Junior/Youth injured, but not let off FOP

[richard ramjane]

Not my game, but my sons' on Sunday just gone. I was out with one of the other dads last night and was asking his opinion of the match as i wasnt able to attend. Going through the usual stuff, the goals, the lads, the ref etc..
One thing he said made me think though... he said one of the opposition lads was injured, had hurt his back and was asking to leave the FOP, and the manager wouldnt let him... he just said that he should carry on as they had no subs.
According to my mate he was clearly in a lot of pain... could we as referees step in here? (it was U16 age group)
I know its not our responsibilities, but would we be having a word with the manager ?

 

[xPositor]

Interesting one... my approach might be to ask the lad in passing if he's OK to carry on. If he says no, stop the game at an appropriate point, and indicate that he needs treatment. Get the coach/manager on. At that point, the player has to leave the FOP. Let the player and the manager argue the point about him rejoining the game - I doubt his parent would be present at that age group, but at U16 he's more than capable of holding his own in that discussion.

 

[richard ramjane]

Interesting one... my approach might be to ask the lad in passing if he's OK to carry on. If he says no, stop the game at an appropriate point, and indicate that he needs treatment. Get the coach/manager on. At that point, the player has to leave the FOP. Let the player and the manager argue the point about him rejoining the game - I doubt his parent would be present at that age group, but at U16 he's more than capable of holding his own in that discussion.

yes, the number of parents present has been thinning out from U14 onwards really, so not sure if his mum/dad were there. Thats not a bad idea... use law to get him off.
Bit callous of the coach though IMO

 

[xPositor]

yes, the number of parents present has been thinning out from U14 onwards really, so not sure if his mum/dad were there. Thats not a bad idea... use law to get him off.
Bit callous of the coach though IMO

My lad is U16 now, and I ref a lot of U16 teams. I'm surprised because a player of that age is more likely to earn a C7 than pay attention to his manager; if he wants to stop playing, he's going to stop playing. He's either going to sit down, or walk-off.

 

[richard ramjane]

My lad is U16 now, and I ref a lot of U16 teams. I'm surprised because a player of that age is more likely to earn a C7 than pay attention to his manager; if he wants to stop playing, he's going to stop playing. He's either going to sit down, or walk-off.

i'm going to ask my lads about it tonight when i see them .... we've encountered the oppo manager on several occasions , in fact plenty over the years and he's always been a bit of a **** in all honesty.

 

[OIREF!]

If the player wants to leave the field surely he is free to do so provided he receives the referee's permission. After that it's between him and the coach.

 

[richard ramjane]

If the player wants to leave the field surely he is free to do so provided he receives the referee's permission. After that it's between him and the coach.

in this particular instance it sounds like it hadnt occurred to him to ask the ref, he wasnt keen to 'go down' and request assistance and he was being bullied into remaining on by his manager.
Like i say i wasnt there so cant give first hand comment.

 

[Paul March]

Errr, have any of you done your Safeguarding course?

When I arrive at a youth game I inform both managers (at the same time) that we all have a duty to the welfare and safety of the players and that as such bullying and intimidation will not be tolerated. If such acts occur, as you describe, I would certainly be entering a safeguard report through the local FA.

It is our duty

 

[richard ramjane]

Errr, have any of you done your Safeguarding course?

When I arrive at a youth game I inform both managers (at the same time) that we all have a duty to the welfare and safety of the players and that as such bullying and intimidation will not be tolerated. If such acts occur, as you describe, I would certainly be entering a safeguard report through the local FA.

It is our duty

yes i have and thats a very good point.
i will recommend to our manager that he mentions to the league what he saw

 

[Paul March]

I didn't mean to sound sanctimonious, if the ref sets out the expectations and consequences early doors then you might save problems later on.

I always refer to problems other teams have faced rather than point at the managers of in front of me- almost like a last weeks ref in reverse!