The Ref Stop

Coaches not knowing the LOTG

One of the things what is getting on my nerves when im reffing youth football is coaches/spectators calling me out over wrong decisions. Ok I may have called an offside wrong or given a throw to the wrong team etc.. but when both sets of players are accepting the decision ( the players are the most important) then just let me crack on refereeing the game and let them crack on playing.
 
The Ref Stop
I've picked many a referee up for shouting got the ball or even worse pointing at the ball after a tackle. You are setting yourself up for a fall as if a player them commits an SFP challenge whilst playing the ball they will invariably remember your previous actions, plus it is perpetuating the myth that any tackle is fine if it wins the ball, which stopped being the case many, many years ago.
 
plus it is perpetuating the myth that any tackle is fine if it wins the ball, which stopped being the case many, many years ago.

Hmm. I was right there with you until the last comment--I don't think it was ever true. It is true that there used to be language about being a foul to fail to get to the ball first, but (as @Peter Grove alluded to above), that never meant that other fouls could not apply even if the player got the ball first. (That said, it is probably true that the myth used to be closer to being true, but I don't think it was ever true.)
 
Part of the challenge is that for referees that are not on a promotion path or on something like County CORE, there is little to no development for the “unambitious” referee. There are many refs out there that last picked up a copy of the LOTG many years ago and are happy to bumble around in the middle of games for a bit of pocket money for as little stress and aggro as possible. That means that they aren’t going to enforce the LOTG in any way as closely as someone who is on that promotion path. The county FA’s don’t have the resources to police these refs, nor is there a glut of referees in waiting to taken over from them even if they did deem them to be not fit for purpose.

I am 100% unambitous but I am also 100% dedicated to refereeing grassroots football to the best of my ability and I apply the LOTG to the best of my knowledge. I just think that is the minimum expectation for anybody who is a ref and who is taking a match fee at the end.
 
Common issue this, Big Dave clears the opponent striker out with the kitchen sink gets applauded by his manager, The last thing he’s expecting is a FK or even a card. We’ve all heard the i got the ball stuff, you’ve actually got to turn your ex-player head off and go into ref mode...
 
I think a lot of it is because they pick up the law as they go along, and then it gets muddled with the mix of referees applying the laws differently.

For example; The new handball law this season had a lot of interesting issues at the start of the season. One team argued with me that any contact with the hand was thus a handling offence. So, I can only guess they got a referee that thought 'sod it' and indeed, penalised every incident of ball to hand.

It's just one of those things. I do appreciate the coaches that attend the county's LOTG seminars though. Not many do, but even so, the ones that do are at least making an effort.
the way some referees implemented the hand ball when the law changed i am not surprised they got confused, oh boy
 
I am 100% unambitous but I am also 100% dedicated to refereeing grassroots football to the best of my ability and I apply the LOTG to the best of my knowledge. I just think that is the minimum expectation for anybody who is a ref and who is taking a match fee at the end.
It should be, but it isn't.

It's not even older referees, I've seen load and loads of referees who pick and choose what laws to apply or how they apply them. Sometimes because "it's only grassroots so I don't need to enforce xyz" other times it is simply for an easy life, i.e. decided not to give a nailed on caution so that he didn't get grief from the team.

That's without getting into referees who give every decision from the centre circle.
 
the way some referees implemented the hand ball when the law changed i am not surprised they got confused, oh boy

Yeah that's been an ongoing problem when I get assigned to the lower levels of grassroots, but is still an issue for me ocassionally at the top divisions as well.

I already made a topic about drop ball, that one is proving really annoying atm.

That's without getting into referees who give every decision from the centre circle.

Funny thing, I watched two games last season where there was a centre circle referee and both times they got no grief at all. Flip it to a match where the referee is running about and all of a sudden everyone's jumping on his back. Just wonder if the players just have lower expectations when they know they have a centre circle ref, or whether the CC refs have the gift of the gab?
 
Funny thing, I watched two games last season where there was a centre circle referee and both times they got no grief at all. Flip it to a match where the referee is running about and all of a sudden everyone's jumping on his back. Just wonder if the players just have lower expectations when they know they have a centre circle ref, or whether the CC refs have the gift of the gab?

I thinks it's probably a combination of things.

Mainly I recon it's easier to have a go at the ref when he's close to play, where as if he's in the center circle players are less likely to run 25/30 yards to have a go, perhaps the distance also puts them off giving too many controversial penalties etc.
 
Towards the end of my playing days, I dropped into low level amateur football. Quite alot of older guys who were centre circle refs. They're vital to the continuation of these league's. Alot of these refs weren't capable of getting around the FOP, but it's far better to have them than no ref at all.

Must get cold though!
 
I get "but I won the ball", "that's a handball!! “ every game without fail.

I also had one club lino tell me at the end of one game "oh, by the way, you don't show a yellow card for a sinbin", and before I could answer the manager came up to me, thanked me, and then turned to the club assistant and said "yes you do" 😂😂
 
Had a fun one yesterday...

Red player head injury, whites in possession. Stop play etc...restart with a drop ball.

Reds want to kick it back to whites, explain that whites get possession not reds. White defender kicks the ball back to his own keeper who picks it up! Typically reds score from the free kick.

Why do players not know basic law changes? Baffles me. If I were a manager I'd make sure my players knew everything at the start of the season.
 
Had a fun one yesterday...

Red player head injury, whites in possession. Stop play etc...restart with a drop ball.

Reds want to kick it back to whites, explain that whites get possession not reds. White defender kicks the ball back to his own keeper who picks it up! Typically reds score from the free kick.

Why do players not know basic law changes? Baffles me. If I were a manager I'd make sure my players knew everything at the start of the season.
good luck with that one
 
White players, thankfully, just blamed their keeper. Even after I'd sent off and sin binned 2 if their players!

I was hoping red would either, given the ball back from the initial IDFK or let them score from restart, alas not.

Observer suggested I tell the keeper he couldn't pick it up, but no one expected him to pick up an obvious pass from a teammate!
 
White players, thankfully, just blamed their keeper. Even after I'd sent off and sin binned 2 if their players!

I was hoping red would either, given the ball back from the initial IDFK or let them score from restart, alas not.

Observer suggested I tell the keeper he couldn't pick it up, but no one expected him to pick up an obvious pass from a teammate!

Not good advice from your observer. We've discussed this on here before. If anyone asks if the keeper can pick it up I will shout out yes or no. I do look to the keeper and give a thumbs up or shake of the head but I don't shout instructions unprompted. We're referees not coaches.
 
White players, thankfully, just blamed their keeper. Even after I'd sent off and sin binned 2 if their players!

I was hoping red would either, given the ball back from the initial IDFK or let them score from restart, alas not.

Observer suggested I tell the keeper he couldn't pick it up, but no one expected him to pick up an obvious pass from a teammate!
Out of interest, what was said so that you sin binned and sent off?

I was yc for reckless today when the player said that's fecking rubbish I got the ball, that's ****e, introduced hand movement. So added a sin bin which turned into a red when he shouted you're a fecking ****. He then squared up to me after the game shouting ****e ref, you're a fecking ***** and when he was pulled off by his teammates, added he can't do anything after the game's finished - I want to punch his fecking face. First time in 25 years I've been abused in this way and ended up leaving without payment.
 
Out of interest, what was said so that you sin binned and sent off?

I was yc for reckless today when the player said that's fecking rubbish I got the ball, that's ****e, introduced hand movement. So added a sin bin which turned into a red when he shouted you're a fecking ****. He then squared up to me after the game shouting ****e ref, you're a fecking ***** and when he was pulled off by his teammates, added he can't do anything after the game's finished - I want to punch his fecking face. First time in 25 years I've been abused in this way and ended up leaving without payment.

After the goal was scored from the free kick that led to the dogso red, player called me a *****.
 
Back
Top