Open Age 'Get control of the game, ref!'

[TobyTheRef]

Had a (fairly) good tempered match last weekend, with just a few of the normal big gobs, but I've noticed that the titular phrase is creeping in more and more from players and it's starting to annoy me quite a bit.

I certainly haven't lost control of a game, in my view, for a good while but I find players obviously tend to shout it when they think decisions are going against them - this past weekend, it was because I apparently got a few throw-ins 'blatantly wrong' despite me and the CAR being mere metres away and agreeing on each one.

Anyway, any tips on dealing with this kind of thing? - perhaps I'm becoming sensitive in my advancing years, but I feel like it undermines authority and shows dissent, but not sure it warrants anything more than a witty reply or stern word if it keeps going?

 

[socal lurker]

At some point it is dissent

 

[es1]

"thanks for the advice fella"

 

[ChasObserverRefDeveloper]

"Next time you offer an opinion you'll be going off for ten minutes. Understood?"

 

[one]

Each game or occasion is different. Is it the same person saying it more than once? Tone and how loud? The temperature of the game, other context.

Handle it like any other moaning that eventually becomes dissent as mentioned above. You can use the stepped approach. But ignoring it is not an option.