The Ref Stop

Insane Incidents

Big Cat

RefChat Addict
Level 4 Referee
What's the most insane incident you've encountered as a referee?
Late in my game today (88 mins or so), away team goes 5-4 up in a ding-dong game
I'm always slow with my notebook, watchful of potential nonsense. Noting the score, I hear a player boot the ball, I looked up to see it sail into the wind and over the keeper, (Jonjo Shelvey eat ur heart out). Goal; except that there was no whistle... that is until the ball had begun its decent towards (what I thought) was my grave
To add to my surprise, it didn't cause much grief, as most of the players were accepting of the fact the whistle hadn't gone :confused:
Players spontaneously agreeing with the rules... what next!!?
 
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The Ref Stop
Mine is a district National quarter final which finished with the worst mass conf I’ve ever seen, parents managers and players included after a brilliant game of football with 90 seconds to go
 
had open age game today, foul tackle near half way line, blew straight away as I was close to it. Home team player reacted to challenge, pushed the opposing player aggressively, I blew whistle again telling the player to calm down. Captain of aggressor is there in a flash and moves his player away only for his teammate to push him and square up to him making alsorts of threats. So I got my book out and booked him for adopting an aggressive attitude and awarded a free kick against him instead, no problem from home team. Was this right in law to award the freekick the other way? Anyway, freekick was taken and whilst ball was in the air going towards the area, the coach from that team was screaming at me because I didn't sinbin the player that I just gave the yellow card to and wouldn't shut up. So I blew again, walked over to him, asked for his name, showed him a yellow card for dissent and awarded an IDFK against his team at the nearest point on the sideline to him. (again was this righ tin law???). Then I was surrounded by 3 of his players, the first one to talk I sin binned and told the others they were following if they didn't walk away immediately.

Now I'm sure some of yo here may question this (please do if you think you need to) and I'm not entirely sure if I handled this right although I think I did.

All in all a great game, finished 1 0, but a mad 2/3 minutes
 
Sunday league game a few years back. Top v Bottom, Bottom side were keen to keep the score respectable from the start.

60 minutes in, Top side were winning 7-0. Pace of the game had dropped as winning team were happy to just cruise along to final whistle and losing side were happy to let them as 'anything under 10 would be a result against these guys' (coming from manager and captain).

Played in a good spirit, no cards and nothing of note in the game.

Ball is up towards halfway and goes out for a throw in, both me and thw CAR signal for a throw to the losing side. Player from winning team sprints 30 yards and screams "you f'ing cheating c***" in the CAR's face, cue a mass con as players from both sides get involved.

Bin the offender and get 3 others in the book. Temperature of the game changes and end up with another 4 yellows and 1 red in the last 30 minutes. Bonkers!
 
4 red cards and an ambulance delay for a steward collapsing onto the field (ref), U17 play off.
Or
4 red cards and fog rolled in so we couldn’t RC a DOGSO as we couldn’t see the number. And the ref forgot the clock and there was a 96th min winner, 5th tier (AR1).
 
Two for me

1. I have mentioned this before, but game stopped for parachutist landing on the pitch and getting tangled up in a goal net.

2. For football related, a pitch invasion by sheep - escaped from nearby field then cam onto pitch and stopped.
 
I was supervising a grand final some years back, I think it was U14W. Grand finals are played Sep/Oct here when the magpies are very aggressive and attack people. Ball was on one end and I noticed the keeper on the other end running around with a magpie on an Arial attack on her head trying to peck it. The crowed got very noisy too and eventually the referee noticed and stopped the game. One of the ground officials had to chase the magpie away before the game could restart.

I abandoned a game with no cards until half way in the second half. A poor challenge from behind an all hell broke lose. Police were called and had to go the the police station for an interview. Two distinct actions I can't get rid of in my head, a sickening fly kick to the head and full speed run and kicking another player in the back who was on the ground holding his head and not moving. This was about ten years ago.
 
Most bizarre I can allude to at the moment is probably an emergency helicopter landing on the grass probably 75-100 metres away, it had been circling overhead and I genuinely thought it was going to want the pitch...

It landed, a police riot van turned up on blues and seemed to pick something up from it then headed off, heli stayed put till after the match iirc.
 
Once you called the foul, the restart is for the foul. Misconduct before the FK cannot change the restart. Ok, you missed that one—shrug—move on to your next game, and you know you won’t miss that one again.

Agreed. You've called a foul so the restart is FK - doesn't matter if aliens land, players start head butting each other or a dressage rider makes their way onto your pitch.
 
A couple of strange incidents today. First one is more a question to those with more law knowledge than myself. Corner about to be taken, defender is swinging on the crossbar. I blow the whistle and tell him to get down and we carry on, no dramas (not sure if its in my remit to tell him that but its Sunday league so I tell him to stop it and we carry on). Had I not spotted it and that player clears the ball whilst swinging from the crossbar what is the correct outcome?

2nd thing that happened. Im walking off the pitch at the end of the game. I get to my bag and the keeper comes over the me to politely question the pen I gave in the last minute against him (his team were 5-0 up so no drama). Im explaining my reasoning and I hear a voice behind me saying that it was a penalty. Turn around and its Uriah Rennie. Not a bad 2nd opinion to have 🤣 me and the keeper have a laugh about it anyway, we had no idea he was there. The things/people you see at Sunday League.

Just turned up to my 2nd game. I wonder who will be at this one...
 
A couple of strange incidents today. First one is more a question to those with more law knowledge than myself. Corner about to be taken, defender is swinging on the crossbar. I blow the whistle and tell him to get down and we carry on, no dramas (not sure if its in my remit to tell him that but its Sunday league so I tell him to stop it and we carry on). Had I not spotted it and that player clears the ball whilst swinging from the crossbar what is the correct outcome?

2nd thing that happened. Im walking off the pitch at the end of the game. I get to my bag and the keeper comes over the me to politely question the pen I gave in the last minute against him (his team were 5-0 up so no drama). Im explaining my reasoning and I hear a voice behind me saying that it was a penalty. Turn around and its Uriah Rennie. Not a bad 2nd opinion to have 🤣 me and the keeper have a laugh about it anyway, we had no idea he was there. The things/people you see at Sunday League.

Just turned up to my 2nd game. I wonder who will be at this one...
1) Candidate for PIADM. Realistically, brave call for IDFK 6 yards out. Safer to warn first, 6 yard shenanigans for any repeat
2) Insane!
 
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A couple of strange incidents today. First one is more a question to those with more law knowledge than myself. Corner about to be taken, defender is swinging on the crossbar. I blow the whistle and tell him to get down and we carry on, no dramas (not sure if its in my remit to tell him that but its Sunday league so I tell him to stop it and we carry on). Had I not spotted it and that player clears the ball whilst swinging from the crossbar what is the correct outcome?

2nd thing that happened. Im walking off the pitch at the end of the game. I get to my bag and the keeper comes over the me to politely question the pen I gave in the last minute against him (his team were 5-0 up so no drama). Im explaining my reasoning and I hear a voice behind me saying that it was a penalty. Turn around and its Uriah Rennie. Not a bad 2nd opinion to have 🤣 me and the keeper have a laugh about it anyway, we had no idea he was there. The things/people you see at Sunday League.

Just turned up to my 2nd game. I wonder who will be at this one...
A very interesting question. I'd be inclined to say it's USB of some sort and IFK restart. But does it become DOGSO? I'd say no using the existing wording (but possibly in the spirit of it).

"denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent whose overall movement is towards the offender’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick (unless as outlined below)"
 
I'm too lazy to look it up, but i believe the old Q&A (the predecessor to the I&G) had a question about hanging on the frame and called it USB. I dont recall if it made it into the I&G, but I'm pretty sure it's not written in the magic book now. I've got one warning if it doesn't affect play, a caution for secon or if it does affect, and the caution becomes a sendoff if I can fit it into DOGSO. (details are going to matter)
 
I'm too lazy to look it up, but i believe the old Q&A (the predecessor to the I&G) had a question about hanging on the frame and called it USB. I dont recall if it made it into the I&G, but I'm pretty sure it's not written in the magic book now. I've got one warning if it doesn't affect play, a caution for secon or if it does affect, and the caution becomes a sendoff if I can fit it into DOGSO. (details are going to matter)

I was thinking exactly the same, I am sure that it was in the old Q&A's but I have neither the time nor inclination to start looking back through them all.

Hopefully @Peter Grove will step forward as he is the expert in this space ... 👍
 
I was thinking exactly the same, I am sure that it was in the old Q&A's but I have neither the time nor inclination to start looking back through them all.
I don't recall it being in the Q&A's (and on a quick search didn't find anything) but it was more or less covered in an enquiry I sent to the IFAB last year after a discussion on here. It was actually about a goalie hanging from the bar and using their hand to prevent the ball going in but I think it's close enough that the same principle would apply.

Here's my email and the response.
Screenshot_2020_1012_120625~2.jpg
Incidentally I was actually meaning in my question that it would be denying a goal rather than GSO and I think that is the better way to look at it.
 
I don't recall it being in the Q&A's (and on a quick search didn't find anything) but it was more or less covered in an enquiry I sent to the IFAB last year after a discussion on here. It was actually about a goalie hanging from the bar and using their hand to prevent the ball going in but I think it's close enough that the same principle would apply.

Here's my email and the response.
View attachment 4613
Incidentally I was actually meaning in my question that it would be denying a goal rather than GSO and I think that is the better way to look at it.
If the hands are used, law 12 specifically covers it. Your email clarifyes if it also covers goal keepers.

The question is if it is DOGSO when crossbar is used for lift and a goal is denied using a body part other than the hands/arms.
 
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It wasn't a playing incident but in an U17s match a few years ago I had a coach arguing that the opposition weren't entitled to return to the changing rooms at half time.
 
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