For assessments: Rule # 1: Do not argue with the assessor. Rule # 2: SEE RULE # 1 Rule # 3: No Rule # 3 PH
I was running the scoreboard for a JV game a couple of years ago. It was the last JV game of the year, so the season is over except for some players who might be moved up to Varsity for the playoffs. One of the better visiting JV players was knocked down hard and he was not satisfied to be awarded the free kick - he got up and kicked his opponent in the leg. The referee showed him the red card, which with the violent conduct probably would mean 3 or more games suspension. While the ref was writing it up, the carded player ran over and shouted what appeared to be several obscenities at him while teammates and coaches were trying to drag him away. The referee calmly pulled out his red card again, showed it to the player, and continued writing. That player never played HS soccer again, but ended up with a college scholarship anyway - in track.
Here is my personal approach, and it varies depending on the situation. If it isn't a true assessment -- D&G, casual observation, training session, etc. -- you can get into a discussion with the assessor. I wouldn't even shy away from outright saying, "I've gotten conflicting advice in this area. Help me understand." Gauge the response and react accordingly. If the assessor gets defensive or what have you, just drop it. If you are in a formal assessment, there is nothing wrong with asking for clarification when something is unclear. Again, don't argue, especially in the formal setting. A good assessor wants to help you learn, improve and understand the game. A good assessor knows there are many ways to solve the problem. There isn't one version of the truth, in most cases. A good assessor wants to give you different tools for different situations. You won't always have a good assessor. Like referees, competency varies widely among assessors. And, shockingly, there are inconsistencies to deal with (people don't always stay up to date with new info, some just plain make mistakes, etc.). I used to ask for clarity when I got what I considered to be wrong and/or poor advice from an assessor. If they reinforced the 'wrong' answer, I just accepted it and moved on. "Thank you." It is important to note that the majority of assessors are willing to admit when they have something wrong. Years ago I had an assessor who brought up injury management from the match. He asked why I didn't have a player leave the pitch after being attended to (it was a collision with the GK, who also was treated). I explained. He disagreed. I dropped it. Later I emailed him some documentation that supported my position and he agreed he was wrong. Had I taken an argumentative stance in our debrief it probably wouldn't have ended the same way.
Yikes! . . . as an aside to newer refs, showing a second red is not proper protocol: if further misconduct occurs after a send-off, no card should be used, but details should be made very clear in the game report.
Had a U13/14 DA game this Saturday I'm AR1. The young (good) center referee tells me at half time. "I like getting closer to your corner, your smile always relaxes me." The game ends with only one card and its a Red for OFFINABUS. The Visiting player is going 50/50 for the ball with a home defender. The defender gets a foot on the ball puts is high and the keeper races in to grab it from the air with closing seconds of the game. The visiting attacker and the spectators want a pass back called. The referee blows for full time and is walking toward the center circle when everyone on the field including the home coach hear "You're a F*%king C*%ksucker" from the visiting attacker. The center thought that it came from the benches until, the other AR and myself race toward the CR and inform him that it was the attacker. The CR turns around and shows off a RC. The visiting coach, comes over and asks calmly what the card was for. After the CR explains it to him, he starts turning red and tell us that is was a good call and apologizes to all of us and that he will take care of it. The game ended 1-1. By the way this same kid got called off side exactly 9 times. His coach was counting and started to yell it out after the fourth one. Other than that I never heard his coach. I wish all coaches acted this way.
I think the referee was making a point that all could see and understand. Back when my kids were much younger, they learned to pull an active offside trap on opponent's free kicks. The sweeper would take a couple of steps up as the kicker ran up to the ball, putting the opposing forward just offside. Needless to say, this required an aware AR, but they were pretty good at it once they saw what was going on. In one tournament game that first summer, the attacking forwards were getting frustrated and complaining to the referee, until their coach yelled out to his team loud enough so everyone could hear - "Wake up! They're doing it to you on purpose!"
One could say the same thing about showing a card to a coach or fan. It's not proper protocol. Anyone who chooses to breach protocol to make a point should know that it istechnically improper. (I'm not a fan of it in this instance, but YMMV.)
Here in New York if you get a red card in the last soccer game of the fall high school season, you get to sit out the first game of whatever winter sport you last.
This may be answered later in the the thread and if so I apologize. So, with the IDK instead of the goal kick, what was the result of the protest? Did that trifling difference mean that the game had to be replayed?
Private school BVAR, visitors down 5-0, mid-way through second half. Visitor substitute is slow to get off the field. Coach says "Billy come on, you got to get off, we need 12 today but it isn't legal."
Yes - the game was replayed due to improper application of the laws - incorrect restart that IMO had no impact on the game at all.
I'm sorry, but your appeals committee was even more idiotic than the people who filed the protest. They should be ashamed of themselves, but I imagine they were actually pleased with themselves and their power trip. These protest guidelines should always include that the error must be significant and probably influencing the outcome. Trivial and inconsequential errors made by an inexperienced official should be excluded. Otherwise you end up with people playing amateur lawyer (or more likely an actual lawyer) and the committee playing amateur SCOTUS. I doubt if a decision like this would be reached anywhere else in the world. PH
This is the opposite of this thread title. We always talk about how the best game would be between two teams of orphans. Today, I was doing a community college women's game, 1 p.m. game on a Wednesday, and it's raining, although the seating was covered, at a field off the campus. Just before 1, the announcer comes to me and says, "Would it be alright if we just played the anthem for the country? I don't feel like doing the introductions for nobody." So that's what we did. Yes, the actual, verified attendance at kickoff was zero. By halftime, we were up to a dozen.
I had a similar experience, not zero fans but only a handful. We decided it would just be quicker to introduce the fans to the players. PH
College D3 Women's Match. Player to me: "Referee man, did you see what she did to me, she stepped on my heel and I fell and hurt my pelvis. Now what is going to happen if I can't have children?" Me to her: "Children come out of your pelvis?" Player to me: "Don't you know anything man" she then grabs her entire mid section and shakes it in my face "My pelvis man, that is what holds my baby in place."
AR2 on a U18B match. Blue forward takes on two White defenders on the dribble. White player is a little sloppy with his tackle, misses the ball, and trips Blue. Referee blows the whistle. White father directly behind me, "Well that didn't look intentional to me."
AR2, U14G. The same mom behind me on five different free kicks near goal, all of which went beautifully over/around the wall of defenders and into the net: "was that foul in the box?" I've never had to try so hard to keep my mouth shut.