Tomorrow morning's game brings to an end of one of the longest weeks I've experienced in a long time.
It started quietly enough with a trip to one of the wettest grounds I've refereed at for a fixture between two teams close to the bottom of the bottom division of the local Sunday League. I had one of my assessments there when I was going for promotion to Level 5 and in the words of the assessor, it was a true blood and thunder cup tie. This game was much quieter but I had to do something I've never done before which is consider sanctioning a player before kick off. I decided to caution and did my best to work with this player to keep him in the game but close to the end of the game he received a second caution and was dismissed.
Since coming back to active refereeing, I have gotten into the habit of arriving at games already changed. The simple reason is that unlike when I first started on the league, I don't need to get to know the teams (I know 99% of them already), so after the game, I head home rather than staying for a drink. It also means my match fee gets home intact! As a result of going changed, I leave my valuables, car keys excepted, at home including my iPhone from which I've become inseparable since getting it just over a year ago.
When I arrived home the phone started to ring and it was a colleague who had a bad experience at a game. He talked me through it, including the threats of violence against his person and car, I listened to what had happened and advised him to report the whole incident to the County FA, including the accusations made against him. He seemed happier and as I was about to end the call, I got notified that I had a call waiting. I said my goodbyes and took the second call.
Again it was another referee who had a bad experience at a game. His experience involved similar accusations and was no less worrying that the incidents which had occurred in the other game, although on this occasion there was no threat of physical violence. I listened, asked questions and gave the same advice - report it to the County FA. Neither situation should have arisen but both did and the fall out was still occurring until Thursday with many of the County's senior administrators becoming involved. Hopefully with a new weekend in football we can all move on.
When incidents occur in games on tv I've gotten used to work colleagues asking my opinion and most treat me as their "mate at work who's a referee who said ..." reference point for anything they want to discuss at the pub. This week, it was a local news issue which raised my profile momentarily as "the man who would know". The story involved a game which was abandoned after the referee refused to continue while a youth player failed to comply with his instruction to remove his hearing aid.
In today's climate of personal injury lawyers and "where there's blame, there's a claim", everyone involved with any form of activity have to be aware of the dangers of acting negligently and leaving themselves liable for a claim for damages in the event of a participant suffering an injury. In the situation above, the match official could have confirmed with the parents of the player that they were aware of the (limited) risk of injury and allowed the player to continue to participate. The fact that he should have identified and addressed the situation before kick off as part of his pre-match preparations is another matter entirely. My view, which I share with the County FA, is that there is minimal risk in that situation and where possible, we should encourage as many people to play as possible.
The high point of the week came as I took advantage of an offer by the County FA to attend a professional game as their guest. I went to watch Huddersfield Town vs Hartlepool United and saw the home team earn a 1-0 after a workmanlike performance. Along with referees from the School of Excellence and the Development Group, I took notes on the referee's performance and these will be discussed at a later meeting of the SoE, when the referee drops in for a chat.
The low point of the week came straight off the back of that trip as news came through that 6 British soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan. They were from the Yorkshire Regiment, which is my old team leaders regiment from his days in the Territorial Army where he was a tank commander - a true weekend warrior. Whatever your thoughts (and mine) on the rights and wrongs of the wars taking place around the world, this week's loss of life has touched very close to home. You see not only were they from the Yorkshire Regiment, but most were from within 10 miles of my home. One of them, Jake Hartley, went to school with my daughter.
She has been grief stricken all week and this is not the mass teen hysteria too often seen around events that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. This is a girl whose life has been irrevocably changed by the loss of a former school friend and for me, she is far too young to have to bear that kind of grief. She and many of her friends were at the angry stage of the acceptance curve yesterday and will take some time to come to terms with this loss. I'm hoping that won't take too long, but I also hope they don't forget the loss of their friend.
It was good to see that the County FA and my local Sunday League, which takes in much of the area in which Jake and his friends will have grown up, have decided to allow the marking of their passing with a minutes silence before games this weekend, as a mark of respect for Jake and his colleagues. Jake was a renowned sportsman within his regiment and hopefully tomorrow's games can be a fitting tribute to his memory.
Rest in peace, Cpl Jake Hartley, 3rd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment, former pupil of Earlsheaton High School, son of Dewsbury.
Continue reading...
It started quietly enough with a trip to one of the wettest grounds I've refereed at for a fixture between two teams close to the bottom of the bottom division of the local Sunday League. I had one of my assessments there when I was going for promotion to Level 5 and in the words of the assessor, it was a true blood and thunder cup tie. This game was much quieter but I had to do something I've never done before which is consider sanctioning a player before kick off. I decided to caution and did my best to work with this player to keep him in the game but close to the end of the game he received a second caution and was dismissed.
Since coming back to active refereeing, I have gotten into the habit of arriving at games already changed. The simple reason is that unlike when I first started on the league, I don't need to get to know the teams (I know 99% of them already), so after the game, I head home rather than staying for a drink. It also means my match fee gets home intact! As a result of going changed, I leave my valuables, car keys excepted, at home including my iPhone from which I've become inseparable since getting it just over a year ago.
When I arrived home the phone started to ring and it was a colleague who had a bad experience at a game. He talked me through it, including the threats of violence against his person and car, I listened to what had happened and advised him to report the whole incident to the County FA, including the accusations made against him. He seemed happier and as I was about to end the call, I got notified that I had a call waiting. I said my goodbyes and took the second call.
Again it was another referee who had a bad experience at a game. His experience involved similar accusations and was no less worrying that the incidents which had occurred in the other game, although on this occasion there was no threat of physical violence. I listened, asked questions and gave the same advice - report it to the County FA. Neither situation should have arisen but both did and the fall out was still occurring until Thursday with many of the County's senior administrators becoming involved. Hopefully with a new weekend in football we can all move on.
When incidents occur in games on tv I've gotten used to work colleagues asking my opinion and most treat me as their "mate at work who's a referee who said ..." reference point for anything they want to discuss at the pub. This week, it was a local news issue which raised my profile momentarily as "the man who would know". The story involved a game which was abandoned after the referee refused to continue while a youth player failed to comply with his instruction to remove his hearing aid.
In today's climate of personal injury lawyers and "where there's blame, there's a claim", everyone involved with any form of activity have to be aware of the dangers of acting negligently and leaving themselves liable for a claim for damages in the event of a participant suffering an injury. In the situation above, the match official could have confirmed with the parents of the player that they were aware of the (limited) risk of injury and allowed the player to continue to participate. The fact that he should have identified and addressed the situation before kick off as part of his pre-match preparations is another matter entirely. My view, which I share with the County FA, is that there is minimal risk in that situation and where possible, we should encourage as many people to play as possible.
The high point of the week came as I took advantage of an offer by the County FA to attend a professional game as their guest. I went to watch Huddersfield Town vs Hartlepool United and saw the home team earn a 1-0 after a workmanlike performance. Along with referees from the School of Excellence and the Development Group, I took notes on the referee's performance and these will be discussed at a later meeting of the SoE, when the referee drops in for a chat.
The low point of the week came straight off the back of that trip as news came through that 6 British soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan. They were from the Yorkshire Regiment, which is my old team leaders regiment from his days in the Territorial Army where he was a tank commander - a true weekend warrior. Whatever your thoughts (and mine) on the rights and wrongs of the wars taking place around the world, this week's loss of life has touched very close to home. You see not only were they from the Yorkshire Regiment, but most were from within 10 miles of my home. One of them, Jake Hartley, went to school with my daughter.
She has been grief stricken all week and this is not the mass teen hysteria too often seen around events that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. This is a girl whose life has been irrevocably changed by the loss of a former school friend and for me, she is far too young to have to bear that kind of grief. She and many of her friends were at the angry stage of the acceptance curve yesterday and will take some time to come to terms with this loss. I'm hoping that won't take too long, but I also hope they don't forget the loss of their friend.
It was good to see that the County FA and my local Sunday League, which takes in much of the area in which Jake and his friends will have grown up, have decided to allow the marking of their passing with a minutes silence before games this weekend, as a mark of respect for Jake and his colleagues. Jake was a renowned sportsman within his regiment and hopefully tomorrow's games can be a fitting tribute to his memory.
Rest in peace, Cpl Jake Hartley, 3rd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment, former pupil of Earlsheaton High School, son of Dewsbury.
Continue reading...
