Cautions
- Thread starter Jaylen
- Start date
I suspect there will be plenty of variants of answer to this.
Personally, when I used to do youth games I wouldn’t even consider it before U13. In most seasons / cases, it was rare to issue any for U14’s either.
There is no benefit when many of the players are in the early learning stages and *some* offences can be dealt with using other methods
Personally, when I used to do youth games I wouldn’t even consider it before U13. In most seasons / cases, it was rare to issue any for U14’s either.
There is no benefit when many of the players are in the early learning stages and *some* offences can be dealt with using other methods
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
We teach to manage if at all possible in Mini Soccer (ages to U-10) but above that they are in youth football and need to understand what is acceptable and what is not.
I watched a game last month in which a 12-year-old twice used offensive language to the referee. He was sent off, rightly so, with spectators and his coach making a lot of noise as they disagreed.
I watched a game last month in which a 12-year-old twice used offensive language to the referee. He was sent off, rightly so, with spectators and his coach making a lot of noise as they disagreed.
RefRyanAus
Active Member
U13s in my view. Below that referees should be adopting a coaching based approach and have other tools to use like substitution and agreed player withdrawal which can be implemented with the assistance of the actual team coach.
Bleedaggie
New Member
I agree with U13. Rare exception. Only time I ever remember carding younger was when a 7yo told me to “f-off.” He got the yellow only because a 7yo can’t have any idea what that meant and I didn’t know which parent was his to let them know they were failing.
one
RefChat Addict
I noticed this thread is under the "Laws of the game" sub-forum.
If you are playing under the laws of the game then caution or send off as the laws of the game prescribes. Age only comes to it when you are assessing the considerations/criteria. E.g what's considered offensive or excessive force for physical challenges.
If you are not playing under the laws of the game, then do as whatever rules you play under (e.g, mini rules) or as you see fit if it is not specified.
To me, asking at what age do I give cautions is not too different to asking at what age do I give penalties.
If you are playing under the laws of the game then caution or send off as the laws of the game prescribes. Age only comes to it when you are assessing the considerations/criteria. E.g what's considered offensive or excessive force for physical challenges.
If you are not playing under the laws of the game, then do as whatever rules you play under (e.g, mini rules) or as you see fit if it is not specified.
To me, asking at what age do I give cautions is not too different to asking at what age do I give penalties.
In a game this season i cautioned a young youth player for a horrendous non-challenge and got myself castigated by the county who told me i should use "different managing techniques" instead of a straight red which was my fist inclination.
When i asked what these "different managing techniques" were 3 times i got no answer.
If ITOOTR you feel a card is warranted, show it.
When the manager then shouts "ref, you're making this all about you" deal with him too.
When i asked what these "different managing techniques" were 3 times i got no answer.
If ITOOTR you feel a card is warranted, show it.
When the manager then shouts "ref, you're making this all about you" deal with him too.
Yes and no. As per association laws for mini soccer, normal rules for fouls and misconduct apply as per association football (except all free kicks are direct), but are you really going to dismiss an 8 year old for a sending off offence eg DOGSO? Unlikely.
The same association laws for mini soccer states that referees should recognise their role is to facilitate the learning of players, eg allowing them to take a second throw in if the first is taken incorrectly.
Mini soccer ends at U10’s, but I would still agree with most replies that anything before U13 is highly inappropriate and not in the spirit of the game in any way.
Spot on. These are the ‘alternative techniques’ which any County will suggest. If you are throwing cards around in U8’s football you can expect your development opportunities to be somewhat limited. It shows a complete lack of control if nothing else.
I'll start with a disclaimer saying this is a general rule, there are exceptions and they will stare you in the face.
up to U13s you should not be regularly getting your cards out.
U14s and 15s they should still be rare in my opinion but some games can definitely be spicy so they can be a very useful tool for match control, they usually have quite a big impact from my experience.
U16s is perfectly acceptable to be cautioning. I would try to have some leniency, especially for technical offences, but most of my U16 games this season have had cautions.
I appreciate I may have a more lenient approach than others, but I only stopped playing youth football a couple of years ago and in my opinion the best refs were the ones who explained why it could/should've been a caution. For example getting a card for SPA doesn't really occur to most players, so having a ref explain things like that can definitely have a similar impact to a caution, in my experience anyway.
Interesting quote.
When a child punches or kicks another player or tells the referee to "F*** off"etc why would it be "highly inappropriate" to send them off?
Their behaviour is "not in the spirit of the game" so needs a red card?
How would you deal with an under 12s and below player doing these things?
We all do things differently don’t we, it’s part of the game.
If an 11 year old told me to ‘F**k off’ I wouldn’t be dismissing at that age. I’d be asking the coach to remove them from the FOP for the remainder of the game, as well as telling them why.
As for kicking another player, it depends on the context. If they’ve sprinted half the FOP and violently and repeatedly kicked someone, then yes I’d be dismissing, but where do you referee where that happens? Any other ‘kicking’ they’d be dealt with the same as the first example and removed by their coach.
May I add that I don’t referee youth football anymore, we’re going back at least 8 years, I don’t know if kids behave worse these days, but I’ve never experienced any of these examples at that age
If an 11 year old told me to ‘F**k off’ I wouldn’t be dismissing at that age. I’d be asking the coach to remove them from the FOP for the remainder of the game, as well as telling them why.
As for kicking another player, it depends on the context. If they’ve sprinted half the FOP and violently and repeatedly kicked someone, then yes I’d be dismissing, but where do you referee where that happens? Any other ‘kicking’ they’d be dealt with the same as the first example and removed by their coach.
May I add that I don’t referee youth football anymore, we’re going back at least 8 years, I don’t know if kids behave worse these days, but I’ve never experienced any of these examples at that age
The player kicking somebody happened to me this season - under 10s!We all do things differently don’t we, it’s part of the game.
If an 11 year old told me to ‘F**k off’ I wouldn’t be dismissing at that age. I’d be asking the coach to remove them from the FOP for the remainder of the game, as well as telling them why.
As for kicking another player, it depends on the context. If they’ve sprinted half the FOP and violently and repeatedly kicked someone, then yes I’d be dismissing, but where do you referee where that happens? Any other ‘kicking’ they’d be dealt with the same as the first example and removed by their coach.
May I add that I don’t referee youth football anymore, we’re going back at least 8 years, I don’t know if kids behave worse these days, but I’ve never experienced any of these examples at that age
If a child swears at me they deserve a red card and hopefully that will educate them. Another sad reflection of the decline in society.
Last season an u11 player called me a "F****** ueselss referee". I sent him off and the manager actually thanked me. He said the player did this before and the ref allowed him to be subbed. And he came back on after a 10 minute break.
That's alternative refereeing.
I do think times have changed now. Children are a lot more clued up, social media has fuelled this etc.. I do feel, as a teacher myself, if a child decided to tell another person to **** off on a football pitch then a red card is the only viable sanction. How you manage this is up to you based on the age. For example - they may not be a need to actually show the card at development football to gain the desired outcome (player leaving the pitch and taking no further part in the game).
socal lurker
RefChat Addict
I’m surprised by those who would not card extreme behavior at 12U. Sure, I’ll try to manage, but every once in a while things are bad enough that cards are fully warranted.
I’m in the US and do most of my reffing for AYSO. The AYSO philosophy is that the public nature of the cards is inappropriate for young players. At 10U, instead of showing the card publicly, the explanation is given to the player and the coach—but if the result is a send off, the player is sent off.
I’m in the US and do most of my reffing for AYSO. The AYSO philosophy is that the public nature of the cards is inappropriate for young players. At 10U, instead of showing the card publicly, the explanation is given to the player and the coach—but if the result is a send off, the player is sent off.
I see no harm in explaining to an under 10 that that sort of behaviour means that you would recieve a red card in a game of football and therefore face the following sanctions.. including not playing in the game and potentially future ones etc. you do not necessarily need to physically show a red card to achieve this learning.
We also should consider the victims here as well. If I watched my child be a victim of violent conduct on a football pitch I would expect an appropriate sanction. Likewise if I saw my child witness some foul language towards a referee I would like my child to witness the sanctions applied to this as a deterrent for not respecting the behaviour and protecting the integrity of the game and the participants that are in it!
Kes
I'll Decide ...
The explanation should come anyway.
But for an offence (like SPA) which warrants a caution under the LOTG, the card should always follow the explanation. Even at U14/15 level.
Surely his coming back on was down to the manager!?
No idea - i wasn't there.