In a Massachusetts high school match a few weeks back, the referee red carded a kid who was swearing. When the kid persisted, the ref yelled, "Double red card! Match over!" and called it a forfeit for the other team. The state federation eventually rescinded the "double red card" -- mainly because no provision for such a thing (or such a drastic punishment to the team) existed in the rule books. Has anyone ever heard of a double red card at any level?
I have heard of refs ending a match because a player refused to leave, but double red card? Um, no. The only time I personally knew a ref who had ended a match for this reason it was because the guilty player literally attacked him. He ended the match right then & there.
Strangely enough I have also heard of this happening in a high school game in Massachusetts for the same infraction. To top it off the double red carded player then proceeded to light up a cigarette and sit on the hood of the bus, but the game continued. Pretty much sums up my high school team's history in one event. Beez, did this happen in a central MA game? I wonder if it is the same ref?
I have never heard of such a thing, but I don't work HS soccer either. In a USSF/Fifa match, you wouldn't show a second red. The player was already sent-off, so it makes no sense. You would make a note of the additional misconduct and let the league deal with it. The refere also can't decide the outcome of the match. He/she can abandon, suspend, or terminate the match, but the league makes a decision on the outcome based on the facts presented by the referee. Does NF allow the referee to decide the outcome of a match by declaring it a forfiet? This would be quite a diversion from Fifa laws.
I've never heard of any league where a ref can determine a result. It would be a dangerous precedent.
Maybe we can take this to its logical extreme and make a "microwave" card, whereby the referee basically cooks the player where he stands.
WHAT????? A Massachusetts High School referee making up his own creative interpretations of the rules???? I've never heard of such a thing, not in this state! (Insert emoticon for sarcasm here). Scott
Another MA ref checking in here. A ref can abandon or suspend a game but the league would still have to determine the actual outcome.
can the ref end the game? absolutely. the point being made is that the ref should not (and cannot) declare the winner. it should then be up to the league to determine the result and consequence.
I remember when Reyna was playing for the Rangers and he, supposedly, got red carded 3 times in one game. Once on the field, then for fighting on his way out and then for going after the refs in the locker room.
There's a difference between committing three red-cardable offenses and actually receiving three red cards. His behavior and actions were noted on the match report and taken into consideration for suspension, but he only received a single red card per the LOTG.
There is nothing in the NFHS rules that talks about a double red. I would assume that MASS has adopted something in the state for that to happen........I suspect we have at least one Mass NFHS reff on this board also known as BIGMASSSOCCER.com
In February, 2001, Claudio Reyna managed to acquire *three* of them in Rangers' derby against Celtic. The first for a second bookable offense, the second for striking a Celtic player during the scuffle resulting from his foul, and the third for abuse after reporting to the referees' dressing room to formally receive his second.
Do any of you MA refs work in central MA If so, PM me. My team is notorious throughout the state. We're the ones who got DQ'ed from even possibly making playoffs for too many cards. We got 17 total. That's in 16 games too. One of our "captains," got 5 cards (4 yellow and 1 red). Also, he almost got into about 3 fights. He would have actually socked a kid too if I hadn't held him back. The sad thing was that his dad was screaming for him to hit another player "in the head." [sarcasm] Man, do I LOVE my team [/sarcasm]
The team in question was in Eastern Mass., so I doubt it was the same ref. The ref in this particular game was in no danger. The coach of the foul-mouthed player was holding the kid back, and the kid kept cursing a blue streak. So the ref called the game right then and there. What's most interesting about this instance is that the team (Haverhill High) missed the state tourney by two points. The MIAA rescinded the "Double red card" but decided not to play the final 7 minutes of the match that the ref had illegally called a forfeit. Haverhill trailed that game 1-0 at 73 minutes. Chances are, they wouldn't have scored twice in the final 7 minutes, but still, they were cheated out of those minutes by a maverick referee's attempts to make up the rules as he went along. It was bizarre when it first happened, and it still confounds me now.
As an addendum to Greyhnd00's post, the revised Mass. rules made no reference to a double red card. There's a provision for a game to be forfeited if a coach is red carded, but nothing I saw regarding a forfeit for a player's actions. Then again, we're talking about a state in which teams can be forbidden from state tourney play if they accumulate a certain number of yellow cards in a season. Man, imagine if that standard applied to basketball fouls...
I think that the 4 red card rule is reasonable. But, the yellow card limit is ridiculous, especially with some of the refs (and the possibility of mistake). I got my only yellow this season for stepping in on a kid when he was going one on one against me. I got the entire ball, then the kid tripped (dived a little too) over my leg. However, the two refs at half field facing our backs had trouble seeing this and decided to give me a yellow. Normally, I wouldn't really care that much. But, since it counted towards my team not being able to make playoffs, I felt cheated. It's almost like the refs have to be careful giving out yellow cards b/c of these stupid rules. Maybe if the refs, players, coaches, and schools formed a petition, the league might revoke the rule. Fat chance, but I think that it would be worth a shot.
I agree it's ridiculous to punish a team for yellows like that. After all, there are already plenty of rules established to penalize players for too many yellows. Why should a team also be denied a championship?
i agree that there should be a limit, but the limit is too low. i think some yellows dont count towards the limit, but they should only count those which are talking back to ref, hard tackles and stuff like that