Interesting scenario... What would you do?? 47th minute in a U14 boys premier match. Blue player tackles a yellow player who is charging up the wing fairly late. A straight forward yellow card. On the ensuing free kick same blue player fouls a different player. This could also be a cardable offence, but I judged he just miss timed his tackle and opted for lienency and just admonish him. Free kick was taken and as we were trotting up feild and he said he was "getting him back". WTF. I go easy on him and he tells me he took a cheap shot. Had to think quick. I cannot card him because the play had already restarted, so what was I to do.... Here is what I did... I told him he just had his last foul in the match. (I don't care what the next foul was. Next one was a 2nd for PI.) Well it worked, kinda. He did not even get close to an attacking player for the remainder of the match. Following the match, I pull the coach aside and explain to him that the whole thing was going into my report to the leauge. (I will give them the headache.) Now that I have given it some thought.. Perhaps at the next stoppage I should have gone to the coach and explained to him the severity of his actions. Perhaps he would have just pulled him from the game all together. (I did find out he was sent home for the 2nd match of the day) I just wonder if I did more harm to his team by not going to the coach. Thier defence did suffer and they did let in the game winning goal in the last 10 seconds. /boggle
It sounds like you solved your problem. It's not your job to coach the teams. You cautioned the player and warned him. The coach saw the yellow and is watching the game. It sounds like he should have talked to the player after the yellow card, but that's not your job. They both may have learned more the way you handled it. And that's probably more important anyway.
Agreed. I think you did just fine. I think the other way would have worked too, but at a premier level the kid needs to start learning responsibility for his own actions. It sounds like he at least learned enough to keep his appendages to himself for the rest of the match. (See https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74032 ) for a somewhat similar scenario I had a few days ago, except with an adult. He didn't learn from two talkings-to and a yellow. :-|
You acted appropriately and with some restraint. As my collegues state, it's not your job to coach and the coach surely saw the yellow. You solved the problem and it's now the coach's. Young premiere players need to learn asap what fair play is about.