Player Behaviour Initiatives

[RefereeX]

I do agree about the signal.

I haven't used captains only protocol as such. Because there's no way for people to know before the get to me, by which time I just then tell them to go away, as opposed to saying 'captains only'... it does the same job. But using a widely known signal before players get to me would make the whole thing look smoother. But for it to work, it would need to be implemented everywhere so that all players know what the signal means.

 

[Big Cat]

I was around before Sin Bins. The C2 caution was equally effective with a lower tariff for the referee. Hence they were issued more frequently
I've used the Sin Bin 46 times, so not like I ain't got plenty of experience with it. It's just not for me, same as it isn't for Contrib or professional football. It hasn't made any difference to player behaviour in my experience. Only behaviour seen on TV would influence that... and I haven't seen much difference in that respect.

Anyway, C4s are still being used by PGMO with some necessary redressing of applying a bit of common sense. Player/participant behaviour is slipping though. Not sure it ever improved. Also, not sure any of them ever care about the yellow cards as the high bar for a second yellow has gotten higher
'Captain's only' is a waste of time. Sort of goes against my personal willingness to talk to any player. Surrounding/crowding is rarely reported AFAIK

Something else to consider... Rightly or wrongly, for me anyway as a Level 4, the majority of sanctionable dissent, is the triggered by poor refereeing. I'm not condoning that fact, but it's true most of the time. Not always, there's occasions when it's entirely on the players

A bit of dissent gets you promoted, no dissent gets you nowhere, too much gets you reclassified, so I don't mind it, to an extent

 

[JamesL]

Maybe this is an "your experience may vary" but I have found sin bins to have significantly improved behaviour overall.
Yes there's still moments where players cross the line and they are put in the bin (or not depending on the referee).
I sometimes pickup games that do have sin bins so I have some direct comparison and, whilst it stretches way beyond just the fact that sin bins are in play, the behaviours I encounter at step 7 football and below are significantly better overall than that I encounter at step 3/4.
Then sin bin I believe has contributed greatly to that.

 

[Russell Jones]

Maybe this is an "your experience may vary" but I have found sin bins to have significantly improved behaviour overall.
Yes there's still moments where players cross the line and they are put in the bin (or not depending on the referee).
I sometimes pickup games that do have sin bins so I have some direct comparison and, whilst it stretches way beyond just the fact that sin bins are in play, the behaviours I encounter at step 7 football and below are significantly better overall than that I encounter at step 3/4.
Then sin bin I believe has contributed greatly to that.

My experiences are similar to yours James. I firmly believe that officials from the very top to the very bottom of our game have now been offered suitable and appropriate tools to keep Player Behaviour in check. Whilst the use of all of them is (like most of refereeing) an acquired skill, the benefits when used properly are clear to see.

Worth also considering that, for me, 80% of the benefit of sin bins comes from their use as a deterrent (as part of a Stepped Approach). As with many newer initiatives (GK 8 second count, time off pitch after treatment, incoming counts for Goal Kicks, Throw Ins etc) the win comes not so much from the penalisation of the poor behaviour but from the threat of penalisation.

 

[one]

In my experience most misbehaving teams start the game pretty much the same way as pre sin bin times. I mean not the exact same team, but the type of teams.
What I have found different is using the bin once or sometimes a second time curbs the bad behaviour to a much bigger effect than a standard C2 (Y2 for us) used to.