Nope. Blow the whistle. I know it probably wouldn't have impacted this natch, but I had to use all my ability last year to keep a coach from going bonkers on a referee who did just that in a tournament game. The score was 3-0 with about a minute to play when the referee waved down AR2 on an obvious OS. The resulting goal knocked the winning team out of the final on GD. The referee told everyone within earshot that he "wanted the kids to get one". Last game of the day for him. I still don't know how I was able to get the coach to walk away.
Yeah, I think I would have blown the whistle. But--in this case I would have been the only one who knew. Is integrity what you do when you're the only one who knows?
p.s.: Dang, how did you get that coach to walk away? Whatever it was, you need to bottle it and distribute it to your colleagues here (for emergency use only).
Actually I really couldn't tell to whom Law5 was referring. I could see arguments for both the coach and ref getting a talking to, not just one or the other. Use of the words irresponsible behavior made me think it was the coach for his ranting and raving, but I wanted to clarify that the ref was not in the right here either.
I was able to calm the coach down using all of my best skills!! (I'm not so sure if I had been coaching if I would have taken my explanation so easily). The referee? I walked over to the assignor who was close by and explained the situation and what had happened. The referee in question was relieved of any further games that day. The referee was trying to be a "nice guy" blissfully unaware of the consequences of his inaction.
Sorry for the confusion. Yes, I meant the referee. Trying to be a nice guy is great, but you can't knowingly flat out refuse to enforce the Laws of the Game in order to be "popular." I think Rufusabc did the right thing and so did the assignor. I didn't even approach the subject of the coach. Probably the result of reading too many referee game reports that report misbehavior by coaches which the report says wasn't addressed on the field by the referee crew. Who do they think is going to 'talk to' the coach about his behavior? If the referee didn't think it was irresponsible behavior (and, therefore, didn't dismiss the coach), then what does anyone have to talk about? Referee reports are taken as a statement of facts, aren't they?
Agree and probably if you are getting/reading reports most are not from young referees. However, we do a poor to non existent job of preparing young referees in dealing with adults. Most are taught to "respect your elders" and are in a very tough spot when the "elders" misbehave. I can see a report from a young referee stating this exactly as that would be the best way they know to deal with it - telling someone else who they think can/should deal with it. Even our attempts to support these young referees (mentor at the fields or any adult that steps in to help) continues the cycle as when we step in we are not ultimately helping. Not talking about an issue where the "adult" is out of control but other incidents where the referee needs to address a coach and we step in to "help". The absolute worst post I can make I guess as I have no answer. As an instructor we have a section we teach on dealing with coaches etc. but the classroom is inadequate in ultimately equipping referees to deal with adults, especially when the referee is very young.
I am reading game reports from a wide variety of referees, not just silverbacks, but most of the reports that relate how the coaches were misbehaving the whole game are from adult referees. Maybe the youth just don't report it. I had a male referee, 29 years old, told by an older (40-something) female player, "You're not a referee! You're just a kid with a whistle!" Of course, he put this in the game report because he cautioned her for dissent. I smile and smirk at the same time when I see that gem of a youth referee who can dish it right back to a out of line coach, in a referee appropriate manner, of course. I have found that it helps if the referee is mildly autistic. (No, not just a smart comment. It's really true.) It can be fun to watch a teenage referee show that they've grown up a bit and are ready to deal with adults as peers. Unfortunately, I don't know quite how to train that into them and there is a certain personality type that works better as a referee, in the first place.
I wonder if it might be easier for young referees if they were permitted to simply show a card to a coach instead of having to engage them verbally?
I've got to comment on this right here. I have Aspergers (basically mild autism) and tell you what it can help as a ref but it also can bite me in the ass. It helps that I don't find myself fudging things as some of my colleagues do, the laws are written and that's how you do things. But the inability to read subtle emotions of the players and the coaches has made a match hit the fan real quick.
Just showing a card [Ashton, 1972 onward] is not enough in contemporary settings. Methinks what will be better 'training' would be role-playing, in a classroom setting, where the incoming frosh get not only their vocabulary refined but also their body posture. All this in a controlled setting. This is when the referees become more comfortable. This is standard training for mediators and those in people management environments; the referee's workplace is more so. My own pedagogical view is that the teacher/instructor is not having the lesson plan as "Practical Refereeing 201," yet. Okay, I just recently updated my remembering list for LOL and YMMV, and now you pull this one. My internet made easy did not make sense. I looked up the abbr in this forum, and it is not there either. Neither did, indirect mortality estimation, incurred medical expense, and several other make sense. Your IME did not make is easy for this luddite.
Yes - there are some that are suited for it from the start, and others that seem to be more "mature" and deal with it properly. Very many don't and even after classroom training still are not equipped to deal with it in a real match with real angry adults and spectators etc. As I have found in my own referee path - getting on the pitch and having a mess is the only way to learn how to deal with a mess. Sadly many youths have the mess and that's it for them, especially when an "adult" acts the complete fool and can't be the adult and handle/help the situation.
Here in Utah, our youth soccer association has explicitly instructed referees this year to show a red card when dismissing a coach following a match. Dismissals during a match will be done as normal, but if a coach behaves irresponsibly after the final whistle, UYSA has asked that a red card be shown.
A few days ago a senior referee in our area sent out an email with the following closing remarks. "Let's keep the kids safe and remember that inappropriate behavior should not be tolerated. Ignoring inappropriate behavior, on or off the field, silently condones it!" It seems appropriate in light of the discussion above. It is imperative for seasoned referees to address the issue for the benefit of younger referees and "next week's" referee. Set the tone as "last week's" referee and over time things will improve.
Our season opens here tomorrow. Unfortunately there is a snow storm raging. Gives me time to applaud the role playing idea. Whether younger folks think it's corny or not, I think finding a "script" you can use in a tense coach-ref standoff is extremely helpful, and not just for young referees either. I went to a baseball clinic last night and one of the points of emphasis was to explain to the coach what just happened and "use a more rule book approach" in the language that you discuss the matter. The speaker said this kind of deflects the coach, and puts him on his heels. They cautioned us to not be flip or caustic but be direct. I think that works a bit in our sport too. Baseball allows for a lot more dissent and open questioning of calls. Head coaches are allowed to come out to argue their point. (Assistant coaches not so much!). In soccer, you have the ask, tell, dismiss in your favor. Please use it. Be forceful, yet polite in the ask, less polite in the tell, and throw their butt out when necessary. I cannot tell you the number of times over the years that LAW5 has told us of the game reports where a coach was on a referee from the start, and the referee finally dismissed him about 2 minutes from time. Why put up with that? Why make your game miserable? I had a coach once who started in on me within 5 minutes of the game beginning. He was from out of state, and probably got away with it at home. I walked over to him, and very quietly told him what was going to happen if he kept talking to me, and that was the end of it. No anger on my part. Just the facts, ma'am. Do that, and your referring life will be easier. When you are driving to your game, think of the worst thing that can happen between you and a coach, and practice your methods. Just Like a player practices, we need to practice too. When you are working out to get in shape to run forever, think of what to say to a player or coach that can diffuse a situation or stamp your authority on the match. Think of your body language, your manner, and your verbiage.
Our HS season started this week, and I have one uneventful VG game under my belt, but my games tonight have been cancelled due to snow and ice. It's too bad because the home coach is a guy that I let get away with too much complaining last year and I was looking forward to reining him in much earlier this year. I'll probably get another chance or two to see him, so I plan to work out a better script to keep him on task.
Maybe a little. I've worked enough games with this coach to know how he tries to work the referee. He has admitted as much to me when I've been AR1. He seems like a nice enough guy, but he works himself into a lather consistently, and pushes the limits of acceptable conduct. Is it a preconceived notion if you are aware of a coach's tendencies? Or just being prepared? I tend to be pretty deaf to talkative coaches when I'm in the middle, and that has come back to bite me on a few occasions. Reminding myself to be both aware and fair is a good idea.
In today's game, and the rest of the world, communication is a requirement. And everyone must be encouraged to do so. People are specially accomodating if they are given a reason, as in, may in jump in ahead of you, my train leaves in 3 minutes, during a long queue at the station, instead of just jumping the line. For any practical refereeing to be effective, the primary criteria is to be abso-bloody-lutely clear on one thing - Why are you here? And this is also a collective responsibility - the referee committee, the referee, and also the league/s. The role playing is specifically geared toward incidents, both, on the pitch, between players and opponents, and off, with substitutes and technical staff. Forums (or are these, fora), such as this, are valuable resource, however, and this is with all respect to the contributors and moderators, not sufficient, being just recycled electrons and not people in front of you. Methinks, no amount of video watching, or, lurking/contributing to online forums (fora?) will adequately prepare for the what-to-do-when-situations; many also prefer to learn it the hard way. Practical Refereeing 201, is not only for the newly qualified referees, but also those long in the tooth. Standby, while I edit my working template to post on this forum.
I used to be a part of a training force in my old job where I was involved in role playing and the results were immediately positive. Even those there for ages were exposed to it, to a lesser extent....and we made it fun! You can't have just one "script" since it's not one size fits all. Sometimes all it takes is saying something humorous to diffuse a certain situation and you don't even have to get to the "Ask" stage. The Role playing would also help referees who we've all worked with (or seen in action) who make a bad situation worse with their body language and tone when confronting coaches. Just as repulsive it is to see a newer referee being verbally abused by a trainer in a game, it's also troubling to see fellow referees who add fuel to the fire. If you're also reffing indoor soccer, that's over $100 a year in recertification fees. The vast majority of this money goes to pay for the airfare and hotel fees of the "top" referees and admin fees. A very small portion of your money trickles down to the other 99%. If anyone disagrees, then they're somehow benefiting from the status quo or oblivious. So far, everyone commenting on the topic loves the idea, but I doubt we'll see this incorporated into any training program any time soon for the reason mentioned.