We've all had players who could have their own highlights package made up of events during a game, whether it's the number of times they have made a telling pass, scored a hat trick or found themselves coming to the attention of the referee more than once.
I saw one such player a few weeks ago and in the main, the referee dealt with him well, but when it came to a crucial decision he went for the easy option. So let's have a look at the player first of all ...
He was a centre forward and a skillful one at that. He moved with pace and purpose but he also had that annoying trait that such players often have in that he had a streak of arrogance which led him to taunt his opponents. Now for those who have been involved in football for a while, we will all have encountered what the exponents refer to as "banter" or "bantz" as it's sometimes called on other websites.
This is the ability to make a stinging one line comment that undermines the efforts or achievements of an opponent (or even a referee), usually accompanied by a smile but often annoys the recipient so they retaliate, either physically or verbally and it is often the retaliation that gets more attention. Sometimes it's a fairly low level jibe, such as "Have a shot next time" to a player who has just missed the goal by more than 10 yards or "I'll get that" when a misplaced pass goes out for a throw-in or goal kick. Nevertheless, it rankles and gets under the skin of the person to whom it is directed.
This player came to the referee's attention early in the game when he used his long legs to kick the ball off an opponent's forehead, narrowly avoiding making contact with his eyes and nose. The referee correctly identified and penalised dangerous play. His next incident was a long crossfield ball of the type I used to marvel at when I first went to watch Billy Bremner and the Leeds United team of the 1970s.
His contributions began to come more frequently, holding, a trip, being fouled and then his first telling contribution to his team's win, a well taken goal from long range with a shot that fizzed past the hapless goalkeeper (why are goalkeepers always hapless? Most of them are very good at what they do!).
The game became a little ragged, as did his performance, as the heavy ground took its toll on his pace and that of his opponents. Challenges became less well timed and the free kick count mounted up. The player scored a second goal from a header but then he was on the end of a couple of rough challenges from the player trying to mark him and eventually the opponent was cautioned.
Now for some players a caution is taken as it is meant, it's a warning to change their behaviour or they might suffer the indignity of a dismissal and all that comes from that. So it was with this player, he began to jockey our star rather than commit the sliding tackles he had made previously and was more careful when making aerial challenges. Cue our star's mouth beginning to be used as to taunt the opponent. Now the referee identified this and spoke to the player, issuing him with a stern warning.
Having had the riot act read to him, you might think the player would have taken the hint, but he didn't. Even though the game was entering the last 10 minutes, he still was letting his mouth get the better of him. However, when he was dispossessed, close to where his opponents manger and subsitutes were standing on the touchline and they made some comments about him being a superstar, he launched into a challenge that many referees would recognise as being an "orange" card.
In hindsight, it looked like the challenge for which Vincent Kompany was dismissed a couple of weeks ago, but from the side rather than head on to the opponent. The referee reacted calmly and cautioned the player, which I felt was a little generous but I didn't have his angle on the challenge and was considerably further away than he was. The player's reaction was to begin a verbal spat with an opponent after he was fouled a minute or two later. The referee used the captain to help him explain to the player that he needed to change his behaviour.
So this player has committed an act of dangerous play, scored a couple of goals, had at least two verbal exchanges with opponents and /or their manager, been cautioned and had a couple of chats with the referee with his captain involved. In other words a really busy day and it would probably fill his week at work, as he retold the tale of the game. He wasn't finished there however and this is where the referee just didn't take the final step.
In added time, with his team coasting to an easy victory, in a game which had been virtually one way traffic for all of the first half and much of the second, the player did something stupid and childish. As the ball was in the air, he ran alongside an opponent and as the ball dropped towards their position, he made a noise like a fire engine siren, a sort of a "woo-woo-ooo-wooo" noise.
Now the referee quite correctly identified this as an attempt to distract an opponent and by the letter of the law, he should have stopped the game, cautioned the offender and restarted with an indirect free kick to the non-offending team. This would have seen the player receive a second caution in the same game, which would have meant his being dismissed.
Unfortunately this referee didn't do all of those things. He stopped the game and gave the free kick, but he omitted to issue the caution, choosing instead to issue a strong word of warning to the player. As I said to him afterwards, the ball was probably going to go out for a throw-in, so he could have waited until that happened and then issued his warning, but having stopped the game, he was obliged to caution.
He told me he knew what he should have done but just didn't do it. The good news was that he had done so many other positive things in the game, that they negated much of the impact on his mark and overall it was a good performance. It could however have been a great performance but hopefully if you/he encounter a superstar in the future and he does something similar, you/he will go the full distance and take the necessary action OR manage the situation by waiting to the next break in play to issue a strong admonishment.
Keep smiling (it unnerves the players!).
Continue reading...
I saw one such player a few weeks ago and in the main, the referee dealt with him well, but when it came to a crucial decision he went for the easy option. So let's have a look at the player first of all ...
He was a centre forward and a skillful one at that. He moved with pace and purpose but he also had that annoying trait that such players often have in that he had a streak of arrogance which led him to taunt his opponents. Now for those who have been involved in football for a while, we will all have encountered what the exponents refer to as "banter" or "bantz" as it's sometimes called on other websites.
This is the ability to make a stinging one line comment that undermines the efforts or achievements of an opponent (or even a referee), usually accompanied by a smile but often annoys the recipient so they retaliate, either physically or verbally and it is often the retaliation that gets more attention. Sometimes it's a fairly low level jibe, such as "Have a shot next time" to a player who has just missed the goal by more than 10 yards or "I'll get that" when a misplaced pass goes out for a throw-in or goal kick. Nevertheless, it rankles and gets under the skin of the person to whom it is directed.
This player came to the referee's attention early in the game when he used his long legs to kick the ball off an opponent's forehead, narrowly avoiding making contact with his eyes and nose. The referee correctly identified and penalised dangerous play. His next incident was a long crossfield ball of the type I used to marvel at when I first went to watch Billy Bremner and the Leeds United team of the 1970s.
His contributions began to come more frequently, holding, a trip, being fouled and then his first telling contribution to his team's win, a well taken goal from long range with a shot that fizzed past the hapless goalkeeper (why are goalkeepers always hapless? Most of them are very good at what they do!).
The game became a little ragged, as did his performance, as the heavy ground took its toll on his pace and that of his opponents. Challenges became less well timed and the free kick count mounted up. The player scored a second goal from a header but then he was on the end of a couple of rough challenges from the player trying to mark him and eventually the opponent was cautioned.
Now for some players a caution is taken as it is meant, it's a warning to change their behaviour or they might suffer the indignity of a dismissal and all that comes from that. So it was with this player, he began to jockey our star rather than commit the sliding tackles he had made previously and was more careful when making aerial challenges. Cue our star's mouth beginning to be used as to taunt the opponent. Now the referee identified this and spoke to the player, issuing him with a stern warning.
Having had the riot act read to him, you might think the player would have taken the hint, but he didn't. Even though the game was entering the last 10 minutes, he still was letting his mouth get the better of him. However, when he was dispossessed, close to where his opponents manger and subsitutes were standing on the touchline and they made some comments about him being a superstar, he launched into a challenge that many referees would recognise as being an "orange" card.
In hindsight, it looked like the challenge for which Vincent Kompany was dismissed a couple of weeks ago, but from the side rather than head on to the opponent. The referee reacted calmly and cautioned the player, which I felt was a little generous but I didn't have his angle on the challenge and was considerably further away than he was. The player's reaction was to begin a verbal spat with an opponent after he was fouled a minute or two later. The referee used the captain to help him explain to the player that he needed to change his behaviour.
So this player has committed an act of dangerous play, scored a couple of goals, had at least two verbal exchanges with opponents and /or their manager, been cautioned and had a couple of chats with the referee with his captain involved. In other words a really busy day and it would probably fill his week at work, as he retold the tale of the game. He wasn't finished there however and this is where the referee just didn't take the final step.
In added time, with his team coasting to an easy victory, in a game which had been virtually one way traffic for all of the first half and much of the second, the player did something stupid and childish. As the ball was in the air, he ran alongside an opponent and as the ball dropped towards their position, he made a noise like a fire engine siren, a sort of a "woo-woo-ooo-wooo" noise.
Now the referee quite correctly identified this as an attempt to distract an opponent and by the letter of the law, he should have stopped the game, cautioned the offender and restarted with an indirect free kick to the non-offending team. This would have seen the player receive a second caution in the same game, which would have meant his being dismissed.
Unfortunately this referee didn't do all of those things. He stopped the game and gave the free kick, but he omitted to issue the caution, choosing instead to issue a strong word of warning to the player. As I said to him afterwards, the ball was probably going to go out for a throw-in, so he could have waited until that happened and then issued his warning, but having stopped the game, he was obliged to caution.
He told me he knew what he should have done but just didn't do it. The good news was that he had done so many other positive things in the game, that they negated much of the impact on his mark and overall it was a good performance. It could however have been a great performance but hopefully if you/he encounter a superstar in the future and he does something similar, you/he will go the full distance and take the necessary action OR manage the situation by waiting to the next break in play to issue a strong admonishment.
Keep smiling (it unnerves the players!).
Continue reading...
