A&H

End game early

L

ladbroke8745

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Cup game today, I was asked by home team (losing side) if I could end game early (under 13s) with them trailing 13-0.
I said I couldn't do that (despite wanting to as it was just going to get worse).
Away side actually agreed to request to end it.
Now, LOTG say I shouldn't, but both managers agree to end it to save further embarrassment.

I backed down and stopped the game just under 10 minutes remaining.

What I'm asking here is, if both teams actually agree to end the game early without my input, would you end it or stick to the LOTG and continue until game has finished.
 
The Referee Store
It seems the sensible thing to do, everyone wants it and it does no harm. In reality, if it gets reported to the relevant CFA the game will likely get replayed and you might face disciplinary.
 
In the youth cup games I do locally, they cap games at 8 goals and stop counting. Game awarded to the "winning" team at that point. Teams can continue to play if they wish, but goals no longer recorded for the result. Might be worth checking the rules for the competition in case something like that is already in place.
 
es1 said:
It seems the sensible thing to do, everyone wants it and it does no harm. In reality, if it gets reported to the relevant CFA the game will likely get replayed and you might face disciplinary.
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And it isn't unheard of for this to happen. I know of one case where the losing team begged the referee to end the game early to which he agreed. The same team then reported him and appealed that the game wasn't valid, it was ordered to be replayed and the referee was charged and suspended for 3 weeks for failing to proficiently apply the laws of the game.

Is it really worth the risk?
 
RustyRef said:
And it isn't unheard of for this to happen. I know of one case where the losing team begged the referee to end the game early to which he agreed. The same team then reported him and appealed that the game wasn't valid, it was ordered to be replayed and the referee was charged and suspended for 3 weeks for failing to proficiently apply the laws of the game.

Is it really worth the risk?
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It's not worth the risk, despite me doing it, from what you said, but I do honestly believe the losing team would not do this.
The losing team, I have a good affiliation with the club. Their players are far weaker than their opponents and if they replayed it, the scoreline wouldn't be much different, if not worse, if I'm honest. 1 sided would put it mildly.
Their players are already on the verge of leaving and quitting football as it is, so playing it again would be against their idea of trying to keep them on board.
 
es1 said:
It seems the sensible thing to do, everyone wants it and it does no harm. In reality, if it gets reported to the relevant CFA the game will likely get replayed and you might face disciplinary.
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“Dear Cup secretary,

At the request of team A, and with both sides in agreement I terminated the above game early with the score 13-0 to team B.”

Write/email in and cover yourself that way? Simply state the facts?
 
Viridis1886 said:
In the youth cup games I do locally, they cap games at 8 goals and stop counting. Game awarded to the "winning" team at that point. Teams can continue to play if they wish, but goals no longer recorded for the result. Might be worth checking the rules for the competition in case something like that is already in place.
Click to expand...
Makes a lot of sense
 
I’ve called time on youth games on rare occasions where it was clear neither team was interested in playing—which I know is completely unsupported in the LOTG, which means one has to be aware of what the competition really expects.

But I’m my experience, it’s pretty rare that both teams are hoping for it to end. Seems more common that the losing team (at least a meaningful contingent on the losing team) want to keep playing and try to accomplish something before the game ends, even if winning is far off the table.
 
Tealeaf said:
“Dear Cup secretary,

At the request of team A, and with both sides in agreement I terminated the above game early with the score 13-0 to team B.”

Write/email in and cover yourself that way? Simply state the facts?
Click to expand...

That's really the worst thing you can do, you are admitting that you deliberately ignored the laws of the game. If I got that as a league officer from a referee I'd have little choice but to recommend a replay even if there was no complaint from the opposition team.
 
Viridis1886 said:
In the youth cup games I do locally, they cap games at 8 goals and stop counting. Game awarded to the "winning" team at that point. Teams can continue to play if they wish, but goals no longer recorded for the result. Might be worth checking the rules for the competition in case something like that is already in place.
Click to expand...
Youth rugby operates a similar system (still) I believe. When one team goes ahead by 50 points the match is effectively called. ;)
 
ladbroke8745 said:
Cup game today, I was asked by home team (losing side) if I could end game early (under 13s) with them trailing 13-0.
I said I couldn't do that (despite wanting to as it was just going to get worse).
Away side actually agreed to request to end it.
Now, LOTG say I shouldn't, but both managers agree to end it to save further embarrassment.

I backed down and stopped the game just under 10 minutes remaining.

What I'm asking here is, if both teams actually agree to end the game early without my input, would you end it or stick to the LOTG and continue until game has finished.
Click to expand...
One of those "damned if you do etc." situations.

Most (OA) leagues cover "short games" in their rule book whereby for one reason or another the referee can play a 60 minute match rather than a 90 minute one, but this has to be agreed by both teams before kick off. ;)

Based on what you've posted and the age group involved, I'd put my mortgage on the bet that nothing will come of it anyway ... :cool:
 
My standard response is very simple. "I am more than happy if one or both teams walk off the field at next stoppage. But I ending the game early gets me in trouble."

Both teams are more than capable of ending the game early themselves. If they fear the consequences, so should you.
 
To lighten the mood, I was AR an end of season Isthmian U23 match where it was clear one team didn't want to play it.

They started wasting time at 1-0 DOWN. Ended up something like 5-1 but a couple of the goals came right near the end, so not a totally one sided match.

No incidents so all good or so we thought as we walked off. Losing teams player/manager marches over and shouts at the referee in an aggressive manner

"Did you have to f******* play 90 minutes?"

Ref DID play 90' but no added time whatsoever!
 
Apart from the correct application of the LOTG, commitment and resilience are taught by playing games to their proper conclusion. No one likes losing or one sided games but it is part of any sport and makes better performances, when they come, all the sweeter. Good coaches on both sides will normally recognise the obvious disparity and should try to mitigate it. In my opinion it is not the referee’s job to do this.
 
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