A&H

Hearing Problems...

H

HantsRef

Member
Level 7 Referee
After giving an offside, a player decides to boot the ball some 25 yards across the pitch (in obvious frustration). I call player over to issue caution (never know why a player does such a stupid thing anyway?!) to which his team-mate kindly informs he has "hearing problems" and didn't hear my whistle. Now erring on the side of caution I appreciate that on the off occasion if a player did have hearing problems this may be an issue but the fact he kicked the ball in such a frustrated way I highly doubt the story anyway...

Just wondering if anyone else has had anything similar as an excuse?
 
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As you said if its clearly out of frustration then hearing problems or not he can have a lemon.

I have had "I didn't hear the whistle ref" a lot. Last weekend I believed him as well but couldn't go back on it. Felt quite guilty for all of 3 minutes
 
Easy answer - excuse me asking, but your team mate has brought to my attention that you have hearing difficulties. Is this correct or is he being a fool?
 
HRW said:
Easy answer - excuse me asking, but your team mate has brought to my attention that you have hearing difficulties. Is this correct or is he being a fool?
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He also tried to tell me that he did but as I said it was the frustration in the kick and that it was across the pitch (almost random direction) that really 'sold' it to be honest...
 
If your gut instinct went caution then that's what you must go with.

In my experience if a player has hearing difficulties the secretary or a rep from the club have informed me and the other team prior to kick off.
 
Well when speaking to the managers at the end (who had no end of praise for my handling of the match) at no point did they mention that so highly doubt it IMO? A cheap attempt at getting out of a caution the more I think about it...
 
Caution him.

The player is trying to con and undermine you.

He should have reported this before the game. If he really did have hearing problems, then it would have caused problems before - from which he should have learnt and will remember to tell all match officials... If it was his first game - he should know now!

Basically? Caution.
 
Unless you KNOW otherwise, deal with it as you would any other player.

You saw a player kick the ball in a way that indicated frustration, so whether he heard you or not isn't really relevant. Sounds like the player was trying to get out of a booking.
 
Mate of mine had a partially deaf ref once. Said it was pretty good as when players moaned he just ignored it so by the end they just got on with the game.

I did say maybe not moaning at the ref is the way forward for an enjoyable game of football. His response, "like f*ck, we made up for it a week later with a different ref!"
 
We have a totally deaf ref in one of my leagues and he's one of the best referees I've seen

He is however a very good lip reader... Unfortunately for some!
 
I have refereed a dead player a few times over the last couple of years. He made a point of speaking to me privately prior to the first game I did with him. Nice fella.

Not saying that is something people should feel they have to do. Certainly has helped avoid issues and I know if I speak to him I have to face him so he can see my lips.
 
SM said:
I have refereed a dead player a few times over the last couple of years. He made a point of speaking to me privately prior to the first game I did with him. Nice fella.

Not saying that is something people should feel they have to do. Certainly has helped avoid issues and I know if I speak to him I have to face him so he can see my lips.
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Now THATS impressive. They must have been really short of players that week :D
 
In my time, I've assisted matches in which the local Deaf Trust play. These can be difficult for the officials and the opposition. I'll be honest and say that these lads can play a bit but their discipline lets them down. This lack of discipline isn't due to their deafness but perhaps they like to hide behind the fact that it is. Overall, it can be a strange experience and challenging.
 
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