The Ref Stop

Question on Club assistant

Gio

Gio

New Member
Level 7 Referee
Firstly hi everyone !

Thought it was about time I joined in - this place has been a blessing as I have begun my Refereeing journey.

Am going for my 7-6 promotion and had game 1 today. All went well (from my point of view atleast)

Was an U16 girls game today. Away manager told me his son would be assistant ref today (and is most weeks) . He's 13.

We cracked on and he did flagged 3 offsides (potential one on one's) each was tight but went with him whilst having a sneaky feeling that one was probably on . Finally as he put his flag up a 4th time the home manager shouted "can't we have an adult , it shouldn't be a kid" afew words exchanged with oppo manager , nothing too heated.

As I blew for HT I approached manager and calmly (and subtly) told him that each decision was tight and I had no reason to think he was wrong on decisions. I explained I would put myself into a position where I would override a decision in the 2nd half if I was certain it was onside.

Anyway, no further issues 2nd half. Final whistle home manager told me again he didn't think a child (especially son of manager who also runs league) should be officiating. I told him I wasn't aware of any rules regarding age but he could always question it to the correct people.

Wondered if there was a set age for club assistants ? Cheers guys
 
The Ref Stop
Gio said:
Firstly hi everyone !

Thought it was about time I joined in - this place has been a blessing as I have begun my Refereeing journey.

Am going for my 7-6 promotion and had game 1 today. All went well (from my point of view atleast)

Was an U16 girls game today. Away manager told me his son would be assistant ref today (and is most weeks) . He's 13.

We cracked on and he did flagged 3 offsides (potential one on one's) each was tight but went with him whilst having a sneaky feeling that one was probably on . Finally as he put his flag up a 4th time the home manager shouted "can't we have an adult , it shouldn't be a kid" afew words exchanged with oppo manager , nothing too heated.

As I blew for HT I approached manager and calmly (and subtly) told him that each decision was tight and I had no reason to think he was wrong on decisions. I explained I would put myself into a position where I would override a decision in the 2nd half if I was certain it was onside.

Anyway, no further issues 2nd half. Final whistle home manager told me again he didn't think a child (especially son of manager who also runs league) should be officiating. I told him I wasn't aware of any rules regarding age but he could always question it to the correct people.

Wondered if there was a set age for club assistants ? Cheers guys
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Club assistants should be 18+.
 
I’ve had youth players be club assistants on adult games (like 16-18 years old) but I’d be wary about a 13 year old because 1. He cannot qualify until 14 and there’s a reason for that but 2. He’s running the line for 15 year olds
 
OnlyUseMeWhistle said:
I’ve had youth players be club assistants on adult games (like 16-18 years old) but I’d be wary about a 13 year old because 1. He cannot qualify until 14 and there’s a reason for that but 2. He’s running the line for 15 year olds
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Yeah fair points - who would you say I should pass this on to?
 
Gio said:
Yeah fair points - who would you say I should pass this on to?
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To be honest I’d just let the club know that it’s not supposed to happen and you made a mistake allowing it and that future refs probably now allow it. To be honest they’ve probably been doing it a while though so you’re a victim of “last weeks ref” letting it go. A live and learn moment.
 
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Referee regulations state:

Referees under the age of 16 are only eligible to officiate in competitions where the players’
age band is at least one year younger than the age of the Referee. e.g. a 15 year old referee
may only referee in competitions where the age banding is 14 or younger. This also applies
to those mentioned in regulation 1(a) regarding unregistered and or unqualified Referees.
(c) Referees under the age of 16 must not participate either as a Referee or Assistant Referee
in any open age competition. This also applies to those mentioned in regulation 1(a)
regarding unregistered and/or unqualified Referees.

So basically a 13yo should not be club assisting at all, but certainly not at u16
 
JamesL said:
Referee regulations state:

Referees under the age of 16 are only eligible to officiate in competitions where the players’
age band is at least one year younger than the age of the Referee. e.g. a 15 year old referee
may only referee in competitions where the age banding is 14 or younger. This also applies
to those mentioned in regulation 1(a) regarding unregistered and or unqualified Referees.
(c) Referees under the age of 16 must not participate either as a Referee or Assistant Referee
in any open age competition. This also applies to those mentioned in regulation 1(a)
regarding unregistered and/or unqualified Referees.

So basically a 13yo should not be club assisting at all, but certainly not at u16
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Ah that's nice and clear , thank you.

Still not certain whether it should come from me or someone in a higher position than myself to put in an email or something.

Either way - cheers
 
Gio said:
Ah that's nice and clear , thank you.

Still not certain whether it should come from me or someone in a higher position than myself to put in an email or something.

Either way - cheers
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Let whoever appointed you to the game know, and it is probably sensible to also let your RDO know. It is arguably a child protection issue, not so much on you but rather on the club for allowing a 13 year old to do it, so best to make sure you have reported it should anything come from it at a later date.
 
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RustyRef said:
Let whoever appointed you to the game know, and it is probably sensible to also let your RDO know. It is arguably a child protection issue, not so much on you but rather on the club for allowing a 13 year old to do it, so best to make sure you have reported it should anything come from it at a later date.
Click to expand...

Thanks - will do
 
southernerinthenorthstill said:
Question on this if a qualified ref was 15 and at a younger siblings game can you use them. without knowing the rule I would be inclined to if I knew they were a qualified ref rather than use a unqualified parent or coach or is there some absurd reason that I couldn’t.
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I would, no different to subs running the line. I was doing an u13 game and there was a 13 yr old who was thinking about becoming a ref when he turned 14 so I allowed him to run the line so he could get a feel for it.
 
Its a child protection issue, subs cannot run the line if they are under 16, it should be a parent or other adult. In the unlikely event that anything happens to them there would likely be ramifications for those who sanctioned it. It is similar to allowing children to sit in the technical areas, I remember a few years ago a child was injured whilst sitting in the TA at a semi-pro game. The referee and the club involved both received charges as the child just should not have been there.
 
RustyRef said:
Its a child protection issue, subs cannot run the line if they are under 16, it should be a parent or other adult. In the unlikely event that anything happens to them there would likely be ramifications for those who sanctioned it. It is similar to allowing children to sit in the technical areas, I remember a few years ago a child was injured whilst sitting in the TA at a semi-pro game. The referee and the club involved both received charges as the child just should not have been there.
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But a 15 year old can be given permission to play so how does that work.
 
Also SCOR (Y) rules state that a under 14 must not participate as a referee or assistant in any match.
 
for my u12 team I do sometimes get one of the lads brother to run the line. 14 year old. I have never had an issue from opposition manager and the referees are fine with it. As long as they are doing it honestly I have no problem
 
southernerinthenorthstill said:
But a 15 year old can be given permission to play so how does that work.
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Because the regulations for playing and refereeing are different. Where a 15 year old is given permission to play open age football it is in a very controlled environment at professional clubs, not them refereeing or running the line at grass roots.

15 year olds can deliver newspapers before school, doesn't mean they can work full time for the media companies printing them.
 
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