Player Walking Away

[MR1]

I was watching West Brom v Reading last week when this incident occurred.

On the halfway line the Reading right back clears out the West Brom left wing. Clear yellow card.

It was a quick break, by the time the ref gets to the scene the offending player is 10 yards away and walking back to his position. The referee goes to his pocket and is clearly calling the offender to come to him so he can carry out the caution. He calls him twice, then gesticulates for the player to come to him, the player continues to walk away, and is now probably 20 yards away.

It’s one of those where the whole crowd can see what’s happening, most thinking don’t you dare go to him ref….but guess what, the ref goes to him, crowd boos and the caution is given.

I can see in a pro game that the ref wouldn’t want to yellow for the foul and then yellow for the dissent, they hardly ever do that.

I’m in my second season reffing and I’ve never had a player not come when I’ve instructed, but it left me wondering how I would deal with it.

Couple of questions at grass roots:

1. Assuming there was a foul, but you WEREN’T intending to caution the player, but it was serious enough for a warning, if the player refused to come to you, would you consider them not coming to you dissent and Sin bin?

2. If you were intending to caution and they didn’t come would you caution for the foul and and sin bin?

For me, in terms of game management I make sure I don’t make public demands unless I’m going to follow through, but on this one the ref made such a show and then did nothing, he ended up being massively disrespected and made to look weak.

 

[Kent Ref]

Scenario 1 - "player if you don't come here i will take action"

Scenario 2 "player you have one yellow already do you want 2?"

 

[santa sangria]

Depending in the situation there might be other options, like the referee moving to the side to a “neutral space” which can trigger the player - or make it easier to sell a card if the player doesn’t come.

The other is to jog on and intercept the player. I’ve seen it done but not managed it myself. Very context dependent but can work if the player is walking and the referee is moving.

 

[Viridis1886]

If they were definitely getting one card, and running the risk of getting a second then I would be tempted to get the captain to act as taxi. "Skipper, he's getting a yellow and I need to speak to him. Get him to come over to me now or he's getting a second one for dissent".

Perhaps combined with Santa's suggestion of going to a neutral space or meeting them at a midpoint as they get to save a bit of face too.

 

[wazztie16]

If they were definitely getting one card, and running the risk of getting a second then I would be tempted to get the captain to act as taxi. "Skipper, he's getting a yellow and I need to speak to him. Get him to come over to me now or he's getting a second one for dissent".

Perhaps combined with Santa's suggestion of going to a neutral space or meeting them at a midpoint as they get to save a bit of face too.

Guarantee that does the trick. No skipper wants a player on 2 yellows with 10 minutes off the pitch to boot.

 

[GraemeS]

Generally the advice isn't to summon a player to you, rather to try and move them to a neutral position - either meet them half way or at the point of a triangle where the two of your starting positions make up the other two points. You'll get away with calling players over in specific circumstances, but if the player is at all disputing the yellow, unhappy with you generally or is looking to try and waste even more time, they'll probably just ignore you.

As you rightly say, this is dissent by action and would result in a sin bin at our level - so getting the captain in and asking him to control his players is definitely the right move. Don't hesitate to move to this either, every failed attempt to call him erodes your authority that little bit more. You'll have called the player over as you move into position, then whistle and shout once you realise he's not responded - this is the point to change your attention to the captain.

 

[Macca]

Been there plenty of times, and if it looks like a player is walking off I do what GrameS mentions - I always move to a point of a triangle where our two positions are the other points. This might only be a yard or two but it is perceived as you being accommodating without eroding authority.
If they aren't quick smart about it, I'll warm them that I will card them and I will absolutely follow through. I'll do it loudly so there are no surprises if a (second) card comes out.

 

[Kes]

All dependent on the particulars at the time for me.

I'd respectfully suggest however that a player simply ignoring you when you request them to "step into your office" should more likely be cautioned for USB (showing a lack of respect for the game) rather than dissent - in which case it'd be a second yellow and then a red. Whilst it might be correct in law, it's something I'd consider extremely carefully before doing though ...

As I said, all dependent on what's going on at the time ...

 

[GraemeS]

From the LOTG glossary:

Dissent - Public protest of disagreement (verbal and/or physical) with a match official's decision.

Refusing to engage in the cautioning procedure is a pretty clear protest against that decision I'd argue?

 

[ChasObserverRefDeveloper]

An interesting one - if you summon a player to caution them, nothing in the LOTG indicates they have to come to you.
The better approach is to move towards them, as Graeme has said above, and invite rather than demand . . . e. g. "Yes, please, 5" as you move to a neutral point.