The Ref Stop

adult game on BUT under 16s off?

A lot of divisions didn’t get finished. Some teams had six games left over and just forfeited them as they knew they were safe. One team stayed up on goal difference by forfeiting the last three games and taking 3-0 defeats, rather than playing three games in five days etc
makes it all somewhat farcical as does the midweek games kicking off 6pm that really are a lottery who is available and can actually field a team at that time
 
The Ref Stop
A lot of divisions didn’t get finished. Some teams had six games left over and just forfeited them as they knew they were safe. One team stayed up on goal difference by forfeiting the last three games and taking 3-0 defeats, rather than playing three games in five days etc
That isn't actually allowed, if a team forfeits a game (technically known as failing to maintain its engagement), the three points can be awarded but there can't be any goals allocated, effectively there are 0-0 wins. Taken from SCoR below ...

award the points from the Competition Match in question to the Club’s opponent (without the awarding of goals)

Not that it would have made any difference in the case in question.
 
Obviously if there's issues with a stand or trees about to topple over then I can understand calling a gane of for predicted 30mph winds. But this is not the case at most venues and the idea that a game should be postponed because of that is frankly ridiculous. If I'm refereeing on a local park pitch that doesn't have the prior mentioned issues then there's no way a game is postponed because it's a bit windy. There are many parts of Northern Europe (including the Channel Islands where I am) where you simply wouldn't play for months if 30mph wind was deemed unsafe. There really needs to be an inspection done at the individual venue, or at least consider the venue.

But there are far too many games called off these days for 'safety'. If something is unsafe then you must postpone without question. But what some deem unsafe now is parody. If the game on the pitch next door is going ahead with no safety issues then that says it all.

And before the cavalry come, I've called step 5 games off as we're walking out of the dressing rooms to kick off as a downpour has made a wet surface unplayable. I've postponed games for wind when part of a stand was concerning me (flying debris). But people must understand that 30mph wind is in no way unsafe at all. Only the effect on the surroundings should be considered there.
 
Obviously if there's issues with a stand or trees about to topple over then I can understand calling a gane of for predicted 30mph winds. But this is not the case at most venues and the idea that a game should be postponed because of that is frankly ridiculous. If I'm refereeing on a local park pitch that doesn't have the prior mentioned issues then there's no way a game is postponed because it's a bit windy. There are many parts of Northern Europe (including the Channel Islands where I am) where you simply wouldn't play for months if 30mph wind was deemed unsafe. There really needs to be an inspection done at the individual venue, or at least consider the venue.

But there are far too many games called off these days for 'safety'. If something is unsafe then you must postpone without question. But what some deem unsafe now is parody. If the game on the pitch next door is going ahead with no safety issues then that says it all.

And before the cavalry come, I've called step 5 games off as we're walking out of the dressing rooms to kick off as a downpour has made a wet surface unplayable. I've postponed games for wind when part of a stand was concerning me (flying debris). But people must understand that 30mph wind is in no way unsafe at all. Only the effect on the surroundings should be considered there.
30mph is more than enough to prevent the ball from staying still and getting a game called off.

But with the whole “pitch next door” thing, it’s very possible to have one playable and the other not. My allotment is in ankle deep water after that rain, my neighbours is 3 feet away and totally fine!
 
A 30mph calling a game off because the ball won’t stay still is ridiculous, especially if on a grass pitch, when at restarts the taking player just needs to make a little divot (unless the pitch is dry). Games are nearly always played in 40mph winds on a 3G pitch which brings challenges, but some pragmatism sorts that out relatively easily. I am taking about adult football as well as not safety concerns.
 
30mph is more than enough to prevent the ball from staying still and getting a game called off.

But with the whole “pitch next door” thing, it’s very possible to have one playable and the other not. My allotment is in ankle deep water after that rain, my neighbours is 3 feet away and totally fine!
This is possible but the game on the "pitch next door" wasn't called off for an unfit pitch. It was called off for "safety concerns" that didn't come to pass.

Don't confuse the issue to justify your argument.
 
Scenario. Assume Sunday League. Both sides want to play. No rain forecast. Rest of this pitch is OK. These are the only problematic areas. Council Pitch

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Game on for me.... Crack on lads or lasses
(Not talking Step 5/6 here as we wouldn't be making the journey)
 
Sunday league, council pitch, both teams want to play, then I agree, game on.

Saturday, clubs own private pitch, you'd be very unlikely to find a club that wanted to play and I'd support them in postponing.
 
Sunday league, council pitch, both teams want to play, then I agree, game on.

Saturday, clubs own private pitch, you'd be very unlikely to find a club that wanted to play and I'd support them in postponing.
Wow-am surprised the council didn’t call it off (not that I would want them to).
 
Scenario. Assume Sunday League. Both sides want to play. No rain forecast. Rest of this pitch is OK. These are the only problematic areas. Council Pitch

View attachment 7770

Game on for me.... Crack on lads or lasses
(Not talking Step 5/6 here as we wouldn't be making the journey)
The question I'd be asking myself is could this game become farcical in those conditions and could it become unsafe due to the condition of the pitch.

90 minutes of it getting trampled by 21 participants (me included) is going to turn that into an unplayable mess, not just for that day but for weeks to follow.

Sunday League or not (and I'd be treating it mentally the same as if it was Saturday afternoon in a Feeder League or it's lower divisions), I wouldn't be comfortable refereeing a game with standing water and what I can only describe as a "muddy mess" throughout the middle of the pitch as it's just going to turn into a farce.

Both teams might want to play, but I wouldn't think twice about saying "not today lads"
 
i think he is excluding the keepers.
I think if you're excluding the keepers because they won't be 'trampling all over' the pitch, and we're talking Sunday league, you also need to exclude the 2 x 22 stone blokes with hangovers that will hang around in the opposition penalty area, wait for the opposition defenders to bounce off them and tuck it in to the bottom corner.
 
Immediately after kick off two players challenged each other in a brutal manner, endangering the safety of their opponent so they were dismissed.
But now the players will be even angrier when you abandon 2 minutes in, not only because they want to play, but because if you'd just postponed pre-match they wouldn't have a player a piece with a ban and a hefty fine incoming, which will still stand. Poor decision making all round really...
 
Scenario. Assume Sunday League. Both sides want to play. No rain forecast. Rest of this pitch is OK. These are the only problematic areas. Council Pitch

View attachment 7770

Game on for me.... Crack on lads or lasses
(Not talking Step 5/6 here as we wouldn't be making the journey)
Reminds me of the pitches I used to watch the old man playing on. Can still vividly hear the sound of players running through sticky mud

Others might disagree but I am calling this off, regardless of it being a council or club pitch. That thing will be ruined after 45 minutes and will be unplayable for weeks, that's before considering the increased risk of injury or the game turning into a farce.

Might get called soft by the northern contingent of this forum, but these are the exact conditions I tore my meniscus when my foot planted and sunk but the rest of my body continued (that injury ended my semi serious football career).
 
exact conditions I tore my meniscus when my foot planted and sunk but the rest of my body continued
Try playing on 4G
10x the injury hazard (or rock hard summer ground for that matter). I can't stand either
I used to want winter appointments on 4G cos at least you get a game. But I dread getting a game on that surface now. Games tend to be rubbish. If i'm gonna pick up an injury, guaranteed it will be on that plastic stuff
 
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