I have noticed a trend with one local referee. During unsanctioned games, he insists on wearing his USSF badge. As a 5, he is knowledgeable enough to know the difference and wears his USSF badge regardless (the rest of the crew wears an association badge or none at all). As an assignor or board member, how would you handle this? Not assign him for breaking association policy or ignore it?
Agreed, talk to him first if you haven't. If he still refuses then yes, cut him off from games. Someone in his position should know better.
Except you don't have any authority and you wearing the badge implies incorrectly that you do and that the game has all the other things that come with it, like insurance.
For those that insist on keeping it on, that is the exact reason they give and that the missing badge sticks out like a sore thumb. However, it's still wrong to wear it.
Unsanctioned match? No badge, white training shoes, no socks, un-tucked shirt, very dark sunglasses, ball cap (on backwards for 'fly' style), white cane, and optional in some areas ... organ donor card. (Too soon?) Unfortunately I've seen most of that (not the cane so far) in sanctioned recreational matches w/ referees that are not required to be certified.
Let your SRA know and he/she can deal with it. They can go as far as suspending him from refereeing sanctioned games.
I never got gow your SRA/State Association can suspend you for doing unsanctioned games? Technically, the game doesn't exist. It never happened. It's the equivalent of you refereeing your friends pick up game in the park. For those unsanctioned leagues, you just aren't covered for insurance purposes if something happens. Wouldn't, theoretically, NISOA be "unaffiliated/unsanctioned?"
I think its only when you decide to wear your badge incorrectly or start taking unsanctioned assignments over sanctioned ones.
I still don't understand why it's such a big deal. The only real reason seems to be "because that's the rule". I wear my official USSF referee jerseys and socks when I referee unsanctioned games (albeit a very rare occurrence). I personally don't do it, but really why not the badge too? I don't see any actual harm that can come from that, and I doubt anyone else can. You regularly see someone wearing their badge during unsanctioned games? So what. Nobody is going to get hurt from that, and while it may hurt him a tiny bit from a professionalism aspect, I don't really see any reason to intervene.
On the occasions I've done unaffiliated matches, this has been my reasoning, too. I've never heard a compelling argument against wearing the badge that isn't completely undermined by wearing the exact same crest on your shoulder and shorts. If anything, I think the badge can give the semblance of some legitimacy to a setting that can probably use it, particularly an adult match. If a league had a policy that said no USSF/OSI equipment at all, then I'd be much more understanding of a policy that said you're not to wear your USSF badge.
The jerseys and such carry no authority and can be purchased by any yahoo that's wants to spend the money. The patch must be earned and carries responsibility and other powers of representation that you are undermining and falsely advertising by you wearing a patch. You are representing an organization that has no authority or duty to the game you are reffing. Problem is if anything happens the people can point to you and say you were representing US soccer and get them in trouble.
The only "unaffiliated" matches I do are inter-collegiate club games. I don't wear my USSF badge (much less my HS badge) for those for the reasons others have mentioned. But I also don't like not wearing any badge at all. Anybody know where I can get a generic referee badge? Or even a tin star like Marshal Dillon used to wear?
I just find that logic absurd, sorry. You're enforcing the LOTG that you learned to become a registered referee. You're not a different person when you take the badge off. What are you "falsely advertising?" What you're saying is that 'I'm a certified referee and will treat this game the same as any other game.' I think you're making a good advertisement, rather than a false one... and that's if anyone notices the badge in the first place. If USSF cared as much as is implied by people who hold your view, then they would require that OSI make customers provide their USSF ID before purchasing USSF uniforms. But they don't, even though that check would be easy to implement. You stipulate that "any yahoo" can buy a USSF uniform. So USSF lets any yahoo go buy its uniform and work an unaffiliated game... you think the organization will be upset when one of its actual affiliated referees does the same thing but puts a badge on? It's not believable for me.
We've always been told in our certification clinics not to wear the badge for non-USSF affiliated games. We've also been told that it's OK to wear the USSF-logo'd jersey. Just like in our HS clinics we've been told it's OK to wear the USSF jersey but (obviously) not the badge for HS games. Logical? Not really. What we're instructed? Yep.
How am I falsely advertising by wearing the patch? I am a USSF certified referee. I don't suddenly stop being a USSF certified referee when I'm not doing a USSF game. I think for the sake of pure professionalism, it's probably improper to wear the patch at unaffiliated games. But then again, USSF uniforms probably should not be worn either for such games. But for the sake of all practicality, I think wearing that uniform and badge can make things better for everyone, and is so far down on the "big deal" ladder that it would be really sad if people were losing assignments over it.
What about FIFAs doing USSF games? Can't they proudly wear their FIFA badges? Yeah, yeah, USSF is one of the FIFA-affiliated federations, but even so? Or are the FIFA badges the actual USSF-1 and -2 badges?
Have you seen our legal system? It often falls into the absurd category. I'm sure some lawyer at some time advised the USSF that they're open for a possible liability suit if their refs wear their earned badge in an unsanctioned game. Now I'm not claiming that the USSF would lose a suit like that, but if you're the USSF do you really want the cost and hassle of defending yourself from the suit?
Valid point, but here's the thing... I've never seen anything in writing from USSF that actually says this. I've only heard it as word of mouth among referees and in situations like Bubba Atlanta recites (e.g., "we were told"). If I'm wrong, I'll concede the point happily (and, now that I think about it, am going to go check the Administrative Handbook now). But I don't think this is an actual USSF policy. I think it's a myth.
2010/11 version (most recent one I can find online)... 26 mentions of "badge" or "badges" on 8 pages... none to do with unaffiliated matches. As to the actual section on "Unaffiliated Matches"... here's what USSF says: I'm pretty sure if there was a written policy regarding the wearing of the USSF badge, it'd be in the section quoted above. Am I missing anything? If anything, the policy states that state and local administrators should be discouraging referees from working the unaffiliated games, period. So USSF assignors that take on assigning unaffiliated leagues might actually be running afoul of the federation, not the referees accepting the assignments (whether or not they wear their badge).
I doubt it has anything to do with liability. I think IFAB and USSF remain offended that unaffiliated games exist. So they don't want their badge affiliated with those games. It's their badge, they make the rules.
This is why I enjoy coming to you guys...many of you bring up some pretty good points and getting an idea of the general consensus makes it easier for me to handle issues like this when they come up. Personally, I don't care for USSF badges on unsanctioned games. But as MassRef pointed out, although it is something we are taught at courses, I haven't been able to find any definitive guidance or position paper specifically stating that we are not to do this. The referee association has its own policy. Not all associations have badges specific to their association. USSF does have a generic badge available on their site with the crest, without the referee identifier and without the year. I have mentioned in the past that I felt "naked" without a badge on, in any case.