A&H

Sunday league fun!

QuaverRef

I used to be indecisive but now i'm not so sure
Level 4 Referee
Yesterdays game, yellow v blue. Cross comes into the box from Yellow after a short corner, yellow attacker in the box offside as he heads the ball wide. FK given, indirect signal shown and I call out for the offside.

Goalkeeper grabs a spare ball from the side of the goal drops it at the point of the offside, lumping it upfield and catching yellow defence cold and blue attacker (easily 5 yards ahead of the yellow defence) is in one on one. No flag from the CAR but I give the offside. Cue 2 dissent cards, and general anger from the blues citing 'you can't be offside from a goal kick'. Apparently it doesn't matter how many times you tell them it wasn't a goal kick, it was a free kick doesn't matter. This is on top of a CAR flagging for offside from a throw in 10 minutes earlier :wall: The joys of sunday league football!
 
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Fun times.

Just wondering - how close to the GA was the offside?

The offside issue is why it's sometimes better to just goal with the goal kick (that, and Sunday League players sometimes throw temper tantrums if you award the offside rather than the GK even if it makes no difference - and even benefits them slightly!)
 
Yesterdays game, yellow v blue. Cross comes into the box from Yellow after a short corner, yellow attacker in the box offside as he heads the ball wide. FK given, indirect signal shown and I call out for the offside.

Goalkeeper grabs a spare ball from the side of the goal drops it at the point of the offside, lumping it upfield and catching yellow defence cold and blue attacker (easily 5 yards ahead of the yellow defence) is in one on one. No flag from the CAR but I give the offside. Cue 2 dissent cards, and general anger from the blues citing 'you can't be offside from a goal kick'. Apparently it doesn't matter how many times you tell them it wasn't a goal kick, it was a free kick doesn't matter. This is on top of a CAR flagging for offside from a throw in 10 minutes earlier :wall: The joys of sunday league football!
Mandatory use of CARs is contentious
They're either a headache or a migraine in OA
In the Youth game, they generally tend to be a responsible adult and are therefore helpful. On the whole, I'd rather referee games without them
As of next year, we won't need to raise the arm for IDFKs that have no realistic chance of being scored. GK just sounds like the better option in hindsight
 
The fear with these goal kick/offside things is, you really dont want to be chalking off a "goal", so, offside is prob preferable, unless of course its going way wide and no danger of a goal

I had a top flight incident where ref gave offside after AR flag in the other 6 yard box.....the restart was taken from the 6, punted up park, striker at my end was offside from the kick, so, up flag went, and shouted "offside 9" down comms.......ref shouted back "get your flag down its a goal kick", to which I shouted back "then why is your hand up in the air" and other AR butted in with "yes was from a offside"

Thing was, I had the home crowd going ape behind me, as, to them also, it was a goal kick and there was me flagging......
 
Fun times.

Just wondering - how close to the GA was the offside?

The offside issue is why it's sometimes better to just goal with the goal kick (that, and Sunday League players sometimes throw temper tantrums if you award the offside rather than the GK even if it makes no difference - and even benefits them slightly!)

It was around 9/10 yards out. Between the 6 yard and penalty spot anyway. The players around the kick were happy with the decision, it was more of the players who weren't in and around the PA as they were looking through a body of players and if they aren't paying that much attention to me, could easily have thought it was a GK so I understand the complaints. However, there always seem to be that odd handful of players which argue regardless of the explanation!
 
Trying to explain your decision is a fruitless exercise on Sunday League, that's what I've concluded anyway. I'll calmly say that I will explain my decision and then when I start to explain and they inevitably jump in after a few seconds and start arguing I just say that I tried to explain but you're not interested in listening so we're moving on (all cap my and politely of course). I've pretty much quoted law word by word before and still they disagree so what's the point. If they butt in when I'm trying to answer their question then sometimes I'll offer to explain after the game but we're moving on now just so I don't end up in a debate.
 
To further add to the title "Sunday League Fun". Yesterday's match was 2 teams in the top division. The game was competitive but fair, good standard, proper Sunday League stuff with a number of very good players who play at a decent level on a Saturday.

Game was at a top sports facility so I'm looking forward to it. Get there and there lines are barely visible from the side, from the middle I csnt see any of the touchlines. I tell both gaffers from the middle of the pitch (and skippers at the toss) to look around and see if you can see any lines, which clearly they can't. "Tell your lads to play to the whistle please as there's only me here and there will be times that the ball may go out and I miss it, I'm giving what I see and if I'm 100% sure it's out I'll give it and if I'm not then I won't give it. Play to the whistle!!! Everyone agrees and we have a laugh about how poor it is that the home team pays top whack for a pitch with no visible lines. 2 mins to go, home team score from a cut back which the away team are convinced has gone out. I allow it as I was just outside the box after a 60 yard sprint (lad up front was rapid on the break) and had no idea if it had gone out or not, no visible line. All the ore match talk out of the window. Everyone agreed with me beforehand that I was doing the impossible job but once the problem occurred in the game sense went out of the window. Ironic thing was the gaffer who was incensed was 50 yards away and would not have been able to tell.

Anyway, the result wasn't effected but it's the usual "Sunday League Fun". To be fair it was fun for 89 mins! Maybe 88 because the centre half was throwing up on the pitch early on too lol
 
I be far more offended by player spewing on park than I am by CAR pissing at side of park.....

suppose thats a new topic in itself
 
Trying to explain your decision is a fruitless exercise on Sunday League, that's what I've concluded anyway. I'll calmly say that I will explain my decision and then when I start to explain and they inevitably jump in after a few seconds and start arguing I just say that I tried to explain but you're not interested in listening so we're moving on (all cap my and politely of course). I've pretty much quoted law word by word before and still they disagree so what's the point. If they butt in when I'm trying to answer their question then sometimes I'll offer to explain after the game but we're moving on now just so I don't end up in a debate.

I hear that.

Sometimes you have to realise that you may as well just go into robot mode since nobody will listen.

It took me a while to understand that even the player who politely asks you to explain a decision doesn't actually want an explanation - rather he just wants to argue it with you and give you his opinion.

Once or twice, (rightly or wrongly) this season I've experienced what you allude to above and have reached for the yellow as soon as I'm interrupted. I don't know why some players even bother ....
 
To further add to the title "Sunday League Fun". Yesterday's match was 2 teams in the top division. The game was competitive but fair, good standard, proper Sunday League stuff with a number of very good players who play at a decent level on a Saturday.

Game was at a top sports facility so I'm looking forward to it. Get there and there lines are barely visible from the side, from the middle I csnt see any of the touchlines. I tell both gaffers from the middle of the pitch (and skippers at the toss) to look around and see if you can see any lines, which clearly they can't. "Tell your lads to play to the whistle please as there's only me here and there will be times that the ball may go out and I miss it, I'm giving what I see and if I'm 100% sure it's out I'll give it and if I'm not then I won't give it. Play to the whistle!!! Everyone agrees and we have a laugh about how poor it is that the home team pays top whack for a pitch with no visible lines. 2 mins to go, home team score from a cut back which the away team are convinced has gone out. I allow it as I was just outside the box after a 60 yard sprint (lad up front was rapid on the break) and had no idea if it had gone out or not, no visible line. All the ore match talk out of the window. Everyone agreed with me beforehand that I was doing the impossible job but once the problem occurred in the game sense went out of the window. Ironic thing was the gaffer who was incensed was 50 yards away and would not have been able to tell.

Anyway, the result wasn't effected but it's the usual "Sunday League Fun". To be fair it was fun for 89 mins! Maybe 88 because the centre half was throwing up on the pitch early on too lol
I carry dozens of brightly coloured flat discs in the car. I place them just outside the FOP to give me some clue as to where the lines are
It's a frequent problem. Beyond the call of duty, but I prefer that to a goal scored following ball out-of-play
 
I carry dozens of brightly coloured flat discs in the car. I place them just outside the FOP to give me some clue as to where the lines are
It's a frequent problem. Beyond the call of duty, but I prefer that to a goal scored following ball out-of-play


That’s a good idea - I may nick it.

It does, however, reminded me of an unrelated event that happened to me a few years ago... (in my pre-refereeing day’s)

I was conscious that I had put on a few pounds, so I decided, at the start of the summer holidays, that I was going to get fit.

Popped into Sports Direct and bought some flat disc/cone things, downloaded the bleep test app and headed of to my local park, measured the correct distance and put a cone at each end.

I started the bleep test, and began my shuttles, starting with little more than a walk, but each minute the time between bleeps shortened and I had to speed up.

Now on about level six, I’m having to jog/run at a reasonable pace, reach one cone on the bleep, turn and start to run the other way to see a dog disappearing into the distance with my cone/disc in its mouth!

I gave up on the bleep test and went for a jog instead.
 
That’s a good idea - I may nick it.

It does, however, reminded me of an unrelated event that happened to me a few years ago... (in my pre-refereeing day’s)

I was conscious that I had put on a few pounds, so I decided, at the start of the summer holidays, that I was going to get fit.

Popped into Sports Direct and bought some flat disc/cone things, downloaded the bleep test app and headed of to my local park, measured the correct distance and put a cone at each end.

I started the bleep test, and began my shuttles, starting with little more than a walk, but each minute the time between bleeps shortened and I had to speed up.

Now on about level six, I’m having to jog/run at a reasonable pace, reach one cone on the bleep, turn and start to run the other way to see a dog disappearing into the distance with my cone/disc in its mouth!

I gave up on the bleep test and went for a jog instead.
My fitness regimes and diets also end in similar and recurrent misfortune!
BTW, you can get discs which are slightly raised by a few cm
Without them, I'd have called one game off earlier in the year because the lines were so feint. Not much one can do about the PA however
 
The fear with these goal kick/offside things is, you really dont want to be chalking off a "goal", so, offside is prob preferable, unless of course its going way wide and no danger of a goal

I had a top flight incident where ref gave offside after AR flag in the other 6 yard box.....the restart was taken from the 6, punted up park, striker at my end was offside from the kick, so, up flag went, and shouted "offside 9" down comms.......ref shouted back "get your flag down its a goal kick", to which I shouted back "then why is your hand up in the air" and other AR butted in with "yes was from a offside"

Thing was, I had the home crowd going ape behind me, as, to them also, it was a goal kick and there was me flagging......
Why would you be chalking off a goal if it's a goal kick?
 
My fitness regimes and diets also end in similar and recurrent misfortune!
BTW, you can get discs which are slightly raised by a few cm
Without them, I'd have called one game off earlier in the year because the lines were so feint. Not much one can do about the PA however

I'd say 3/4 of the grass venues I've been to this season have had lines which aren't up to scratch. I don't mean a little faint, I mean clearly not been re-lined in weeks. This was a top venue on Sunday and one which charge top whack for teams to hire. The regular Saturday team that I do every other week play at a school and the lines there haven't been done in months I'd say. No white on them in places.

I just explain that I can't see them so we've two choices, we decide to play but dont whinge when I get it wrong or we all go home. Everyone always wants to play and everyone whinges when I get it wrong 🤣🤣 seriously though, I'm bored of it and the private venues are as bad as the council ones.
 
I be far more offended by player spewing on park than I am by CAR pissing at side of park.....

suppose thats a new topic in itself

All you can do is laugh along with everyone else. He headed the ball and just hurled instantly. He even laughed himself. He's a semi pro player who'd had a big win the day before and celebrated a bit too hard. A lad from the facility came and cleaned it up. I've seen many players hurl in the changing rooms and on the sideline down the years but never on the pitch during the match.
 
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