The Ref Stop

Postponing a game due to the temperature

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Interestingly I just looked up the heat stress index for yesterday.

And while I don't have the proper equipment for measuring humidity etc, it came up as 41, which is "Danger - sunstroke, muscle cramps, and/or heat exhaustion likely"
 
The Ref Stop
zarathustra said:
Do games get postponed often due to the temperature?
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A lot of pre season friendlies get cancelled due to heat. Comp games only get into hot season early on and late on. Generally the day before they get moved to early or late in the day with lower temps. Some junior games get postponed but hardly any senior games get postponed. There is a 5 degree difference in the threshold between juniors and seniors.
 
one said:
A lot of pre season friendlies get cancelled due to heat. Comp games only get into hot season early on and late on. Generally the day before they get moved to early or late in the day with lower temps. Some junior games get postponed but hardly any senior games get postponed. There is a 5 degree difference in the threshold between juniors and seniors.
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Thanks, who would normally make the call to postpone a match? Would the ref do it on the day, or would it be the club's that do it?
 
zarathustra said:
Thanks, who would normally make the call to postpone a match? Would the ref do it on the day, or would it be the club's that do it?
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It depends really. It's usually a consultation between the referee and club/team officials. It's rare they don't all agree on it. I hadn't heard of may. The ref has the final call.
 
one said:
It depends really. It's usually a consultation between the referee and club/team officials. It's rare they don't all agree on it. I hadn't heard of may. The ref has the final call.
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I guess that you have the benefit that in a country where extreme temperatures are normal that people understand the risks associated with them, so are more likely to understand the need to play the game when the temperature is a bit more reasonable.
 
Remember that the decision to call of the game isn't just about player safety, it's about your own as well. Do you personally feel at any kind of risk if it gets ridiculously hot? If yes, then it needs to be called off. Players and managers will probably feel it's a ridiculous decision but here in the UK people aren't used to running around in 35+ degree heat

Sheffields Finest said:
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Our wonderful FIFA representatives aren’t listening, they’ve no issue in making footballers and fans slog it out in 2022.

Football is played in heat all over the world, I’ve never heard of one being called off specially for heat over here, maybe they are all wrong, who knows!
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The difference here is that they are playing that WC in stadium which high power AC's and players from around the world are acclimatised to different weather conditions.
 
Actually, we rarely get 40+ degrees in Sydney. There are plenty of 30+ though. But they are during summer. We do have a long summer. The chances of comp games (winter plus a bit over month on each side) being postponed or cancelled is not that high.
 
QuaverRef said:
Remember that the decision to call of the game isn't just about player safety, it's about your own as well. Do you personally feel at any kind of risk if it gets ridiculously hot? If yes, then it needs to be called off. Players and managers will probably feel it's a ridiculous decision but here in the UK people aren't used to running around in 35+ degree heat


The difference here is that they are playing that WC in stadium which high power AC's and players from around the world are acclimatised to different weather conditions.
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Completely agree, I am reasonably fit, and I am used to running around it high temperatures, but I wouldn't have refereed a game yesterday
 
There's no way I would have refereed a game of football yesterday afternoon (in London). It was oppressive.

My 7 year old was due to be at a football training camp. We kept him home.
 
If the forecast indicated temps -> mid to high 30s, I'm on the phone to my refsec with as much advanced warning as possible to indicate a replacement ref. This Global Warming business is threatening my fledgling career (until they allow us to wear tin foil instead of those sticky black catsuits). In a world in which games are abandoned at the drop of a hat for any reason during the winter, playing in the 90's on concrete pitches is mental and not the game I'm interested in
 
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I emailed my RDO asking there was any official guidance on this, he said he hadn't seen any but would ask when he was back in the office.
 
one said:
Actually, we rarely get 40+ degrees in Sydney. There are plenty of 30+ though. But they are during summer. We do have a long summer. The chances of comp games (winter plus a bit over month on each side) being postponed or cancelled is not that high.
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30+ is extreme for the UK. The hottest day on record was 38.5, and that was in 2003.

The hottest day on record in Sheffield is/was 34.3, but I don't know if that was beaten on Thursday.

Average temperatures for this time of year are normally low to mid 20s, so Thursday was probably getting on for 15 degrees hotter than what we would normally be getting at this time of year.

It's not a regular occurrence, and when we do get these extreme temperatures they do normally fall outside of the competitive football season, but, I do think that it is something that needs to be considered.

Especially at grass roots where we aren't in an air conditioned stadium with doctors and paramedics on standby.
 
It was the second highest apparently, I was down south though, 37 in Jersey on tuesday afternoon, Swindon said 37 in my car but I just got on with it and didn't need any pampering!
 
Sheffields Finest said:
It was the second highest apparently, I was down south though, 37 in Jersey on tuesday afternoon, Swindon said 37 in my car but I just got on with it and didn't need any pampering!
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Who needs pampering?

Playing football in extremely hot weather is dangerous.

I doubt you read the attachments @one posted yesterday, but New South Wales advise games should be postponed if the temperature is 37 or above for adults, or 32 or above for children.

Are they pampering players, or are they taking sensible precautions to protect the players and match officials?

I'm not saying postpone games when's it's a little warm, I specifically asked about extreme temperatures, 30+ degrees is extreme for the UK.
 
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Sheffields Finest said:
It was the second highest apparently, I was down south though, 37 in Jersey on tuesday afternoon, Swindon said 37 in my car but I just got on with it and didn't need any pampering!
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Being in a car with air con isn’t exactly a direct comparison to running around in the heat. I also know a few manual workers that during those few days of extreme weather took the day off knowing there was a risk.

Heatstroke is a life threatening condition which is caused by your core body temperature being over 40 degrees and your body not taking on enough fluids. This simply can’t be ruled out as risk when it was at hot as it was in the UK. The world health organisation actually recommend themselves to ‘Avoid strenuous physical activity in temperatures exceeding 32 degrees’
 
https://www.who.int/globalchange/publications/heat-and-health/en/

Keep out of the heat
  • Move to the coolest room in the home, especially at night.
  • If it is not possible to keep your home cool, spend 2–3 hours of the day in a cool place (such as an air-conditioned public building).
  • Avoid going outside during the hottest time of the day.
  • Avoid strenuous physical activity if you can. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 4:00 and 7:00.
  • Stay in the shade.
  • Do not leave children or animals in parked vehicles.
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More pampering advice from the World Health Organisation.

But what do they know, of course some old guy from Sheffield know better than medical and health care professionals
 
I regularly visit hot premises in my role, factories, foundries, paint shops, heat treatment works so everyone including myself is well used to temperature. I went to one in Stockton a few weeks ago, 33 outside, no uncovered arms were allowed so I had to put on my coat, hi vis, hard hat etc, thermometer said 60c in the factory... That was seriously uncomfortable.

Just remind me when the H&S police took over in football? Hot, cold, the worlds gone mad!
 
Sheffields Finest said:
I regularly visit hot premises in my role, factories, foundries, paint shops, heat treatment works so everyone including myself is well used to temperature. I went to one in Stockton a few weeks ago, 33 outside, no uncovered arms were allowed so I had to put on my coat, hi vis, hard hat etc, thermometer said 60c in the factory... That was seriously uncomfortable.

Just remind me when the H&S police took over in football? Hot, cold, the worlds gone mad!
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So what, I spent 2 tours conducting combat operations in Afghanistan in the summer, wearing body armour, helmet, carrying an LMG 1000 rounds, grenades, spare rounds for the GPMG and may a couple of 51mm mortar rounds, as well as 48 hours rations and at least 10 litres of water.

All that kit came close to 100lbs extra weight, and I was running through streams, climbing in and out of ditches, over walls, carry casualties etc and we would be out for weeks at a time living out of the back of land rovers.

I still wouldn't referee a game of football at 38 degrees. Why? Because 1. It is dangerous, especially if you are unfit and/or not used to those temperatures, 2) football is a hobby and I'm not going to put my health or the health of the players at risk.

It isn't H/S gone mad, it's is avoiding unnecessary risks.

It's strange, youre against people cleaning their boots because it isn't important, but you wouldn't think twice about playing a game in extremely dangerous conditions.
 
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