U13 low level match that I was doing as a favour.
Player instinctively used his hand to stop the ball going in. Instantly grabs his head.
I call him over about to issue the red card and I get a shout from the oppo manager saying, please don’t. It’s not what we want. Defenders manager says it’s a red card and he respects whatever decision is made.
I know this is wrong in law, but while it was a competitive match, the opposing manager was adamant that they know it’s a red card, but don’t want it at this level.
What should I have done? Red or yellow?
Regardless, I was impressed with sportsmanship from managers.
Ps. They scored the penalty to equalise.
Player instinctively used his hand to stop the ball going in. Instantly grabs his head.
I call him over about to issue the red card and I get a shout from the oppo manager saying, please don’t. It’s not what we want. Defenders manager says it’s a red card and he respects whatever decision is made.
I know this is wrong in law, but while it was a competitive match, the opposing manager was adamant that they know it’s a red card, but don’t want it at this level.
What should I have done? Red or yellow?
Regardless, I was impressed with sportsmanship from managers.
Ps. They scored the penalty to equalise.


