A&H

School games

Jack M

Active Member
Level 6 Referee
Hi guys,

I am on work placement at a school in PE and they have asked me to referee a sixth form game on Wednesday.

I am more than happy to do so and I just wanted to check if there is a different way to approach this game or should I treat it the same as a normal Sunday game? I.e. Cards etc.

Thanks in advance guys!
 
The Referee Store
Treat as a normal game.

Depending on the schools involved, the level of the game (some 1st XI football is of a very high standard, some will be "social soccer") and depending on the competition (league, cup or friendly) you may get extra help from the sidelines e.g staff sub off a player who has been carded, or is getting "mouthy".

Enjoy it - through my school I ref a much higher standard of football than I otherwise might expect.
 
Normal game, On what basis would it be anything different?

Most players in the school team tend to play for a league team , you are there as the referee, so referee the game
 
Normal game, On what basis would it be anything different?

Most players in the school team tend to play for a league team , you are there as the referee, so referee the game

Different in the sense that should I use cards or should I expect the managers to remove troublesome player a la academy matches?
 
One of the busiest games i ever had was two U15 Church teams, they were friends apparently!! Multiple bookings, a fight, some nasty tackles, some retaliation tackles. I cloth-lined a CH about to punch someone.. happy days, i'd forgot that match!!!
Treat all games the same, you never know!!!
 
The LOTG , which as a referee, are your bible, already tell you when altercations can be made and to who.
School games, is not covered
 
As per, @Ciley Myrus is bang on. Have never understood this malarky about reffing games differently based on whether it's a school/academy/grassroots/XYZ league etc. Ref the game you see in front of you based on the LOTG and you can't go far wrong.
 
As per, @Ciley Myrus is bang on. Have never understood this malarky about reffing games differently based on whether it's a school/academy/grassroots/XYZ league etc. Ref the game you see in front of you based on the LOTG and you can't go far wrong.
On the face of it it makes sense but it becomes a bit of an oxymoron when the LOTG says you are meant 'relax' some laws for grassroots, youth etc and some other laws can be entirely changed.
 
If its a "competitive" game i.e. for a formal league or a cup of some sort, then you ref it as a normal game that you'd been appointed to.

If its some form of inter schools friendly, then i'd take a slightly different approach and speak to the teacher beforehand with your proposed approach (never ask them how they want you to ref it, always be assumptive) and would do it like this.

"Just want to confirm its x minutes each way and rolling subs. As its a friendly i'm planning to manage misconduct in the following way:

If a player is getting close to a yellow through persistence or ongoing dissent, i'll give you a chance to get hold of him before I take action. If its a yellow card tackle, then he's getting a yellow, likewise if theres VC or OFFINABUS i'm dealing with it, is that ok?

The only thing i'd be a bit more lenient on in a friendly would be would be a DOGSO tackle outside the area where I felt the player has made a genuine effort to play the ball, if however he's hacked the player down deliberately, then thats a different story.

With Under 18's and below football, I also tend to gauge whether the Captain is actually able to take any responsibility and help control the players, or whether the normal on the pitch communication with the captain would be better directed to the coach on the sideline.

I did an U16's game where after I'd cautioned one of the players, he was still diving into tackles, as I jogged past the coach, I said "if he carries on he's likely to force me into making a decision" to which the coaches response was "yep cheers Ref, its a lesson i'm willing to let him learn the hard way, so do what you need to do"
 
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