A&H

Human error

dylanbailey4444

dylanbailey4444

Well-Known Member
Level 5 Referee
I had an interesting game last night.

It was county level u23’s and I was in the middle.
It finished with 8 yellows and a straight red.

Unfortunately, I dropped an absolute howler.

In the 63rd minute, a tackle went in. It was two footed and completely out of control and about 2 foot (literally both feet and 2 foot in height) off the ground. Human error- I only cautioned him. I knew within a few minutes I was so wrong and it was a red card but I have just seen the video footage and how bad it actually is. It honestly has to be one of, if not the worst decision I’ve ever made whilst refereeing. It is such a blatant red card.

I was being observed as well. This is only my second middle at county u23 level. I had my first ever middle for county u23 last week and I was also observed on that. That one was good. I cautioned 6 players and the away manager and the observer supported me on all of them and the report came back and it was great. Only one development point.

This game last night was more eventful than my first u23 game, and both teams still said I did well and so did the observer, but everyone knows I should have sent the player off. The observer last night supported all of my cards except the one where I booked the player instead of dismissing him. He said it was human error and these things happen.


Things like this play on your mind unfortunately.
I’m only 17 and things like this make me question wether I’m out of my depth or not!
I have absolutely no idea why I didn’t send that player off. I can only put it down to human error.

It’s one of those where it’ll probably be doing the rounds on Twitter in the next few days! 🙈 😂
 
The Referee Store
Don’t beat yourself up over this. We are all human and we all make mistakes. I’ve dropped some absolute clangers as well…this week in fact for me…BUT the important thing is you recognised it and have self analysed it. This is why we do it, we want to be the best we can be but as said previously, mistakes happen and will creep into every game if we are honest with ourselves.

I reckon with the way you are talking about it you will not make the same mistake again but from a personal point of view, be careful not to now over-correct and be harsher than you need to be. It’s a fine balance and I sure as hell haven’t got it right yet! Keep plugging on and I’m sure you’ll be fine! Best wishes and keep developing your skills and your own style.
 
dylanbailey4444 said:
I had an interesting game last night.

It was county level u23’s and I was in the middle.
It finished with 8 yellows and a straight red.

Unfortunately, I dropped an absolute howler.

In the 63rd minute, a tackle went in. It was two footed and completely out of control and about 2 foot (literally both feet and 2 foot in height) off the ground. Human error- I only cautioned him. I knew within a few minutes I was so wrong and it was a red card but I have just seen the video footage and how bad it actually is. It honestly has to be one of, if not the worst decision I’ve ever made whilst refereeing. It is such a blatant red card.

I was being observed as well. This is only my second middle at county u23 level. I had my first ever middle for county u23 last week and I was also observed on that. That one was good. I cautioned 6 players and the away manager and the observer supported me on all of them and the report came back and it was great. Only one development point.

This game last night was more eventful than my first u23 game, and both teams still said I did well and so did the observer, but everyone knows I should have sent the player off. The observer last night supported all of my cards except the one where I booked the player instead of dismissing him. He said it was human error and these things happen.


Things like this play on your mind unfortunately.
I’m only 17 and things like this make me question wether I’m out of my depth or not!
I have absolutely no idea why I didn’t send that player off. I can only put it down to human error.

It’s one of those where it’ll probably be doing the rounds on Twitter in the next few days! 🙈 😂
Click to expand...
All done it mate. I had a similar one in FA Cup last season. Clear as day red card tackle, and I convinced myself the player had landed before.making contact, like that mattered.

The important thing is you recognise and accept you missed one. You now have that image etched in your mind and I can assure you when you see a similar challenge in future you'll more confidently reach for the red card.
 
dylanbailey4444 said:
I had an interesting game last night.

It was county level u23’s and I was in the middle.
It finished with 8 yellows and a straight red.

Unfortunately, I dropped an absolute howler.

In the 63rd minute, a tackle went in. It was two footed and completely out of control and about 2 foot (literally both feet and 2 foot in height) off the ground. Human error- I only cautioned him. I knew within a few minutes I was so wrong and it was a red card but I have just seen the video footage and how bad it actually is. It honestly has to be one of, if not the worst decision I’ve ever made whilst refereeing. It is such a blatant red card.

I was being observed as well. This is only my second middle at county u23 level. I had my first ever middle for county u23 last week and I was also observed on that. That one was good. I cautioned 6 players and the away manager and the observer supported me on all of them and the report came back and it was great. Only one development point.

This game last night was more eventful than my first u23 game, and both teams still said I did well and so did the observer, but everyone knows I should have sent the player off. The observer last night supported all of my cards except the one where I booked the player instead of dismissing him. He said it was human error and these things happen.


Things like this play on your mind unfortunately.
I’m only 17 and things like this make me question wether I’m out of my depth or not!
I have absolutely no idea why I didn’t send that player off. I can only put it down to human error.

It’s one of those where it’ll probably be doing the rounds on Twitter in the next few days! 🙈 😂
Click to expand...
Reffing is about reflecting and making changes, if needed. That's what you're doing.

What made you go yellow? Your post does not say.
 
It happens, don't beat yourself up about it. You can try to learn from it, but you can't change the past.

Also think about it a different way. Do you make mistakes at work? Most of us do. Do you make mistakes in your personal life? Again, most of us do. Do footballers make mistakes at all levels? Absolutely they do. Yet there's this expectation that referees shouldn't make mistakes, it is just totally unrealistic.
 
stevekernow said:
Don’t beat yourself up over this. We are all human and we all make mistakes. I’ve dropped some absolute clangers as well…this week in fact for me…BUT the important thing is you recognised it and have self analysed it. This is why we do it, we want to be the best we can be but as said previously, mistakes happen and will creep into every game if we are honest with ourselves.

I reckon with the way you are talking about it you will not make the same mistake again but from a personal point of view, be careful not to now over-correct and be harsher than you need to be. It’s a fine balance and I sure as hell haven’t got it right yet! Keep plugging on and I’m sure you’ll be fine! Best wishes and keep developing your skills and your own style.
Click to expand...
Definitely! Thank you. I’ll make sure that next time I get it correct. I know what needs to be done next time
 
JamesL said:
All done it mate. I had a similar one in FA Cup last season. Clear as day red card tackle, and I convinced myself the player had landed before.making contact, like that mattered.

The important thing is you recognise and accept you missed one. You now have that image etched in your mind and I can assure you when you see a similar challenge in future you'll more confidently reach for the red card.
Click to expand...
100%. Thanks James.
 
Kent Ref said:
Reffing is about reflecting and making changes, if needed. That's what you're doing.

What made you go yellow? Your post does not say.
Click to expand...
To be honest, I’m not actually sure. The only reason I think I went yellow is because I took so long to decide, I think I talked myself into just booking him. It must have been about 45 seconds to a minute after the tackle that I actually reached into my pocket.
I first checked if the player was ok and then I called the physio on and then tried walking away from everyone (they were all making comments such as ‘there’s only one colour card for that, ref’ ‘shocking tackle ,you’ve got to deal with that’ etc.) so I just took myself away from everyone. I think I overthought it.
 
RustyRef said:
It happens, don't beat yourself up about it. You can try to learn from it, but you can't change the past.

Also think about it a different way. Do you make mistakes at work? Most of us do. Do you make mistakes in your personal life? Again, most of us do. Do footballers make mistakes at all levels? Absolutely they do. Yet there's this expectation that referees shouldn't make mistakes, it is just totally unrealistic.
Click to expand...
Thanks Rusty. I think i’ll be able to recognise a challenge like that better next time now.
 
dylanbailey4444 said:
I had an interesting game last night.

It was county level u23’s and I was in the middle.
It finished with 8 yellows and a straight red.

Unfortunately, I dropped an absolute howler.

In the 63rd minute, a tackle went in. It was two footed and completely out of control and about 2 foot (literally both feet and 2 foot in height) off the ground. Human error- I only cautioned him. I knew within a few minutes I was so wrong and it was a red card but I have just seen the video footage and how bad it actually is. It honestly has to be one of, if not the worst decision I’ve ever made whilst refereeing. It is such a blatant red card.

I was being observed as well. This is only my second middle at county u23 level. I had my first ever middle for county u23 last week and I was also observed on that. That one was good. I cautioned 6 players and the away manager and the observer supported me on all of them and the report came back and it was great. Only one development point.

This game last night was more eventful than my first u23 game, and both teams still said I did well and so did the observer, but everyone knows I should have sent the player off. The observer last night supported all of my cards except the one where I booked the player instead of dismissing him. He said it was human error and these things happen.


Things like this play on your mind unfortunately.
I’m only 17 and things like this make me question wether I’m out of my depth or not!
I have absolutely no idea why I didn’t send that player off. I can only put it down to human error.

It’s one of those where it’ll probably be doing the rounds on Twitter in the next few days! 🙈 😂
Click to expand...
Park it and move on. You can watch MOTD and EFL highlights to realise that the top referees are not rational robotic machines that get every decision right. Sounds like the report was really positive.
 
What can you do
dylanbailey4444 said:
I’ll make sure that next time I get it correct. I know what needs to be done next time
Click to expand...
Don't set unrealistic benchmarks.

This is part of the falacy. We hope to do better next time, and because of your experience you are better equipped to make the decision, but to set an expectation that you won't make a mistake again sets an unrealistic expectation.

I go out fully expecting to make mistakes this afternoon. I'll get some foul decisions wrong (probably), I'll get some throw decisions wrong (probably), I might give a goal kick when it was actually a corner.

The important thing is trying to get it right, but not beating yourself up over it. I reckon as referees we worry about it long after the players have forgotten it!

Right... I'm off to ruin 22 people's afternoon with my terrible decisions. 🙃
 
Last edited:
Firstly, amazing for going up through the ranks.
Mistakes happen. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Easier said than done, as I do it myself!
I’m still annoyed at myself from Sundays match where I thought a player handled it, but it actually hit his face. Ruined my game as the team used it as a stick to beat me with.
Then I remember that PL referees have VAR and still make mistakes.

Btw. Sounded like a horror tackle. Can’t believe you didn’t send him off. 😂😂😂
 
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