A&H

Junior/Youth Match Abandoned

J

JamesRef

Level 8 Referee
So let me set the scene.

I'm officiating a semi-final cup game, U13s. Team A (Home) and Team B (Away). The venue used to be an old golf club- so I was told underneath the pitch it was concrete (a driving range). You couldn't feel it underneath your feet but I'm sure if you tried hard enough you could feel it. The weather was appalling, freezing cold, lashing down with rain. But just in a playable condition.

No problems at all. Half time it's a draw. But with ten minutes to go, team B are on the attack, in the penalty area with the ball and go for goal. The ball goes in the net. But in the process of going being in the penalty area the Team B attacker, pushed (I'm talking an aggressive two-handed shove) and the Team A player goes flying. I blow my whistle and indicate to stop any further play and run over to the Team A player. My first priority was making sure he was okay as mentioned- the concrete ground underneath the grass. The player was crying, so i call his manager over. I then indicate the free kick against team b and disallow the goal. The Team B managers (one fairly old, one young and well-built enough to be intimidating to a 14 year old like myself), storm on. The younger manager then screams in my face about me disallowing the goal- he thought I'd run over to the player that had got pushed over and taken his word for what had happened, then disallowed the goal. I explained to the Team B managers that I had just checked if he was okay and asked them to get off the pitch- they did. Then I went over to Team A's manager and explained what had happened.

All good. Ready to start again. Then suddenly I hear a shout, a kid from Team B had started a fight, so now we have 22 thirteen year olds rolling around fighting. Myself and the managers go to break up the fight, which we did. Players went back to their own halves. Now, some stupid parent from Team B decides to run onto the pitch and take a lunge at me. The Team B manager gets in the way and the parent is dragged away from the pitch by two other parents. I know now I have to abandon the match- thats not up for debate. I'm worried for my own safety and the kids. I let the managers know but Team B's young manager sqaures up to me and grabs me by the shoulder. I tell him to get off me and I walk away.

I blow my whistle and walk off the pitch to go home, steering clear of all parents. Whilst walking briskly back to the car park the Team A chairman (Chair of the youth and adults division of the town FC) comes up to me and apologizes for what had just happened. I said none of what had happened wasn't his teams fault and he gave me his email and said to copy him in on anything he may need to do.

I then got home and reported it via the whole game system and let my RAO know, as being newly qualified he has been very useful and been a sort-of mentor to me along the way. He said I handled the situation well and the county would be in touch.

Next day I get calls from the league chairman, the Senior Governance Administrator for the county and the county RDO. The event is still being reviewed and a hearing is meant to happen. Their taking the grabbing of me very seriously.

What would you have done differently?
How could I prevent this in the future?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to your responses, as you can imaging it was pretty traumatic for me ( a fourteen year old) that's only been fully-qualified since December 2016.
 
The Referee Store
Well firstly I hope you're not too shaken up over the incident, and I hope it won't put you off refereeing further games.

Just to clarify with the first incident, have you blown the whistle and indicated a defensive FK straight away? Or have you blown up and then gone straight over to the player before signalling? Strong and quick signals sell decisions, so as soon as you've seen the push on the defender, blow up and give a nice strong signal for a defensive free kick - this means the manager can't accuse you of guessing/asking/supposing as your decision is clear nice and early. That confidence comes with refereeing more games.

Regarding the mass confrontation, was it really all the players fighting, or just a selection? If something has occurred behind your back there's nothing you can do. Sometimes its not possible to prevent things from occurring - people will do what they want to do, and all you can do is pick up the pieces. If this happens in the future, try to at least identify the two players that started it (the aggressor and the retaliator) and look to take action against them at the very least - if a full mass confrontation occurs, you need to be seen to take some action for your credibility and match control. On this occasion, clearly that didn't end up mattering, because as soon as a spectator comes on, and a manager assaults you, your only option is to abandon. I've seen young refs not abandon when they should have done because of pressure put on them, so well done for sticking to your guns and making the right decision.

Hopefully your RDO will ring you and have a discussion about it as well, but hopefully your report was as detailed and water-tight as you can make it. Again, I really hope this hasn't put you off - not all games will be like this. As Fletch said, "don't let the b*****ds grind you down!"
 
James, I echo everything that Mr Forest says above.

This should never happen, but it does. Unfortunately it was on one of your games. I'm not going to go into the incident itself or dissect your post, instead I will take a different approach.

I'm yet to experience a mass-con as a referee. I've experienced two however in my last two games where I've been an assistant. You just have to do your best to find out who's at fault. In both mass cons, because it all happened so quickly. I used a pen to make notes on my hand. These helped me when I spoke to the referee to confirm what we saw. I find that helps me. You have now experienced one first hand, so you have to use that experience to your advantage. Yes it's not ideal, but you will now have a rough idea what to expect next time aswell as identifying what worked for you, and what didn't in that situation. You then use that experience the next time to better deal with the situation. There's not many positives that can come out of what you've said above, but it sounds like you handled it well.

What I think could of helped you is that you identified a foul but the player wth the ball managed to advance into the penalty area and score. What was you doing in between blowing the whistle and the goal being scored? As soon as you saw the push, you can prevent the reaction you received by preventing the team the opportunity to score a goal - A loud, prolonged burst of the whistle would have stopped the play (hopefully). It's better to deny a team an opportunity to score rather than deny them a goal.

The young manager came on the first time and shouted at you - he should have been dismissed at that point. Also, don't go over to the benches and explain your decisions. That will antagonise things and gives them an opportunity to have a go at you.

There's things here that you certainly should have done differently, as I've pointed out. But you are a very new referee and have no experience. This will all come with time. You are a better referee and more experienced today than you were yesterday so look at the positives.

My final question, with you qualifying only a few months ago, have you been observed or tutored/mentored in any of your games?

Please use this forum when you can to talk about your match incidents and to ask for guidance and advice.
 
Right decision to abandon. Coaching staff need to be sanctioned and lets see decent bans handed out for all guilty parties. The attitude of the team starts with the coaches .When the sanctions are handed out it would be intersting to know what your fa handed out.
 
@JamesRef - Don't let this put you off. In response to your two questions:

What would you have done differently? Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but as others have said, dismiss the younger away manager for his first mouthing off at you on the FOP. There are actual two offences here - unauthorised entry onto the FOP and OFFINBUS actions.

How could I prevent this in the future? If players are going to start a fight, then you have done nothing wrong - it will always happen. The important issue is players safety - get the fight stopped (by parents help, if necessary); identify all RC's (but don't do the disciplinary action on the FOP, stick them on the WGS). Once calm, abandon and go home - don't worry about collecting your fee, the league or FA will extract that for you.

If you have concerns about how you dealt with this, speak with a more experienced referee in your areas or your mentor. They will be able to help you.

DB said:
Please use this forum when you can to talk about your match incidents and to ask for guidance and advice.
Click to expand...

A warning to all forum members, just be careful what you post while the CFA makes its decisions.
 
Echo @forest96, hope you aren't to shaken by it and it doesn't put you off.

Absolutely right to abandon, only thing I would say is that anyone grabbing a 14year old is desires everything he gets, it's child abuse I would report it to the police and get the chairman of the other club to witness it for you. Idiots like that need to be stopped. Well done on having the bxlls to abandon and 100% course of action.
 
Full support as everyone has said.

I have three comments - firstly, was this a county cup or a league cup game? If it was a league cup game, make sure your refsec knows and therefore the league committee know. The league cannot act as that is up to your CFA, but in my opinion it is better that they know the full facts and build a profile of teams / managers. The refsec can take it in to account on future match allocation, if need be.

Secondly, if can be beneficial, once you have made a decision and signalled, to get out of dodge. What I mean by that is to move on to where you need to be next once you have made a decision, as this prevents [players in particular] taking an opportunity to abuse you / argue with you. The same goes with a player that is injured. Here you checked on them, and called the manager on - now move away. Managers can be particularly vicious at times, blaming you the referee for the injury his player has received. Not a lot you can do if a manager decides to come on to the FOP to make their point known (other than dismissing them), but in general don't hang about.

Finally, don't get involved in trying to break up a mass con. Stop play (if necessary), Observe. Note. Action. Report. The last thing you want to happen is to end up being physically assaulted yourself, even if accidentally.

Well done for getting through it, and just think how much easier your next game is going to be!
 
JamesRef said:
My first priority was making sure he was okay as mentioned- the concrete ground underneath the grass
Click to expand...
James, really sorry to hear that you had such a traumatic experience. Based on what you have reported I'm confident that the sanctions for those involved will be significant

Just one comment to add to the great advice above. Twice in your OP you mentioned the concrete under the grass. If this truly gave you cause for concern for player safety then I'd advise not starting the game (on that pitch at least). And as a minimum, certainly worth mentioning this point to the league so that they can follow up on your concerns and make a call either way.

Chin up, s@@t happens
 
JamesRef said:
I blow my whistle and walk off the pitch to go home, steering clear of all parents. Whilst walking briskly back to the car park the Team A chairman (Chair of the youth and adults division of the town FC) comes up to me and apologizes for what had just happened. I said none of what had happened wasn't his teams fault and he gave me his email and said to copy him in on anything he may need to do.
Click to expand...
Mass confrontation on such a scale is not easy to deal with but you seem to have handled it strongly. It will make you a better referee in the long term so keep your head up.
With regard to your conversation with Team A chairman, you're post match communication and reporting should be with the relevant league/association. There should be no need for you to have any direct communication with either or the teams.
 
xPositor said:
Finally, don't get involved in trying to break up a mass con. Stop play (if necessary), Observe. Note. Action. Report. The last thing you want to happen is to end up being physically assaulted yourself, even if accidentally.
Click to expand...

Agree with Xpositer, stay well clear, observing and whistling as loud as possible. Not only is there a danger of you catching a wayward punch, as soon as you touch a player, even when you're just pulling them apart, you risk making yourself a target for their parents, a ref laying a finger on their lad can be 100 times worse than the fact he's scrapping with someone and seems to infer an excuse for them to come and have a go at you.
 
forest96 said:
Well firstly I hope you're not too shaken up over the incident, and I hope it won't put you off refereeing further games.

Just to clarify with the first incident, have you blown the whistle and indicated a defensive FK straight away? Or have you blown up and then gone straight over to the player before signalling? Strong and quick signals sell decisions, so as soon as you've seen the push on the defender, blow up and give a nice strong signal for a defensive free kick - this means the manager can't accuse you of guessing/asking/supposing as your decision is clear nice and early. That confidence comes with refereeing more games.

Regarding the mass confrontation, was it really all the players fighting, or just a selection? If something has occurred behind your back there's nothing you can do. Sometimes its not possible to prevent things from occurring - people will do what they want to do, and all you can do is pick up the pieces. If this happens in the future, try to at least identify the two players that started it (the aggressor and the retaliator) and look to take action against them at the very least - if a full mass confrontation occurs, you need to be seen to take some action for your credibility and match control. On this occasion, clearly that didn't end up mattering, because as soon as a spectator comes on, and a manager assaults you, your only option is to abandon. I've seen young refs not abandon when they should have done because of pressure put on them, so well done for sticking to your guns and making the right decision.

Hopefully your RDO will ring you and have a discussion about it as well, but hopefully your report was as detailed and water-tight as you can make it. Again, I really hope this hasn't put you off - not all games will be like this. As Fletch said, "don't let the b*****ds grind you down!"
Click to expand...

Hi,
Thanks for your response. I had signalled the defensive FK first, then ran over. Also- Yes. It was all of them- I couldn't quite believe it as well...
 
DB said:
James, I echo everything that Mr Forest says above.

This should never happen, but it does. Unfortunately it was on one of your games. I'm not going to go into the incident itself or dissect your post, instead I will take a different approach.

I'm yet to experience a mass-con as a referee. I've experienced two however in my last two games where I've been an assistant. You just have to do your best to find out who's at fault. In both mass cons, because it all happened so quickly. I used a pen to make notes on my hand. These helped me when I spoke to the referee to confirm what we saw. I find that helps me. You have now experienced one first hand, so you have to use that experience to your advantage. Yes it's not ideal, but you will now have a rough idea what to expect next time aswell as identifying what worked for you, and what didn't in that situation. You then use that experience the next time to better deal with the situation. There's not many positives that can come out of what you've said above, but it sounds like you handled it well.

What I think could of helped you is that you identified a foul but the player wth the ball managed to advance into the penalty area and score. What was you doing in between blowing the whistle and the goal being scored? As soon as you saw the push, you can prevent the reaction you received by preventing the team the opportunity to score a goal - A loud, prolonged burst of the whistle would have stopped the play (hopefully). It's better to deny a team an opportunity to score rather than deny them a goal.

The young manager came on the first time and shouted at you - he should have been dismissed at that point. Also, don't go over to the benches and explain your decisions. That will antagonise things and gives them an opportunity to have a go at you.

There's things here that you certainly should have done differently, as I've pointed out. But you are a very new referee and have no experience. This will all come with time. You are a better referee and more experienced today than you were yesterday so look at the positives.

My final question, with you qualifying only a few months ago, have you been observed or tutored/mentored in any of your games?

Please use this forum when you can to talk about your match incidents and to ask for guidance and advice.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your response- I have been tutored. But everything all happened at once, and was a bit of a shock. I will bear this info for next time. As you've said, next time i will be able to deal with this better
 
  • Like
Reactions: DB
CO. DOWN REF said:
Who the hell goes for a 14 year old or tries to intimidate them? Balls of steel.

Hopefully it'll not put you off but I am wondering why you were there without adult support - especially for such a key game?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply- made me chuckle a bit looking back on things. Our league only has 8 qualified referees, so as you can imagine we are streched quite thin. I will follow this up with my RDO and ask for support in future "high-stake" matches.
 
xPositor said:
Full support as everyone has said.

I have three comments - firstly, was this a county cup or a league cup game? If it was a league cup game, make sure your refsec knows and therefore the league committee know. The league cannot act as that is up to your CFA, but in my opinion it is better that they know the full facts and build a profile of teams / managers. The refsec can take it in to account on future match allocation, if need be.

Secondly, if can be beneficial, once you have made a decision and signalled, to get out of dodge. What I mean by that is to move on to where you need to be next once you have made a decision, as this prevents [players in particular] taking an opportunity to abuse you / argue with you. The same goes with a player that is injured. Here you checked on them, and called the manager on - now move away. Managers can be particularly vicious at times, blaming you the referee for the injury his player has received. Not a lot you can do if a manager decides to come on to the FOP to make their point known (other than dismissing them), but in general don't hang about.

Finally, don't get involved in trying to break up a mass con. Stop play (if necessary), Observe. Note. Action. Report. The last thing you want to happen is to end up being physically assaulted yourself, even if accidentally.

Well done for getting through it, and just think how much easier your next game is going to be!
Click to expand...
Thanks for your help. Will bear these points in mind for future reference.
 
Echo everything posted, from bitter experience;

Dont get involved in splitting players, managers up-step back, observe and write notes if you can. Accept the apologies of anyone willing to give them, but don't communicate any opinion as to who started it etc. Some chairman, secretaries and managers are canny and will look to confuse. You dont want your account and recollection called into question or contradicted by what you may or may not have said post incident.

You seem to have handled the incident in a way referee's twice your age struggle with, and certainly better than i did with my first mass confrontation and i am 47 years young.

As an FA mentor i would also add that when you reflect on the game think about the things that well well for you too. We spend a lot of time trying to iron out flaws and beat ourselves up about decisions without spending enough time looking at the positives, We are a circumspect bunch at the best of times!

Lastly, i do hope this hasnt put you off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top