A&H

Leaving vicinity of the FOP

R

Refollie

Active Member
Level 5 Referee
Question out of curiosity for those refereeing at grassroots/park level.

After sending a player off, how vigilant are you with getting them to leave the vicinity of the field of play? Or are you happy for them to hang around if there is no animosity/they’re not causing any problems/it wasn’t an offence likely to cause a problem if they hang around (eg violent conduct, SFP, OFFINABUS)?

It crossed my mind last Sunday when I sent off a player for two yellows (one delaying the restart, one verbally distracting an opponent to win a throw-in near the halfway line, of all the offences!) in the 93rd minute. I blew full-time a few minutes later and went to collect my match fee, only to find the player I sent off waiting for me at the touch line as he had the cash.

I’ve always got players to leave the vicinity of the FOP until now, but it just slipped my mind this time as it was so late in the game and I wanted to get the match going again as there were only a couple of minutes left.
 
The Referee Store
So hard I feel.

This is similar as my coach said to me the other day .. wanted me to control the touch line more (keep supporters one side and coaches the other) … we were in a public park.. virtually impossible!

I think for me if he was not causing any issues I would be playing on and probably wouldn’t even notice it. If he did cause an issue or I noticed that he was in the ‘technical area’ (if we had any) then I might stop the game and ask him to leave.
 
At grassroots you have to make sure a sent off player leaves the vicinity - i.e. back to changing rooms, behind the fence, whatever fits.

If you let a player sit on the bench or stand in the sideline, it will come back and bite you on the a*** - maybe not this time, but it will. The time it sparks a mass con you will regret this first time.

TBH this is a “rule” I have just realised applies to so much about refereeing. Like the times you let a grassroots goal kick with a moving ball. The time it leads to a goal and ruins the game and your month, you will regret those others!
 
It can feel awkward, especially if they have been sent off for something minor like DOGSO and accepted it calmly, but not doing it can cause you problems. Say you send someone off and don't insist he leaves, then there is a later fight which he is front and centre of. You are going to get asked questions by your sanctioning authority around how could someone you had previously sent off still be pitch side to be able to get involved in the fight.
 
This is something you should make sure you enforce because as Santa says, it will bite you at some point. I had a player confront an opponent last week as he prepared to take a throw in. I thought he’d left but he’d changed direction and was standing with his team on the sidelines. Players think you’re being busy but they don’t understand how this can ruin the game if you allow it. !
 
Echo the above but sometimes that can be difficult as a lot of grassroots games are on public pitches. Unfortunately despite what we say, we can’t truly enforce that when in those scenarios. All we can do is tell them
 
QuaverRef said:
Echo the above but sometimes that can be difficult as a lot of grassroots games are on public pitches. Unfortunately despite what we say, we can’t truly enforce that when in those scenarios. All we can do is tell them
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Maybe, but you can hold the game up and make it clear you won't restart until they have gone. You'll get the inevitable "it's a public park ref, he can stand where he wants" comments, but ultimately you are the one with the whistle and if you say he is leaving then he is leaving.
 
One of the teams I regularly see had a problem with me because I abandoned a game. It cost them points and money, but now they don’t push it any more.
I sent one of them off for swearing at me and he refused to leave, so I said he had to. His mates told me he could stand there and I couldn’t do anything about it, so I told them he was leaving or I wouldn’t restart the game. Again he refused. I then told him he had to leave or I would abandon the game. When he said he wasn’t going I told him that he had a minute to start walking or I was abandoning the game - he was still swearing at me while this was going on, so I told him to stop or I would abandon the game. He kept going and refused to leave so I abandoned the game. The manager then threatened me, telling me when he saw me out he’d do me!

The club really got done for this. The CFA came down hard, and the league weren’t happy either.

I saw the manager two weeks later in a diy store. My daughter told me “Dad, there’s a man over there hiding behind a pallet looking at you!” He’s 5’8” but with a giant mouth. I’m 6’5” and big built. He obviously didn’t fancy it after all!

You do have ways to make them leave, but you have to be prepared to follow through if you threaten it and they won’t go, which isn’t easy.
 
Locally we have had a lot of discussion about how this is applied to youth football. Sending a young player away from the vicinity of play can have consequences in terms of welfare. Our guidelines are that up to 16s, offenders may be permitted to remain in the vicinity provided it has no impact on the game. Of course, at any age you retain the option to abandon.
 
OIREF! said:
Locally we have had a lot of discussion about how this is applied to youth football. Sending a young player away from the vicinity of play can have consequences in terms of welfare. Our guidelines are that up to 16s, offenders may be permitted to remain in the vicinity provided it has no impact on the game. Of course, at any age you retain the option to abandon.
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Absolutely, sending a child away from the pitch is an absolute no, at least unless you can be very sure they will have a responsible adult with them.
 
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