A&H

Second game today - made a couple of mistakes

Mada

Active Member
Hello everyone,

I've spent countless hours reading through the forums and have picked up so many tips. I'd like to share my experience from my second game today (a friendly):
  1. After 5 minutes there was a poor tackle, the blue team came in with a high foot and caught the red team in the thigh. It certainly warranted a yellow and possibly a red. The blue player apologised, awknowledged he was late and high. I gave a yellow card but in hindsight it was close to being a straight red.
  2. A couple of minutes later the red team fouled the blue team late, I saw it as retaliation for the first tackle so gave a caution as well. It was protested by the player who fouled but not really by anyone else. No further incidents until the second half.
  3. 15 minutes from the end, there is a tackle in the defending penalty area by the striker of the blue team and the red team player takes exception to it (I didn't see anything more than a foul). The red team grabs the striker by the throat but the blue team striker does not relaliate. A little bit of pushing and shoving occured but once it calms down I pull the red player to one side with the captain who was also telling the player he was wrong to grab the other player. Here is where I went wrong. Probably by the letter of the law it should have been a red card but I agreed to send the player to the sin bin and they go down to 10 men for 10 minutes. I know that was wrong as it wasn't dissent (maybe the way he spoke to me for not blowing up for the foul straight away), no one complained from either team and the match carried on. He came back on and acknowledge he was in the wrong after 10 mins, I told him we have 5 mins left and to not give me any further problems. By the letter of the law I was wrong to send him to the sin bin but I thought it was a reasonable solution, I should not have been swayed by the captain.
  4. And now, my biggest error. The attacker gets the ball before the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper comes steaming out. The striker is put off by his presence and should certainly have scored but put it wide. There was minimal contact just as he prodded the ball away. I gave a penalty. The second I blew the whistle I knew I had made a mistake. The defending team surrounded me but I stuck to my decision and they scored the penalty (that team won by 4 goals so it didn't affect the outcome of the match) but if I could turn back time I know that wasn't a penalty. I made the decision too quickly.

So there we have it. To balance it out I was far more confident than my first game, I dealt with players and warned them. One of my strengths is letting the game flow and avoiding blowing for niggles. Other than the above I generally think I had a decent game, especially for my 2nd game. My decisions were questioned and I got some stick but I wonder what they would have thought honestly if they knew it was only my 2nd game (they didn't!).
 
The Referee Store
Hi @Mada

Well done for the reflection and self assessment.

1. If it was studs to the thigh it was most probably red. You bottled it by giving a yellow. You made a mistake and realise you did. Learn from it and don't repeat it.

2. Well done and well managed.

3. This for me is your biggest mistake. I can write pages on why you shouldn't use your own 'solution' and make things up as you go. I will just say, you would be doing yourself, all your colleagues (referees) and the game a disservice if you do that.

4. You can change your decision if you haven't restarted the game. I think your thoughts of giving yourself a little bit more time to make those tough decisions is a pretty good one. Again, you realise your mistake. Don't dwell on it. Learn from it.

All in all I think all you need is a bit more experience and confidence. Issuing your first red is a hard one. You need to get that out of the way. The first one makes you feel guilty. It needs a bit more confidence. But once you get your first one it becomes easier after that. Remember you are not responsible for keeping players on the field, they are.
 
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A referee that never maker a mistake is a liar..... well done on understanding your errors, that's the first part of learning!!!
 
Well done for realising that there were areas you could have done better in, thats really good.

I think reading between the lines you have been swayed by the "friendly" fixture.

It can be a nightmare, we should all referee the friendly games as we would in a league game, im guilty of it myself il be honest.

If the challenge in the first five minutes is a league he probably sees red, if the grab by the throat is a league game he probably sees red also.

Not a lot to add as you have assessed it yourself, penalty decisions just give yourself a couple of seconds, see which way the ball goes if unsure as that can be a handy tip.
 
Hi @Mada

Well done for the reflection and self assessment.

1. If it was studs to the thigh it was most probably red. You bottled it by giving a yellow. You made a mistake and realise you did. Learn from it and don't repeat it.

2. Well done and well managed.

3. This for me is your biggest mistake. I can write pages on why you shouldn't use your own 'solution' and make things up as you go. I will just say, you would be doing yourself, all your colleagues (referees) and the game a disservice if you do that.

4. You can change your decision if you haven't restarted the game. I think your thoughts of giving yourself a little bit more time to make those tough decisions is a pretty good one. Again, you realise your mistake. Don't dwell on it. Learn from it.

All in all I think all you need is a bit more experience and confidence. Issuing your first red is a hard one. You need to get that out of the way. The first one makes you feel guilty. It needs a bit more confidence. But once you get your first one it becomes easier after that. Remember you are not responsible for keeping players on the field, they are.

Thank you for taking the time to reply! Some interesting points around giving the first red (no doubt a mental obstacle to overcome) and also sticking to the laws of the game. I'm excited to get going again and saw a clear improvement in my confidence from the 1st to 2nd game so hopefully I can build on that.

Well done for realising that there were areas you could have done better in, thats really good.

I think reading between the lines you have been swayed by the "friendly" fixture.

It can be a nightmare, we should all referee the friendly games as we would in a league game, im guilty of it myself il be honest.

If the challenge in the first five minutes is a league he probably sees red, if the grab by the throat is a league game he probably sees red also.

Not a lot to add as you have assessed it yourself, penalty decisions just give yourself a couple of seconds, see which way the ball goes if unsure as that can be a handy tip.

Spot on, the mindset was different because it was a friendly. It would have taken a very brave decision to send someone off in a friendly after 5 minutes but in hindsight that was probably the right thing to do.

In other news the home team have asked if I will ref again for them so I hopefully they saw some positives in my performance too!
 
Hello everyone,

I've spent countless hours reading through the forums and have picked up so many tips. I'd like to share my experience from my second game today (a friendly):
  1. After 5 minutes there was a poor tackle, the blue team came in with a high foot and caught the red team in the thigh. It certainly warranted a yellow and possibly a red. The blue player apologised, awknowledged he was late and high. I gave a yellow card but in hindsight it was close to being a straight red.
  2. A couple of minutes later the red team fouled the blue team late, I saw it as retaliation for the first tackle so gave a caution as well. It was protested by the player who fouled but not really by anyone else. No further incidents until the second half.
  3. 15 minutes from the end, there is a tackle in the defending penalty area by the striker of the blue team and the red team player takes exception to it (I didn't see anything more than a foul). The red team grabs the striker by the throat but the blue team striker does not relaliate. A little bit of pushing and shoving occured but once it calms down I pull the red player to one side with the captain who was also telling the player he was wrong to grab the other player. Here is where I went wrong. Probably by the letter of the law it should have been a red card but I agreed to send the player to the sin bin and they go down to 10 men for 10 minutes. I know that was wrong as it wasn't dissent (maybe the way he spoke to me for not blowing up for the foul straight away), no one complained from either team and the match carried on. He came back on and acknowledge he was in the wrong after 10 mins, I told him we have 5 mins left and to not give me any further problems. By the letter of the law I was wrong to send him to the sin bin but I thought it was a reasonable solution, I should not have been swayed by the captain.
  4. And now, my biggest error. The attacker gets the ball before the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper comes steaming out. The striker is put off by his presence and should certainly have scored but put it wide. There was minimal contact just as he prodded the ball away. I gave a penalty. The second I blew the whistle I knew I had made a mistake. The defending team surrounded me but I stuck to my decision and they scored the penalty (that team won by 4 goals so it didn't affect the outcome of the match) but if I could turn back time I know that wasn't a penalty. I made the decision too quickly.

So there we have it. To balance it out I was far more confident than my first game, I dealt with players and warned them. One of my strengths is letting the game flow and avoiding blowing for niggles. Other than the above I generally think I had a decent game, especially for my 2nd game. My decisions were questioned and I got some stick but I wonder what they would have thought honestly if they knew it was only my 2nd game (they didn't!).
It's interesting that it takes some time to gain the confidence needed to dismiss players. I need a fair degree of certainty that a sending off offence has occurred, however some actions like VC are fairly black & white and actions must have consequences
The last incident sounds like DOGSO
Friendlies at Grass Roots are problematic to referee. I'll only agree to them if I need a run out and know the teams involved
 
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