leave. Well the guy didn't argue and left quickly IN HIS TOURNAMENT SUPPLIED GOLF CART!! Turns out he was a tournament official and a representative of the club that sponsored the tournament (and of course had a team in the match I was working).
I was running a line for a 15 year old female referee and a 13 year old female AR, I am much older and much more male. Anyway, on a U11G match, it got physical towards the end, but no big deal. One kid goes down towards the end of the match, and the referee called the coach out to get the player. The mother then stepped onto the field to tend to her daughter who was having an asthma attack. The referee wisely told her to leave the field. After a couple of minutes the player was fine. At the end of the match the same mother came out to confront us. I got in front of my partners and told her to go away, she wanted to speak to the referee. I told her no. She pushed me out of the way, and went after the referee, dropped all sorts of F bombs on her and my other partner. I took my cell phone out, called the cops. Make a long story short.....that was three years ago and she is still in jail for simple assault and a multitude number of counts of doing something bad to a minor (I don't know exactly what the charge was.)
I can't figure out if spectators are worse than coaches. They know less, so they just yell things for shits and giggles, but... coaches are so stupid sometimes... They both suck, and I enjoy telling them to stop.
The county prosecutor was going to make an example of this woman, because she has done things like this in the past, and they wanted to test a new law to protect sports officials. She was so obnoxious that she didn't take the plea deal the prosecutor offered her and went to trial. She had no defense really other than she feared for her child's safety. She claimed the girl had asthma and she could of died on the field. She neglected to tell anyone (including the coach) of this, and on her registration form for the league never mentioned it. She was found guilty of assaulting me, making verbal threats on minors (multiple times), and interference of a sporting match. The assault on a sports official got her 2 years, the verbal threats on a minor got her 1 year for each charge on multiple counts. She was sentenced to 6-12 years, but will probably get out in 4 with good behavior. Apparently in sentencing she still showed in remorse for the incident, and when the judge reminded her that she went after children who were only a couple of years older then her own daughter, she didn't care.
Thats aweful stuff, i hope i never have to deal with that. How do you deal with a frantic parent like that who wants to help their kid off the field? Do you not allow it under any circumstances?
I would have to say that 3+ years in jail for an irate and totally obnoxious mother who never touched anyone is excessive. Rereading, I see that see did push you, but still would say that this is excessive.
"The mother then stepped onto the field to tend to her daughter who was having an asthma attack. The referee wisely told her to leave the field." Are you kidding me? U11 and you are getting between a mother bear and her 9/10 year old baby cub with an asthma attack? Law 1 is player safety? I guess the only thing preventing me from asking why common sense was left in the referee bag is that the center was young herself. Agree that events that occurred after the game warranted the (or some) legal response, but I think discussion of what led up to the conflict deserves attention as well.
I was working a fairly heated GU14 match as an AR last spring, & one of the girls on the team I was "caring" for mentioned to me at halftime that there was a spectator on the other side, at the top of the grandstands, who was shouting insults to individual players on her team and deeply personal insults at that. This spectating woman also timed her shouts so that she was out of earshot of the other AR & the CR. I told the young player that I knew how to fix this in an instant, and escorted her to the opposite touchline where we met up with my two yellow-shirted colleagues. She again explained her complaint; neither of the others refs had heard anything, so we couldn't throw the spectator out. I asked the player to identify the offender. She described her. I pointed my arm at the spectator, & said in a haranguing voice, "That's the one!?" The girl nodded yes as all the other spectators turned to see whom I was indicating. We didn't hear a peep out of that nasty wench the rest of the match. Best, SM
When refereeing a youth match. RULE #1 NEVER get between a mother and an injured child. RULE #2 Re-read rule #1.
I would agree, allow a parent to come out on the field if it was a rec game of that age or lower, or if it was a really bad injury. But this was supposedly the top select league in the state and when the injury occurred it wasn't anything hard or dirty. Also, we were told in a referee meeting specifically do not allow fans on the field, only allow coaches to tend to players, and have the coach (with the referee's permission) call the parent onto the field if the situation warrants it.
Maybe I'm too easy, but I'm not getting in between a parent and an injured child. That's "lighting a match to see where that gasoline smell is coming from."
I agree that the parent of a 10 year old child undergoing an asthma attack should clearly be allowed on the field. These are not adults playing, they are young children. Also, the parent could well have an inhalor for the asthma. Telling the parent to stay off the field is wrong. This is your child, you are concerned about their safety. An asthma attack, particularly a severe one could potentially be life threathening without immediate treatment.
Sorry, but you need to have some compassion for the child and the parents. Chaos is not going to reign if the parent comes out onto the field in the case of a serious injury. An asthma attack in my view is just such a case. This is not a kid that got kicked and is crying. This is something major. I have seen many kids in hospital emergency rooms on oxygen. Clearly, there is a higher incidence of asthma among children than ever before. Regardless of whether it's recreation or an elite club match safety is paramont. If the injury is serious err on the side of caution and stop the match.
OK I'll agree in the case of an asthma attack, it makes sense to let the parent on the field. They're the ones most likely to have some medical knowledge (even if second hand through their doctor) on how best to handle the child's situation. However to those of you that say you never come between a parent and child, consider this. We are there to ensure the safety of the players, that means all players injured or not. Had this been an injury after a hard foul and you allow the parent on the field, you've just setup the potential for an ugly situation. Imagine this parent after their child gets up and walks back to the bench, walking off the sideling but taking a detour to confront the opponent that injured her "little bear". So when the OP say "wisely did not allow her on the field", that isn't totally inaccurate. Perhaps in this situation maybe, but overall I'm not allowing parents on the field unless the coach has assessed the injury and needs the parent to assist. For the record I've only had this situation come up once. Player was hard tackled in the box, down hard with a knee injury. I call out the coach and at the same time the parent starts walking onto the field. Coach came at a sprint and once he got there I intercepted the dad who had been 3/4 of the field away and escorted him back to the sidelines. Explained to him that he could wait close by and if needed, I'd have him come out. He stayed on the touchline and didn't have a problem with it, the kid was assisted off the field by the coach and ended up returning to the game later.
Good point on the matter of parents that would use an injury as a means to voice their displeasure with a decision or actions by other players on the field.
I have to agree that in competitive level play parents should stay off the field. The asthma attack while dramatic could have been handled by the team staff and they are expected to do so at that level. Granted the parent apparently had not told the team so no one knew at the time of the foul that this player had asthma, which brought on the ensuing events. The issue of parents on the field is one which is very clear in intention if one slows down and considers the situation. Once on the field, what stops the parent from going after the player who committed the foul or any of the officiating staff. There is no way to know before an overt act that there will be an overt act. And in a situation with inflamed parental emotions and concern for their child/player, who knows how those parents will act. And for those who do not believe this is an issue, I have seen it first hand on four different and separate occassions in the past 5-years. That is why in recent years there have been many state and local governments which have passed legislation into law in regard to protecting sports officials 'at all levels'. In closing I offer this; at a recent youth baseball game there was a parent who was removed from the field after charging onto the field because a slide at second base took out his player who was unable to complete the double play. He was not hurt in any manner and was on his feet before the parent was on the field. The umpire asked him to leave and eventually this parent was escorted from the field. However the parent confronted the umpire after the match, following him to his car where he was shot. When the coach ran over to see what had happened, the parent shot him also. And this was a tournament pony league baseball game. Extreme; yes, but at what point did this change from a frustrated parent to criminal intent? The answer is no one knows. Let's also not forget the lady in North Carolina who was just given an early release from her 10-year conviction of deadly assualt on a 15-year old referee with an aluminum lawn chair. That young man endured countless surgery for a broken jaw and crushed side of his face (it was a blindsided hit) as well as broken ribs. He not only underwent surgery but both physical and psychiatric therapy. And her stated reason was that she was upset that her player did did not get up after being fouled. I may be in the minority, but for me keep the parents off the field. At the competitive level the team staff should handle injuries and indicate to the referee if they need the parent.
What it seems like that everyone that responded to the asthma attack post forgets, is that the mother came onto the field AFTER THE GAME to push and curse at the referees. Her little darling probably went back into the game and played to the end. This is not a situation of an anxious parent being denied tending to their child. This was an out and out attack on the referees.
No, what you missed is that we're talking about the point in the original post where the poster says that the mom tried to enter the field to tend to her child and the referee did not allow it. That's what the discussion is centering around. I don't think anyone here disagrees that after the match she had no business being on the pitch confronting referees.
In addition, someone yells out, "I'm her/his parent" - how do you know? You know the coach, as they give you their pass with a photo on it before the game. But this other person, is it really the parent? What could you be setting yourself up for? Parents are not allowed on the field - period. If this is a serious injury, then it would probably be obvious. The coach can tell you if the spectator is the kid's parent and you can call them onto the field while the coach is attending to their child.
intechpc - you say you develop a rapport with the spectators and sometimes joke with them. When their mood seems right, i try and do the same. It depends on the situation, but I try to be creative. This past weekend, as an AR on the spectators side, I was standing at the halfway line, waiting for a goal kick at the far end. A shot had gone way past the goal. Behind me, a cell phone starts ringing . . and ringing .. and ringing. I turn and see a lady looking thru her purse to find it. Most of the other spectators were also looking at her. I said out load, "hey, if that's my parole officer, please tell him I'm here". I got a good laugh from the spectators. During the remainder of the game, they asked my about different calls the center made. I never gave them my opinion, just interpreted what I thought he called. I also told them about being close to play, different angle, etc. They were receptive. I especially used the opportunity to explain "hand ball" and "offside". As these were U13's, I hope I "educated" at least some of these parents.
I ran over a cameraman this summer as AR... Had my eye on the breakaway that had me in a full sprint. He strayed just a little too close and WHAM. Both of us in a heap on the ground. I still made it back to the 2LD just in time to indicate for a corner kick.