Today in my H.S. varsity match with a 2 man system (shoot me). WE gave up a free kick about 35 out on the left side of the pitch. WE pulled our back line to hold the 18, the opposing side didnt move. They stayed on the penalty spot. Ball was played in, they scored from one of the offside players. i appealed "they were off", in response i get "THEY WERENT OFF, EVEN IF THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN, THERES NO OFFSIDES ON FREE KICKS OF ANY KIND"
Hopefully you were smart enough to stop right there -- no point in arguing about it once the ref has put all his cards on the table!
Drifting, but if you are a player or coach in such a game, how might you approach a ref on something like that? Not to get it fixed then and there, perhaps, but to get him to at least think about it later? I have occasionally just said something like, "Sir, at halftime (or after the game) please re-read Law 13" and went on my way. As a HS coach I need to dig the rule book out of my bag because I can't remember all the articles and clauses and sections, but at the interval I can remind them to double-check Rule 5-3.1.d or whatever. As a referee, what approach would work to make you reconsider you might have got the Laws wrong?
Not a bad question, but the people posting on this board are different from the idiot that campton encountered the other day. I mean, I'm not a dumb ref who THINKS he knows everything but is actually backwards on some of the most basic things. How do you get that guy to reconsider later on or re-read the lawbook or ask his crew after the game? I really don't know. I'm not in that guy's head, and I don't want to be! For that to happen, he must WANT to doublecheck and that's tough because in his mind, he probably is as sure as he said he was when the player asked him about it right then on the field.
In Missouri High School, a coach can protest a miss-application of the rules. He can tell the ref he wishes to file a protest. The official informs the other coach, and the protesting coach has 10 minutes to show, in the rulebook, where the rule has been miss-applied. Judgement calls are not protestable. If the situation cannot be answered in 10 minutes, the orginal call stands and the game continues. All protests must be resolved at the field.
This is one of those situations I just can't wait to encounter! Getting one of these "spectators" to quote me the LOTG (or the NFHS rules) wrong is one of those moments that just can't be quantified or qualified by words...once they quote incorrect law or rules I then demand that they produce the LOTG or the "rules" to support their position (I carry them with me all the time but will never let them be seen). This has never backfired on me, either...like my failsafe solution to people yelling in my face. I'm smart enough to KNOW that I don't KNOW everything but I do know most things soccer related (laws, rules anyway) and my line on this issue is quoting the laws or rules incorrectly. They can call me blind or ignorant or stupid all they want (HS anyway USSF games a little less...) but if they tell me I'm favoring one team or don't know the laws/rules that's where the confrontation shall begin.
First weekend of the regular season. I centered some U12 rec games and was a little shocked at how little the kids understand the game. "Corner kick? For which team?" "I'm a midfielder - am I allowed to shoot?" But the funny thing that made me dig up this thread came yesterday AR'ing a U12 travel match. After the game, the center's kid asked, "Daddy why did you give that coach a red card?" The answer: "Because he wanted one." It's funny because it's true...
First one was in a high school boys all-star game for our local league. The League leading scorer has a break away and kinda trips over the ball (the players sister and my daughter are best friends so I know the player) he gets up and does the "Come on REF" in a joking tone. So I respond with "Your right next time the ball trips you he gets a red card hows that" Kinda got a good laugh from every one near by. Tonight I was the center in a 4A high school boys match fairly lopsided match with the black team being up at 5-nill at this point in the game. Black had a throw in and the ball comes into play and the black teams player receiving the ball kicks it forward and hits the white teams player in the face (not so funny here) so the player puts his hands on his face all the while I am watching him to make sure there is no blood. Just as his hands come off the same player from the black team kicks the ball and hits the same white player in the stomach. This starts a few giggles from the black teams bench and a little chuckle from me. Now the ball is back to the same black player tries a 3rd kick and hits the player a 3rd time (all unintentional btw) in the side . The white team is cheering the stands are cheering and at this time the entire black sidelines is laughing pretty good I am holding it in but its very hard to run I look at my AR and he is laughing. As you read this it may not seem so funny but honest to god its the only time I have really just laughed like that on the field.
Working a Men's Junior College game. Halftime clock begins counting down from 15 minutes, and with about 7-8 minutes remaining in the halftime, one of the coaches says, "Hey ref, can we get this game restarted? We don't know enough about soccer to talk for a full 15 minutes."
Just a few weeks back while centering a U14B match. Ball is played into the PA where it is gathered by the keeper. As the keeper punts the ball one of the attackers starts yelling "He's out of the box, that's a hand ball". I check my AR no flag so I continue up field and the attacker yells again "He was out of the box, that should have been a penalty kick!" It was hard to hold back from laughing or commenting. I wanted to say to him, "Did you even hear what you just said?"
Did a U11 boys last weekend. The Red team was up 3-0 at half time, but Blue had a corner kick early in the second half. From the NW corner with a South breeze, the Blue player put the kick in the far upper 90. The Reds complained because no one had touched it. The coach then questioned it. "Trust me on this coach, it's a direct kick." He spent the next 10-15 minutes looking it up. He and his players both mentioned it after the game that they learned something today. They seemed amazed that I knew something they didn't; the balding gray hair wasn't enough! They hadn't seen it before. "Oh the first time I saw it was when Brasil scored one in the '58 or '62 World Cup."
I always get a chuckle out of the, "are you serious?", from players after a call. Heard it twice this weekend, men's college and men's amateur. Do they really expect us to answer, "no. I'm just kidding."
Not sure how funny this is, but I wanted to mention it and it doesn't warrant its own thread... this weekend I did a U9 girls game. I was slightly nervous, since I do few youth games and rarely this young. I'm happy to help out my local club by picking up a few games each season, though. So the game is going fine, I let a bump go in midfield because the girl keeps dribbling down the field. She is getting near the top of the PA when she gets clipped. I blow whistle for the foul. Home team coach (this is a club in my home town, but I don't think he knows me) runs onto field to attend to the girl, who is bawling her eyes out. He tells me I need to get control of the game! Now, I will concede maybe I could have called a couple more fouls than I did -- as a National Referee, I'm not accustomed to EVERYBODY wanting a foul called pretty much every time somebody falls down. But I was focusing hard to make sure I called things at the expected level! I think I called about 6-8 fouls, all minor little stuff, and half of them resulted in the girls bawling their eyes out as soon as they went to ground and requiring the coach to carry them off. It made me feel bad to see this happen! I was about halfway to tears on a couple occasions. I even had to call a PK...GK is maybe 10 yds out, attacker shoots slow roller past GK, defender rushes back to end line, and knocks the ball with her hands. Ball keeps rolling slowly, I wait to see the ball stops on the line then blow for the PK. I was proud to handle this without anybody crying! No red card at this level, of course. I remind players, you cannot run in until she kicks the ball. Well, that didn't work! GK makes nice save, ball bounces out for a corner. Home coach is complaining that the players can't go in the box early like that! It was just amazing I got as much static from this U9 coach as I did from either coach in the D1 men's game I did the day before!
I bet you forgot the troubles of being a young referee. Sometimes these u9's that i pick up are the most challanging. You know how it SHOULD be called, but the adaptations you have to make to appeal to the players, coaches and spectators are rediculous.
I started refereeing in my mid 20s. My first game was AR on a 1st division adult men's game. I did some youth games, but most of my games were adult. So I don't have as much experience refereeing young age groups as many other referees do.
coaches and parents can be brutal, an clueless at the really young age! tend to get parents who want to coach but know nothing about the game or the LOTG I did a U12B game Sunday and called an intentional pass back to the keeper. Coach who got the kick argued it should be a PK cause he used his hands! Also had a two yellow card incident when two little brats decided to have some extra-curricular activity after the ball was gone, 10 feet from my AR! Father of the one who started it (he's also the coach) wouldn't admin his son was even capable of that.
This afternoon, boys HS match in the pouring rain: Two players running side by side, each using arms to try to gain some advantage, no real impact on either player. Coach screaming "he's all over him" Few minutes later, similar situation except this time it's not 50/50 and it is having an effect on the player in possession, so I decide it's worth a whistle (match is under control but needing to be called pretty tight). Coach now screaming "let 'em play" But coach, last time you wanted that calling! Coach, with no trace of shame, yeah, well, I want everything...