The Ref Stop

North York Sports League [Canada]

T

The Ginger Ref

Well-Known Member
Level 7 Referee
I saw this ref a few times on TikTok and I thought it was some kinda joke, only to stumble across a whole YouTube account of videos.

North York Sports League YouTube

Normally, I’m the first to defend a fellow referee or at least understand why they do the things they do, but without intending to offend our transatlantic friends, this guy is an embarrassment to the refereeing profession.

Now, I’m not suggesting there aren’t bad officials in England—many of the players I refereed on Sunday would say I’m one of them. The key difference, though, is that most referees aim to avoid the spotlight, whereas this guy seems to actively seek it, to the point of having a YouTube channel that showcases his incompetence. I’m not really sure what purpose his videos serve, other than to highlight his shortcomings.
  • Centre circle merchant (and often seems out of breath despite lack of distance travelled)
  • Loves the sound of his own voice whilst ironically clamping down on dissent
  • Engages with players in a manner that’s not just unprofessional but downright offensive, including belittling players with lines like, “If you had talent, I’d listen, but you don’t, so shut it. You talk for the world and now you're the victim!”
  • Decides kick off with “Guess which hand my whistle is in.”
  • Constantly threatens cards and uses phrases like "I don't need to talk to you, I have cards"
  • Flashes cards unnecessarily, if you are in his general vicinity you are at risk of getting booked.
  • Not carrying out any name / number taking procedure, which resulted in the same player getting booked twice and failed to dismiss.
  • Makes confusing calls like, "There’s no minimum distance... but he has to be 5 yards away."
  • Makes incorrect calls
Unsurprisingly, his approach just antagonises the players and has no positive impact on match control. The league he referees on (https://northyorksportsleague.ca/) is described as 'Sunday league but with a professional touch', so we can assume he is a qualified referee and is most likely paid for his services.

I should note, I’m not familiar with what’s acceptable in officiating in Canada. Maybe this style is encouraged there, as MLB umpires, for example, tend to be very extroverted in their decision-making. However, in my opinion, he embodies everything a referee shouldn’t be.
 
The Ref Stop
Someone takes a throw-in from the rong place, he cautions them and then let's them take it again

7m45
 
Must say, he has good communication skills and that's probably why they have him "mic'd up". That skill helps him sell a lot of wrong decisions. And that is the biggest problem with LWR syndrome. The ref the following week making the right decision but can't sell as well is going to have problems.
 
The clear reckless foul at 3.05 has to be a caution, but despite flashing cards for everything else misses this 😂
 
On one of the videos, he calls someone over. The guy says words meaning "I don't want to be near you, as you will book me for content". Then he books him 😭 😭 😭

Also one of the shorts two players are about to fit, and our champion ref is physically pushing one of them in the chest two handed.

What level is this guy? Like what does his USA level map across to this side of the pond.
 
Seen this guy plenty on Insta.
His decision making isn't terrible but in the UK he would probably have 5 red cards a match the way he speaks to players.

Tbf though I'd take him over the old school refs that let aggressive teams kick the sh** out of the opposition and don't issue one caution.
 
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I like his enthusiasm. But he seems untrained. I’ve seen a lot of the clips and most have a crazy mix of something really good with something really bad. He referees like he has not worked with better referees or has not learnt more and better skills and tools.
 
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