The Ref Stop

managing as opposed to cautioning

K

Kent Ref

RefChat Addict
I had a cup game today and it was generally well mannered.

One incident happened with 20 minutes left.

Red player caught the blue player with a late tackle on the half way line. Borderline careless / reckless. Red player went to apologise to blue player but blue player is angry and starts shouting about how it was dangerous etc and got very close to the red player.

I was there very quickly blowing my whistle and nothing else happened. My thoughts were yellow for both but then i thought - i wonder if i can "manage" this.

The game had been played well and one team was 5-0 up.

I then decided to speak to both and said "don't ruin a good game". Both shook hands and we got on with it. No further incident for the rest of the game - ended 8-0.

But nagging away in my head is both those players probably could have had a yellow but i chose to let them have a "freebie".

Bizarrely both teams were more than happy at full-time and gave me a very high score.

For some reason i'm not happy though as i feel i am obliged to show cards when they are due.

Thoughts?
 
The Ref Stop
Russell Jones said:
Sounds like the perfect outcome. Just because you could caution doesn't mean you should. Especially in a game which has been otherwise uneventful. On these borderline situations the choice of card or public word is somewhat of an art form that becomes easier with experience
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I wonder if i was being assessed would I have lost marks for this?
 
Kent Ref said:
I wonder if i was being assessed would I have lost marks for this?
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Totally depends on the assessor and the level. At higher levels, one of the competencies desired is not 'rushing to cards too early / unnecessarily' .. whereas at lower levels (though the emphasis is now on coaching rather than assessing) they want to see you are confident in rigorously applying the LOTG
 
We dont have a crystal bal.
You spun the wheel, you won a watch

I would not be critical here of not cautioning, the hypothetical ' in another game" does not wash with me
 
Simple rule of thumb - don’t try and manage a reckless tackle. It won’t do you any favours.

If it’s not reckless, then manage if it’s appropriate to do so.
 
Tealeaf said:
Simple rule of thumb - don’t try and manage a reckless tackle. It won’t do you any favours.

If it’s not reckless, then manage if it’s appropriate to do so.
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Based on that statement why would careless need to be "managed"?

Why would't you "manage" a borderline reckless tackle? I'll admit it was odd from me not to caution but it worked out.

Have you tried this and had a negative reaction?
 
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Kent Ref said:
Based on that statement why would careless need to be "managed"?

Why would't you "manage" a borderline reckless tackle? I'll admit it was odd from me not to caution but it worked out.

Have you tried this and had a negative reaction?
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If I can jump in, careless can and would need to be managed with a quiet or public word to the player if you're starting to think about persistent infringement, borderline reckless, again, word, "be careful in future with the tackles player, that one could've easily been reckless if xyz happened, used more force etc".
 
wazztie16 said:
If I can jump in, careless can and would need to be managed with a quiet or public word to the player if you're starting to think about persistent infringement, borderline reckless, again, word, "be careful in future with the tackles player, that one could've easily been reckless if xyz happened, used more force etc".
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Pretty good explanation.

Also, by appropriate, I’m also considering the nature of the game.

Had a flurry of cautions? Things heating up? “Managing” might come across as letting a player “get away with it”.

In these cases I may need to caution a careless not just a reckless challenge as a preventative measure.
 
Tealeaf said:
In these cases I may need to caution a careless not just a reckless challenge as a preventative measure.
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I think it may be helpful for newer refs reading this to think about it as lowering the bar for what is considered reckless in order to gain more firm control on the game, rather than cautioning a careless tackle. Pretty much the same as lowering the bar on when contact stops being trifling and becomes a foul for the same reason.

(At least, I think that is what you are saying.)
 
As an observer, or match day coach (for ever after known as MDC), I would only criticise if it was a mandatory caution - i.e. it was very obviously reckless or SPA. I'd then be looking at what effect your action, or inaction, had on the rest of the game. If it all passed off quietly then you made the right decision, if it all kicked off I might be questioning whether a caution might have possibly prevented that.

There's not always a right and wrong answer, sometimes you have to take a gamble and hope it pays off.
 
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