A&H

Too many cautions

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Lefelee

New Member
This season has overall been a very good one for me, but one thing that bothers both me and the RDO is the number of cards I've been dishing out. In 20 games I ended up showing 87 yellows and 11 reds. Feedback from assessors have for the most part been positive, and the consistent, no-nonsense approach I've taken gives me good match control and acceptance from players. However, some assessors have said that some cautions have been exaggerated, avoidable or outright wrong.

On those occasions where I have gone into the match trying to be more preventive and cautious with my cautioning, I often miss cautions. When I do this I overcompensate, either later on in the game or in later games, showing an unnecessary caution out of fear of missing a caution, usually in "borderline" situations where a card is not needed. My overzealous carding is often reinforced when I assist in, watch or read reports from games refereed by less "card-happy" referees, and quite often they lack at least one or two cautions, according to assessors.

I am afraid that my further development will be in jeopardy if I don't get my card average down to at least under 3 cautions per game, ideally even lower. What can I do to help me reach this goal?
 
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I would never aim to give a certain amount of cards a game, you give what the game warrants.

Actively going into games thinking that you'd best not card someone just to keep your card average down will not aid your development at all as you'll end up second guessing yourself for every decision rather than making a decision on the merits of the challenge (or dissent).

Perhaps try watching a few other local games, see how other refs deal with fouls challenges and dissent in their games and see if you can take any hints / tips into your games.
 
as @es1 has said, its a hard point that you've come across ... you can't 'deal' with cards ... surely, you're carding something that you feel, at the time, warrants a card - which is hard to take out of your game.

alternatively, I have the issue of not carding enough - more than once a game do I sit there after and think 'I should have sent off' or 'I should have booked him' ... although since assisting more and 'watching' a higher level referee control games has made me more confident and ware of cautioning etc.
 
What league(s) are you doing? That might make a difference.

I've just gone through and totted up, I had 21 middles in the last promotion year and gave 49 cautions and 4 dismissals (2 in one game, a DOGSO and two yellows; 1 OFFINABUS; and another DOGSO). I don't recall seeing a tackle that warranted a Red, no punches were thrown in my games etc.
For the cautions: 7 once; 5 once; 4 once; 3 5times; 2 8 times; 1 twice and none 3 times.
 
I've mainly been doing competitive open age games at county level, as well as some of the more challenging U19s available at county level. In these 20 games I've had the following card counts:

1st game: 4 cautions
2nd game: 2 cautions (here I missed at least 2-3, including a 2nd caution)
3rd game: 7 cautions and 1 red (straight)
4th game: 8 cautions and 2 reds (1 straight, 1 for 2 cautions, my best assessment of the season, I got an 82)
5th game: 5 cautions
6th game: 5 cautions and 1 red (2 cautions)
7th game: 3 cautions (in my opinion the best performance of the season, excellent preventive and communicative refereeing, no cautions missed)
8th game: 6 cautions and 1 red (straight)
9th game: 6 cautions
10th game: 3 cautions
11th game: 3 cautions and 1 red (2 cautions)
12th game: 1 caution (wtf? :p)
13th game: 4 cautions
14th game: 4 cautions and 1 red (straight)
15th game: 5 cautions
16th game: 4 cautions and 1 red (2 cautions)
17th game: 8 cautions and 3 reds (2x straight, 1x 2 cautions)
18th game: 3 cautions
19th game: 4 cautions
20th game: 2 cautions

If you take into consideration the reds for 2 cautions, which I don't count into the caution count, you can add 10 cautions to the mix.
 
I might be something as simple as closing games down with lots of FKs given when the temperature is getting hotter
 
@Lefelee - To consider how to help, think of the following:

1. Is there any type of regular cautions - dissent, reckless challenges, Persistent infringement. These may give you a view on how to deal with better. For PI, a harder stepped approach, involving the Capt and more public b0ll0ckings may help. Dissent - get the first in early and that they stop him. Look at why you are cautioning to see if there is a development area.

2. Secondly, consider the time of the game of your cautions. Do you caution early and have to caution all thereafter to maintain consistency? Do you caution later after the problems have started, so need to do them all? If the former, could you let the game see how it develops and use a stepped approach. If the latter, then an earlier caution may contain it.

You are still a young lad, so your people management skills may be less well developed that other referees so your first management tool is to caution. Ask somebody to watch you from a man management point of view. Is your body language confident and positive, or do you have a style that players think that they can talk to you poorly.

At your level, don't worry about missing a caution you are not paid by results. Experience will help the management of game. Do you do any lines for supply league? If so, the L4's may be able to provide advice or watching them practical assistance to improve your game management.

In the end, It may be that the FA and leagues see you as their b&stard, so give you all the games that require cautions. It could be seen as you getting all the hard matches.
 
Same as Charlie, I have the exact opposite problem - I think about 1 in 4 matches I do end with zero cautions, I've definitely finished games second guessing cautions I didn't give and for the first time last weekend, an assessor criticized me for missing a clear caution: it was a proper "got the ball but too forceful" tackle and by the time I'd calmed down the melee (one side angry it was a foul at all, the other furious about the force of the tackle), I'd second guessed myself enough not to give it.

I almost never get my cards out for a single bad tackle - far more common that they come out for dissent, or for a foul shortly after I've warned them.
 
The count isn't important

It would be better to give an idea of what the majority are for.

An average of 4 a game isn't necessarily far too high but if you find that 80% are for dissent or 80% are for reckless challenges, you may find focusing on those cautions is best rather than the total number
 
The number of cards does not matter, as long as you have given the decision correctly. I've given 1 red (which I was told after was wrong) and 4 yellows and they were all in one game (U18s). Like others have said, the timing is important. I don't know if you have seen this video before but is quite helpful.
 
Will Triffitt said:
The number of cards does not matter, as long as you have given the decision correctly. I've given 1 red (which I was told after was wrong) and 4 yellows and they were all in one game (U18s). Like others have said, the timing is important. I don't know if you have seen this video before but is quite helpful.
Click to expand...

Over how many games?
 
If that video I attached does not work (is not showing on my computer) type into youtube 'Howard Webb on when to book players' - BT Sport
 
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