A&H

Opinions wanted - 20 cards in one game!

Tonkers16

New Member
Hello! I recently had the most difficult game to manage that I have refereed in my career (aside from an earlier incident when I was 15 refereeing in a men's league and one team was a hot headed armed forces team). I have a tendency to not want to give out too many cards and rarely show a red card unless it is really obvious and deserved (for example, 2 clear cautionable offenses or DOGSO or a violent conduct situation). I've refereed at the university and collegiate level and have been an AR at youth national competitions. I was refereeing an U17 Boys game and the winner of the match would be one of the 10 teams competing for the national title later in October. the first 45 minutes were pretty good, 4 yellow cards, 1 for stopping a promising attack, another 1 for unsporting behaviour (kicking the opponent after the play but not in a very violent manner) and 2 for dissent for language that was directed towards players of the opposite team. 1 of those cards for dissent was issued when 2 of the guys had been bickering back and forth on the pitch trying to get the other one going. As I was jogging by earlier, I told them both to leave that stuff out of the game. Shortly afterwards these 2 players got caught up in a challenge and one of the players was fouled. There was no protest in the decision to award the free kick but they started mouthing again. I called them both over and told them that I could caution both of them for their behaviour on the pitch towards each other or that they could choose to keep their mouths shut, stop throwing insults at each other and play soccer. 1 player immediately said you're right, I'm sorry while the other player turned walked away 4-5 steps, turned around again and started mouthing the player while I am still standing next to him. As a result, I cautioned him in the 23rd minute and noted it as dissent.
2nd half - the player that I had cautioned learned to keep his mouth shut had committed his 7 foul of the game. None of them had been particularly bad but this last one he was late on the challenge as the ball was cleared and he stepped on the player's foot, but also turned his back and effectively hip-checked him hockey-style in the 55th minute. I made sure the player was OK as he had been sent sprawling to the ground from the force of the hip-check. I called the offending player over, and issued his 2nd caution of the match and then showed him the red card. In the 60th minute of play, a player recently substituted into the game ran towards the opponent (about 10 feet away) whom had his back turned to the oncoming player. The defending player deliberately pushed the opponent with 2 hands and made no attempt to play the ball and laughed when the player fell to the ground. I showed him a yellow card for unsporting behaviour. In the 65th minute, ran towards an opponent who had possession of the ball in their defending half near the corner, extended his arms straight and shoved the opponent squarely in the chest with both hands, knocking him down. Again, as he made no intent to play the ball, I showed him his 2nd caution of the game and he was ejected from the match after having played maybe a total of 6 minutes. It was the same team that received both red cards at this time and many of the players questioned why some of the other players on the other team hadn't received cautions for their fouls. I calmly explained that simply the act of committing a foul is not a cautionable offense; the severity of the foul needs to be considered and it was clear that their teammate had no intentions of playing the ball. Clearly 1 of the teams was upset as they were playing with 9 men on the field. In the 67th minute, a player that I had already spoken to verbally disagreed with one of my calls and said that I was favouring the other team. I was within 2 feet of him as he said this and I called him over. He immediately said very loudly (others on the pitch as well as on both of the players benches clearly heard him say to me You're a f*cking terrible referee, the fact that the majority of players on the pitch and the benches were able to hear what he said, and in order to maintain consistency during the game for players that were cautioned for comments directed towards other players, I felt that I had no choice but to caution him for dissent. Otherwise, but not acting, I feel that it could have been interpreted that I did not require respect during the match for my officiating and that by not cautioning the player, I would be inviting everyone to speak with me in that way as well. Had he said it quietly so only I could have heard him, given the fact that they were playing 2 men down and the game was still tied 0-0, I may have had another word with him as a final warning, but this was not the case. At this point, the player lost it and screamed at me that I was a joke and a f*cking clown who had no idea what he was doing and to get off my knees because I was so gay I was blowing the game, I'm sure even some of the spectators on the other side of the pitch heard these comments, I gave him another caution and then showed him the red card. I think that given the nature of the language used, I would also have been right to skip the 2nd caution and go to a straight red card. At this point, the coach for the team who was now going to play 3 men down said that I had to be reasonable because they other team already had an advantage going into the game because they were stronger and now his team had to play with 8 men on the field. I told him that it was the actions and decisions of his players that had caused that and that I was acting accordingly and left it at that.
The team playing at full strength had scored a goal and were winning 1-0. Cautioned the goal scorer for removing his shirt and cautioned the keeper for the team that scored based on advice from the AR as he witnessed the keeper provoking the crowd of parents for the opposing team. In the 73rd minute, I showed another red card to the same team (now down to 7) as he received his 2nd caution of the match. He was the player that was previously cautioned early in the game for stopping a promising attack and then he decided to jump on the band wagon and verbally attack me calling me f*cking terrible and a piece of garbage (also very loudly so everyone could hear). He received his caution because I had just awarded a penalty kick to the team at full strength and whom were winning 1-0 already for a poorly timed tackle inside the penalty area. His team attempted to stop the player and attempted a slide tackle, missed but pulled at the players legs with his arms as he was going by.
The team scored and it was 2-0. At this point, the mood of the game became subdued as reality set in that the team that was losing and playing with 7 players were in all likelihood not going to win the game and represent their club at nationals. The final incident involving a red card came in the 89th minute of play. The team that was winning had possession of the ball. The player in possession had previously been cautioned in the 29th minute as dissent towards an opponent. He had also been consistently voicing his concern that the opposing team was just fouling them to try and injure them. In the 88th minute, he had the ball at the touchline in front of his bench. He briefly layed down and posed, then got up on his feet, crouched over the ball and started running his hands over and in front of the ball (did not touch it), stood up with a big grin on his face and said to the other team while gesturing at them to come towards him, come and get me boys. The ball was shortly put out of play by the opposing team. I called the player over and issued him a caution for unsporting behaviour. I felt that given the situation, where the other team was already playing with 7 men, were down 2-0 and were in the dying minutes of the game that he showed a complete lack of respect towards the game as well as his opponents. He told me that the professionals do that all the time, to which I had replied, you also sometimes see the professionals get away with wearing jewelry and are not cautioned for removing their jersey after scoring a goal too, but that didn't happen on my field today and that he was expected to leave the pitch now.
I would like your opinions on the match and if there is anything that you would have done differently. I felt really bad for issuing so many cards but felt that they were justified based on the laws of the game. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments!
 
The Referee Store
Having read through that, all cards seem pretty much nailed on - in fact, I think there's a pretty good case that some of the second yellows could/should have been a red as you mention. I do wonder if perhaps trying to crack down more strongly in dissent may have helped a bit? Bring in captains early if you notice a problem and perhaps try managing it that way? Having said that, sounds like it was just one of those games where neither team really wants to play. Head up, good analysis, on we go!
 
Thanks Alex, your input is greatly appreciated. Perhaps I can add the bit regarding dissent into my pre-game chat with the captains for the coin toss about my expectations during the game. I'm glad to see that someone agrees with the cards. I felt bad about the first red card as this was a local team and I know the player and know that the foul was not committed intentionally. Unfortunately for him, he had decided to lose his head earlier in the game towards the other player and, well actions have consequences. It would have been interesting to know how the game would have played out had he not been ejected from the game!
 
Sounds like a great game.
As you write it, everything sounds perfect, all nailed on, well done. Seems like a very heavy game and I hope you got to talk about it with the ARs afterwards. So, all AI, tickety boo.

Now though, dust has settled, you've handled a very difficult game, your decisions in the KMIs sound excellent and your handing of the decisions... but...
What did you do that was e.g. new that worked really well?
What would you do differently?
 
What was your Club mark?? :rolleyes:
Sheffields Finest - I referee in New Brunswick, Canada and the referees are not awarded a club mark here. In fact, for this particular game, unfortunately there wasn’t even an assessor; which is what prompted me to join this forum and reach out to the referee community. A club mark is definitely an interesting proposal though that could certainly be looked at because I can see the benefits to implementing such a system.
 
Sounds like a great game.
As you write it, everything sounds perfect, all nailed on, well done. Seems like a very heavy game and I hope you got to talk about it with the ARs afterwards. So, all AI, tickety boo.

Now though, dust has settled, you've handled a very difficult game, your decisions in the KMIs sound excellent and your handing of the decisions... but...
What did you do that was e.g. new that worked really well?
What would you do differently?
It was a very entertaining game and was very enjoyable to referee up until one team decided to lose their cool.
The dust has in fact settled and I’m doing my next game since that one tomorrow morning and am happy to get back into it. I did have a chance to speak with the ARs and one thought that the game was managed very well and the other simply said “I think you did the best you could.” Having refereed at a higher level in the past and having played myself in a few national competitions in the youth level and at university, I have a different perspective or interpretation as to what is considered a foul and what to allow to play on. In the area where I currently reside, this U17 boys game would have been the highest level of soccer some of the referees would have ever been exposed to as referees, so it can be a steep learning curve for some.
I think that my pregame chat could have more emphasis on respect for the game and other players. I honestly believe that frustration was high with the first 2 deserved red cards and hormones or emotions got the best of these kids. When speaking with the captains, I usually remind them that they are here to play the game to the best of their ability and that we will referee to the best of ours. They may not agree with all the decisions I make on the field, just as I may not agree with their decisions as to what they decide to do with the ball. But, I’m not going to criticize their game play and I expect the same respect in return towards the officials. I’ll have to think about the best way to phrase any additional guidance about respect...maybe something along the lines of expecting them to play hard and within the spirit of fair play and the laws of the game...any suggestions are welcome though 🙂
What did I do well that was new for me...I have a tendency to run an opposite lazy S and I decided to work on running the “normal pattern” this season and it worked well. I think that my positioning during the game was probably what I had done best during the game and really worked at running or sprinting to get into the proper position to see the play clearly(for example, instead of sprinting straight down the field to catch up to the players, sprinting more towards the corner of the PA. While this took me further from the play, it did expand my field of view and created better angles to see shirt pulls, pushes, etc. That I would not have been able to see if I was running straight behind them).Another thing I feel I did well was not letting emotions (mine and the ones of those around me) influence my decision making on the game. Definitely a challenging game, especially when I average 2-3 red cards in a season and basically doubled that one a single game. With the card count so high, that is why I felt like putting it to the public and letting fellow referees be the judge, jury and if need be, the executioner. Seems from the comments though I’ve been found not guilt and fit to continue refereeing this season 😂
 
Sheffields Finest - I referee in New Brunswick, Canada and the referees are not awarded a club mark here. In fact, for this particular game, unfortunately there wasn’t even an assessor; which is what prompted me to join this forum and reach out to the referee community. A club mark is definitely an interesting proposal though that could certainly be looked at because I can see the benefits to implementing such a system.
Out of 10 then, what mark would you have expected??? Just for fun!! :cool:
 
Haven't really read the long posts but it sound like a very tough game. When I assess for games like that there is up to. +1 bonus point (out of 10 marks).
 
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Maybe if the game gets to that point to consider abandonment?

Also in these matches, if a team so much as breathes wrong, for me they get a card. You can't afford to give second chances and be nice. You have to be a bit of a hard*** sometimes and just dish out the cards.

Either the players get the message, or they don't, at which case the game will probably end in abandonment one way or another.
 
I've loved the Canadians that I've seen on holidays (Mexico, Cuba & Dominica) Happy, comical, & a mutual dislike for Americans...... except the bloody minded French Canadians, i've found them to be rude, condescending and full of their own importance... Can I ask that some of this lot were involved??
 
Yes, one team was predominantly French (all bilingual but first language being French) and the other team was from out of town but if I had to guess, I’d say half and half.
There are tons of English Canadians like you’ve described above too. I think it was basically down to them being hormone driven teenagers and a lack of knowledge in applying the laws of the game (as evidenced when they all became upset when one teammate had 2 fouls and was ejected).
There are also very nice French Canadians, but I understand your comment - the most vocal ones seem to be the complainers, but that’s how it is in most cultures, isn’t it?
 
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