It's still a contact sport?

[Andrew.Rainsbury]

Hi all,
I referee Gillingham academy u14
& and below, my son also plays at academy level...
and I ref games for youth u8's to u12's...
So I like to think that I understand the stepped approach when it comes to physicality.
I recently reffed a u8's game where the home team dominated the game, (we... although impartial) ahem.. they have 6 players at academy level... a good game and one that I thought I reffed really well.
Cue the away manager come towards me at handshake time
Only to accuse me of letting barges and coming togethers go against his team.
I reminded him that it's still a contact sport the last time I checked and that the players in question were within their rights to fairly shield the ball from the opponent by placing their bodies in the way. I recall quipping that I referee academy level and if he thought this was physical he's in for a shock next season...

Imagine my delight when I turn up for a local academy tournament and see the manager who low scored
me... the look on his face was a picture.

 

[markieg]

I have felt that we are getting to the stage where contact will no longer be in the game. Players now go flying, even if they are slightly touched as we as Ref's keep giving them. I was an assistant to a match today and the pitch became a mud pit, but the players did not do anything dangerous and the match carried on. The lads thanked the ref and said that they expected us to call the match. This is the issue though we live in a world of blame someone else. If someone had got injured, they would have tried to blame the ref. Old days it would have been on of them things that happens