Girls basketball teams try to lose game to each other, both get postseason ban

Kudos to the refs for dealing with it during the game and also a good report after the game.

This has happened at USYS Nationals multiple times due to their old set up when it was only 4 teams per age group. If you had two teams both at 2-0 meet on the third match, they were both thru to the final and there was zero point in beating each other up. Multiple times the teams would stand around and barely play. If USYS had a clue, they would just eliminate the third match in those situations if the teams agreed not to play, give them a day rest, and then let them play for the championship.

 

When I was on our state board we rewrote the state cup rules to specify that in the case you mentioned, the third game in round robin play became the final.

 

I did a game like this once a long long time ago. Last game of the season, the winner would get killed in the first round of the playoffs the loser would have a much easier time of it.

One team showed up with 8 and right after the second half started two girls got hurt and couldn't continue. The match was over and the team with 8 ended up winning the state championship anyway.

 

had a soccer tournament once where the 2 teams advanced to the playoff round with a 1-0 scoreline...first goal came at 5 minutes and the rest of the 85 minutes was spent pretty much in and around the center circle...

 

for the coaches in the forum (and Mods if this takes a turn you could consider moving to the Coach section): you are in this position. your team advances along with your opponent with a stalemate. You both have no incentive to push at all. There is either a 3 team waiting to sneak in the door. How do you approach the game? What if you were the coach in the OP post, do you try and "throw" the game to avoid facing a tougher opponent?

 

Note to referees: If this happens, the best practice is to just ref the game, and don't try to intervene. Your job is not to enforce this kind of morality. Take a very thorough report of what happened, and the league will deal with it. But by ending the game early, you will be injecting yourself further into a mess that you probably don't want to.

Not saying what the basketball refs here did is wrong, because I don't know if the same standards apply to basketball reffing, but on an USSF game the best idea is to just sit back and enjoy your easy paycheck.

 

I don't think the game was terminated, I think there was just an officials timeout to reprimand the coaches. They played the game out and it appears that the ref wrote a very thorough report.

 

I never feel like the right person is punished in these situation. The Association created the problem with a tournament system that rewards losing a single game with an improved tournament position and then punishes the teams for trying to win the tournament.

The correct response IMHO, is to fix the tournament system not suspending a team that understands that the season is more important than a single game.

 

Agree. I don't have an issue with what the basketball officials did because there are different standards there. In soccer, it's not our place to say or do anything about a situation like this. Report the facts of the game and move on.

 

For what it's worth.

 

Years ago, we had a high school varsity boys game in which the home team threw the last game of the season, so as to get a better position for the post-season. Only two problems: 1. While the winning team was celebrating (not knowing that the other team was trying to lose), one of the losing team's players announces, loudly enough for everyone there to hear, "We [bad word] gave you the game!" 2. the coach's analysis was incorrect and it was not going to help them in the post-season by losing! The coach was fired and turned up the next year as an "assistant athletic director" in another school district.

 

A similar throwing away matches, this one for getting a favourable draw in pool play, were on display at the London 2012 [Olympic Games], when eight players were thrown out from badminton, after the world federation officials immediately stepped in. Situations like these will happen - video http://bit.ly/18qNXok, and one of the reports http://bit.ly/1Evnthq.

Officials will go by the book in such instances, and the chaps on the court or the field must know the rules of the competition inside out. Briefings at the end of the day for tomorrow's preparation also are critical.

 

Then there's the classic example - the 1994 Caribbean Cup


Best video I could find that wasn't extremely obnoxious.

 

I can only answer as a coach of a youth team - I can see where professional or even high level amateur coaches may feel differently. A large part of my overall duties are to teach the kids to play the game the 'right' way. This means that you compete as hard as you can, within the rules of the match, at all times. Respect 'for the game' is right up there with this message. If we get punished by winning, with the result that we have to play a supposedly harder team, well then that is the way the cookie crumbles. IMHO, the overall message about rights vs wrong is so much more important than the short lived joy over playing a 'lesser' team later.

I was in this situation, once. Tournament with 6 teams (2 groups of 3, with 3 'travel' teams and 3 'rec' teams). Home team got the 2 rec teams. Lost to one in second match of day (due to missing girls and just a crazy game). We could have tried to lose, but played the game straight forward. Won game (and beat the Home team) the next day. Felt much better for all of it.

I do agree with some of the others, though. In soccer, it really isn't up to a ref to interfere.

 

There was a comment on that article that actually suggested a pretty good way of ending this problem completely. Just allow the winning team to declare themselves the loser instead if they really want to do so.

 

There was a pro soccer game a year ago where one team didn't want to play due to a protest. The ref terminated the game 30 secs in when that team declined to throw the ball in. That ref was praised on this forum, hopefully someone finds the thread. My point is that soccer refs have options if this situation arises.

 

There is a difference between refusing to restart play and just hanging out.

In a scenario where the two teams have mutually agreed to just stand around, I don't see any reason for the referee to inject themselves. However, refusing to restart play or return from halftime, for example, are cases that may require intervention.

 

Agreed.

Brazil vs USA U17s at Nike Friendlies a couple years ago. Brazil upset about their players getting sent off, decide to quit playing and both teams stand around for last 7 or so minutes and do nothing.

 

Or let the top seed choose the seed they will face in the next round, instead of forcing them to play the lowest-seeded team.

Or have a straight knockout draw, with the top-seeded (or undefeated) teams exempt from playing each other, similar to the Champions League. I'd be interested in seeing that at the World Cup, so that no 2nd placed team in a group would know exactly which 1st placed team they will face. Would give incentive to already-qualified teams to actually try in the 3rd group game...maybe...

 

I'm usually in favour of such types of seeding but then I'm usually also in the minority.

I like the idea but it won't happen due to logistics (and also there would be less chance for FIFA/organizer to influence the draw and that alone makes it a non starter ).

The already qualified are rarely a problem though, it's usually the incentives of the already knocked-out teams that people are worried about.

 

Not a bad idea. I think the random factor has some merit but the logistics alone, and not just for the teams but for the fans as well, airlines, hotels, etc. it just would not work. With the Champions League there is a huge delay (2 months almost?) between the end of group play and knock out stage. Also if you look at how the World Cup is scheduled it would require to add quite a few days in between the end of group play and Ro16 because you may have Group H 2nd place getting matched against Group A 1st, which hasn't played in days and Group H just getting done the day before possibly.