After only refereeing Youth games last year, took the plunge and decided to referee Sunday mens this season.
Well that was an experience
If I'm being completely honest, I found this game to be quite challenging—not necessarily because of the refereeing itself (though I don’t think I was great), but due to the constant complaining and nagging from the players, nothing that fell into the dissent category, but just constant questioning and "woe is me" attitude.
I found myself second-guessing my decisions, especially when players went down under pressure from behind or when contesting a high ball. To me, those were fouls every time, even if they seemed "soft" or the player was "looking for it." In my view, a foul is a foul, regardless of how easily the player goes down. I don't feel deceived just because someone hits the ground; as long as there’s sufficient contact/clumsiness, that’s enough for me to make the call. I fully understand that players, especially around the penalty area, are more likely to go down easily, but if a defender challenges for the ball and fails to win it, that’s sufficient grounds for a free kick in my book. Ironically, after calling 6 or 7 of these "soft fouls," both teams seemed to adjust and realise that I was consistently giving them.
One incident that stood out involved a free kick I awarded to the defending team. The defender won the ball with a header, but the attacker leaned into him, sending the defender to the ground. When I called the foul, the attacker complained, saying, "It's shoulder to shoulder." In my opinion, the attacker wasn’t making a legitimate play for the ball—he was just leaning in to disrupt the defender’s ability to head it.
Here are some self-reflections from the game:
Well that was an experience
If I'm being completely honest, I found this game to be quite challenging—not necessarily because of the refereeing itself (though I don’t think I was great), but due to the constant complaining and nagging from the players, nothing that fell into the dissent category, but just constant questioning and "woe is me" attitude.
I found myself second-guessing my decisions, especially when players went down under pressure from behind or when contesting a high ball. To me, those were fouls every time, even if they seemed "soft" or the player was "looking for it." In my view, a foul is a foul, regardless of how easily the player goes down. I don't feel deceived just because someone hits the ground; as long as there’s sufficient contact/clumsiness, that’s enough for me to make the call. I fully understand that players, especially around the penalty area, are more likely to go down easily, but if a defender challenges for the ball and fails to win it, that’s sufficient grounds for a free kick in my book. Ironically, after calling 6 or 7 of these "soft fouls," both teams seemed to adjust and realise that I was consistently giving them.
One incident that stood out involved a free kick I awarded to the defending team. The defender won the ball with a header, but the attacker leaned into him, sending the defender to the ground. When I called the foul, the attacker complained, saying, "It's shoulder to shoulder." In my opinion, the attacker wasn’t making a legitimate play for the ball—he was just leaning in to disrupt the defender’s ability to head it.
Here are some self-reflections from the game:
- It definitely didn’t feel like my best performance in the center, I definitely made some errors, but I feel I kept control of the game.
- I’m not sure if my tolerance for fouls—particularly challenges from behind and hands in the back during headers—is too low, or if the players were just whining. (I'd rather be whistle happy, than allow the game to descend into madness).
- With about 15 minutes left, the pace of the game slowed down significantly, and so did my movement. (4.80 miles - nothing to compare it with though.)
- Next time, I might bring earplugs—it felt like I was babysitting toddlers for 90 minutes.