The Ref Stop

Oh! what a game ...... abandoned

mikedn

Referee/Mentor
The away side goalkeeper/manager/captain(the same person) receives a back pass from a defender to as he prepares to kick it away he is tackled to which i deemed fair...the keeper goes down like a ton of bricks, rolling over and over screaming... should have received an oscar for that... i tell him to get up no foul (ball has gone out for goal kick) Keeper then shouts "What the f*** was that? it was a foul you idiot! First YC of the game, as i'm writing his name/time etc another tirade of abuse " For f**** sake what the f*** was that that was a f*cking foul you f****** idiot. That earnt him his second yellow + red and off he went..................sort of.
In the second half i over ruled the away side linesman, the sent off manager/goalkeeper/ ex-captain shouts " That's what he's f****** here for you f****** idiot. I'm going to film you and send it to the FA.
As he says this he walks onto the pitch saying "there you go i'm going to film you, cause you are f****** useless.
At this point some of his players are laughing... So i blow the whistle in the 82nd minute and abandon the game.
Report sent in, copies sent to league manager..............i do recall in another forum a discussion about filming the ref, well there's my answer.Couldn't send him away was playing in a public park........
 
The Ref Stop
Wouldn't have bothered with the 2nd caution.....straight red s6....earns him at least 2 games off instead of the 1 for s7.

Personally......would've directed him away from the pitch area when he was sent......you can certainly keep them a distance away even in a public park.....before restarting....
Then at the next incident, tell him to get off the pitch, remain x amount of distance from the touchline ....then if he refuses to comply....then maybe abandon.

Alternatively use other members of the team to get him in line.....explaining to them that if he doesn't behave it will be game over......

Soft abandonment for me based on what has been described so far.
 
with all the abuse, coming onto the pitch without permission whilst filming on a camera phone was the last straw, he was definately out to cause as much trouble as possible. For me the only course was abandonment......
 
Sorry mike, but I'm with Padfoot on that. Disgusting actions aside (and I'm also surprised you didn't give him a straight red),I feel that if somebody has illegally entered the pitch, even being abusive, that by itself isn't enough to abandon. The ref should try to keep the game going if possible - have him removed, perhaps with a warning (I'm having a hard time justifying abandonment for a 'first offence' illegal pitch entry). At least if you make some effort to tell him to leave the pitch (blow the whistle, point to the touch line, tell him from a distance to leave) and he refuses, abandonment quickly becomes a lot more justifiable, particularly if he's still heading your way. If, hypothetically, he somehow obeyed and left, I'd want him watching the match from the carpark before I consider resuming the match (which, ideally is where he should have been, but I'm sure many of us are guilty of not really enforcing the 'vicinity of the field' requirement.

As for the recording aspect - if you don't want to be recorded, it's easy to manage it with a sent off player; just enforce the requirement for him to leave the vicinity of the field.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SM
As others have said, get him right away from the FOP with the threat of instant abandonment if he fails to comply or returns.
 
Unless you felt you were in danger Mike, you've abandoned to early, chalk it up to experience.
Please don't buy into that "public park" b*ll*cks, the field of plat and its vicinity basically belong to the home club for the duration of the match. Even if it didn't my repsonse would be: "You don't have to go? Well I don't have to stay... you're call...."

I would have asked a player from the team concerned to act as captain and said:
"This match is not continuing until this man is (specify distance or tree in distance or fence here) away. If this doesn't happen in 2 minutes I will be forced to abandon".
Start clock.
Used this many time, never had to abandon once.
WHATEVER YOU DO DO NOT YIELD TO THE MOANS "you're ruining the game ref" and allow this moron to stay pitchside.
 
I had a similar experience this morning. Sent a player off for violent conduct after grabbing a player around the throat. He returns after half time having got changed and starts shouting abuse in my direction.

Game had already stopped so prevented the restart and told them if he didn't go they run the risk of abandonment, and the game would not continue until he had gone, which doesn't help for either team.

They soon got rid of him.

It also went in my report so fingers crossed the idiot will get an increased ban.

The favourite phase was the inevitable 'you've ruined this game ref'. I thought oh aye, and your mate who gave me no choice but to show him the cherry didn't then?

Typical players. Blame anybody but themselves.
 
Funny, after three years of reffing and reading all the comments on here about nightmare games which 'the ref ruined' I began to wonder when it would happen to me. Sure enough, this weekend it did! :).

Home team leading, 10 minutes into second half and it's getting a bit feisty. Away striker clatters home defender .. genuine attempt to strike at goal but ends up late and reckless. I'm cautioning him, he's not happy. Home player decides to run 30 yards to near where I'm cautioning solely in order to shout at the attacker "stop moaning you fat c**t". Straight red for OFFINABUS. Ten minutes later, home are defending a corner. Stop the taking to warn a defender about grabbing an attacker .. then when it's taken he does exactly the same, pulls him to the ground and I give the penalty. Away team end up winning comfortably and I am chief villain number one :confused:. Know I did all the right things but have spent the last 24 hours irritated, frustrated and second guessing myself :(
 
There are a couple of player cliche phrases that I love:

"You have ruined this game ref" - that is why I am paid to be here mate.

"You ruined the game last time you were here and you're ruining the game again today"
Consistency mate. I am all about consistently.

(After giving usually an early first half caution) "you have made life hard for yourself now ref"
The way I see it, there are far too many idiots on the pitch today. The sooner I can send one or two of you off the easier my life will be.

Back on topic: @mikedn you were the only one of us there. If you feel there was enough to abandon, fair enough. We are not there to be the target for abuse and at least this way your league/cfa will have to take this incident seriously.

@Russell Jones - water off a ducks back mate. The problem here is that you are giving your thoughts and emotions far too much power. They are only thoughts and emotions at the end of the da, not fact or the truth. Doing Some basic mindfulness exercises here will help you:

http://www.livingwell.org.au/mindfulness-exercises-3/

Understanding how our brains work and how it can manage to tangle itself up with unhelpful thoughts really can help.
 
Last edited:
I love it when a player commits an offence with a mandatory caution and the players shout 'no need for that ref'.

Get.A.Grip.
 
Also, surely an abandonment has to be an absolute last resort??

Like a player comes at you or makes a direct serious threat at you, attempts an assault, or a very serious injury?

Personally anything less than the above I'd feel like I'd really failed, and lost the game rather than felt threatened.
 
Also, surely an abandonment has to be an absolute last resort??

Like a player comes at you or makes a direct serious threat at you, attempts an assault, or a very serious injury?

Personally anything less than the above I'd feel like I'd really failed, and lost the game rather than felt threatened.

Well, if a player refused to leave the vicinity after being instructed to do so I would eventually be abandoning. Even though I prob don't fear for my safety at all. Sometimes you simply have to make an example of someone!
 
if I'm being honest, im with @mikedn ... at 82minutes in, only 8 + added to go ... I would not have taken lightly to being recorded and like SM said ... I'm not there on a rainy Sunday morning to have abuse thrown my way - I don't give a flyer if im 5 minutes in to a game or 85 minutes in ... start abusing then ill start walking.

also, everyone that says about the 'vicinity of the field' in a public park ... you should come to Essex for a weekend ... and then see how far it gets you - pound to a penny you'll be leaving with a paramedic or at least a shiny eye!
 
if I'm being honest, im with @mikedn ... at 82minutes in, only 8 + added to go ... I would not have taken lightly to being recorded and like SM said ... I'm not there on a rainy Sunday morning to have abuse thrown my way - I don't give a flyer if im 5 minutes in to a game or 85 minutes in ... start abusing then ill start walking.

also, everyone that says about the 'vicinity of the field' in a public park ... you should come to Essex for a weekend ... and then see how far it gets you - pound to a penny you'll be leaving with a paramedic or at least a shiny eye!

If you're refereeing in a league where you have to walk on eggshells every match for fear of assault, I'd leave that league.
Although having refereed in the biggest sh*tholes Manchester, Leicestershire, Sheffield and Midlothian have to offer, I dare say you might be overestimating peoples tendency for violence.
I'm not saying talk to a spectator, talk to a club official or captain and explain calmly how it's going to be. This is very much a "no management, no discussion, I'M in charge" moment (don't actually say that!).
How can you possibly referee fairly if you think violence might be a responce to a decision?
 
ohhh ok, I think their might have been confusion on my part. I thought you were talking to the spectator/sent off player etc and not the manager/club official.

do apologise
 
Simple as this... if someone wants to stand there and give me abuse, challenge my decisions, shouting and swearing and refuses to move away.... end of game... icing on the cake, his players(he was the manager)standing there smirking and laughing..... end of game.... simple.
 
Simple as this... if someone wants to stand there and give me abuse, challenge my decisions, shouting and swearing and refuses to move away.... end of game... icing on the cake, his players(he was the manager)standing there smirking and laughing..... end of game.... simple.

Is that not a little more that you threw your toys out of the pram because you lost control?
 
Back
Top