A&H

Surprising game

dylanbailey4444

dylanbailey4444

Well-Known Member
Level 5 Referee
So I went back to my old secondary school yesterday for a game. It was year 10 (u15) (I am year 12 so would play in the u17 age group) and it was an interesting game.
School games are usually not difficult to referee and very few cards usually. This was totally different. 2 yellows, 3 reds, mass brawl.

1st yellow. SPA.
2nd yellow. Away team player shouted ‘ahhh’ as a home team player went to kick the ball. I have an indirect free kick to home team and yellow carded the away team player.

1st Red. The home team AR (the PE teacher and ‘manager’) gave a goal kick. The away team forward clearly felt this was a corner. He then looked at me, looked at the AR and went ‘f*cking cheat’. I sent him off. He then claimed that he said it to one of the home team centre backs?

One minute from full time, The away team goalkeeper and the home forward had tangled in the box. They were on the floor. (This was from a corner) I then turned my attention back to the person in possession on the right of me and then I looked back into the box and saw the home striker boot the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper then retaliated and kicked him and put his studs into the GK’s knee cap. I blew my whistle a few times and ran over. As I ran in, a player was shoved aggressively into the goal post. I saw what looked like punches thrown and people kicking people. Mainly the away team. I couldn’t identify them. The two PE teachers took their boys off away from each other after this mass confrontation. They gave both their sets of students a bollocking. Me and the two PE teachers (both were the assistants) had a chat and agreed that we couldn’t identify everyone and if we had VAR, then there would be reds all over the place. Probably around 3 on each side? I sent off the away goalkeeper and home striker and we played the reminder of added time (which by this point, added up to 10 minutes of added time)
I know the striker will most likely be put in isolation for a few days. I know some of the boys at that school as I finished there in the summer. Not a clue what will happen to the away team.

It’s the most red cards that I’ve ever given out during a game. I’m still learning how to properly deal with mass confrontations when I’m on my own in the middle. I can deal with just two players squaring up to each other, etc. but this for slightly out of hand. On reflection, I maybe should have abandoned it?
 
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dylanbailey4444 said:
So I went back to my old secondary school yesterday for a game. It was year 10 (u15) (I am year 12 so would play in the u17 age group) and it was an interesting game.
School games are usually not difficult to referee and very few cards usually. This was totally different. 2 yellows, 3 reds, mass brawl.

1st yellow. SPA.
2nd yellow. Away team player shouted ‘ahhh’ as a home team player went to kick the ball. I have an indirect free kick to home team and yellow carded the away team player.

1st Red. The home team AR (the PE teacher and ‘manager’) gave a goal kick. The away team forward clearly felt this was a corner. He then looked at me, looked at the AR and went ‘f*cking cheat’. I sent him off. He then claimed that he said it to one of the home team centre backs?

One minute from full time, The away team goalkeeper and the home forward had tangled in the box. They were on the floor. (This was from a corner) I then turned my attention back to the person in possession on the right of me and then I looked back into the box and saw the home striker boot the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper then retaliated and kicked him and put his studs into the GK’s knee cap. I blew my whistle a few times and ran over. As I ran in, a player was shoved aggressively into the goal post. I saw what looked like punches thrown and people kicking people. Mainly the away team. I couldn’t identify them. The two PE teachers took their boys off away from each other after this mass confrontation. They gave both their sets of students a bollocking. Me and the two PE teachers (both were the assistants) had a chat and agreed that we couldn’t identify everyone and if we had VAR, then there would be reds all over the place. Probably around 3 on each side? I sent off the away goalkeeper and home striker and we played the reminder of added time (which by this point, added up to 10 minutes of added time)
I know the striker will most likely be put in isolation for a few days. I know some of the boys at that school as I finished there in the summer. Not a clue what will happen to the away team.

It’s the most red cards that I’ve ever given out during a game. I’m still learning how to properly deal with mass confrontations when I’m on my own in the middle. I can deal with just two players squaring up to each other, etc. but this for slightly out of hand. On reflection, I maybe should have abandoned it?
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Sounds like an abandonment to me, but I wasn't there
Once players are fighting, there's nought much a Ref can do other than remember the main combatants and dismiss them
The question revolves around prevention. Think back through the game and ponder what opportunity there was to avoid the misconduct
 
Big Cat said:
Sounds like an abandonment to me, but I wasn't there
Once players are fighting, there's nought much a Ref can do other than remember the main combatants and dismiss them
The question revolves around prevention. Think back through the game and ponder what opportunity there was to avoid the misconduct
Click to expand...
Absolutely. I’ve been thinking about this. There were a few times where players got in each other’s ear or made silly comments or whatever. I think they’ve played each other twice this season and it’s kicked off each time (From my understanding) so I probably, on reflection, should have pulled in some players and told them to behave. I did usually when I was running I would just run past them and tell them to cut it out but maybe this wasn’t effective enough. Because most of those players weren’t throwing punches in the thing or kicking people etc (from what I can remember)
 
dylanbailey4444 said:
Absolutely. I’ve been thinking about this. There were a few times where players got in each other’s ear or made silly comments or whatever. I think they’ve played each other twice this season and it’s kicked off each time (From my understanding) so I probably, on reflection, should have pulled in some players and told them to behave. I did usually when I was running I would just run past them and tell them to cut it out but maybe this wasn’t effective enough. Because most of those players weren’t throwing punches in the thing or kicking people etc (from what I can remember)
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Excellent self criticism Dylan.

Only thing I would add, is that in school games (Often roll on roll off subs) it is sometimes worth having a public word with 2 players when they are trading silly comments. This often alerts the teacher in charge and he will sub said player(s). Of course there is the 'normal' benefit that applies to all games, that if you then have to caution/sin bin/even red card (for OFFINABUS), said players later, everyone will know why.
 
PinnerPaul said:
Excellent self criticism Dylan.

Only thing I would add, is that in school games (Often roll on roll off subs) it is sometimes worth having a public word with 2 players when they are trading silly comments. This often alerts the teacher in charge and he will sub said player(s). Of course there is the 'normal' benefit that applies to all games, that if you then have to caution/sin bin/even red card (for OFFINABUS), said players later, everyone will know why.
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Thanks Paul. Much appreciated. Thanks for the feedback! I’ll make sure to implement that next time round.
 
LothianRef said:
As I read it OFFINABUS can be directed at anyone so, even if he has said it to an opposition player instead of an official, you’re still correct in law to send him off.
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Yes. Precisely. I did try getting this across to the away team PE teacher. He said (when me and the two teachers came together after the mass con) that he wasn’t sure why one of his players was sent off earlier. I told him the reason and he said that his player wouldn’t say that and then asked me about the situiation then asked if I was sure it was directed at me. He didn’t seem to believe me, so he asked the other PE teacher 😂😂
 
dylanbailey4444 said:
Yes. Precisely. I did try getting this across to the away team PE teacher. He said (when me and the two teachers came together after the mass con) that he wasn’t sure why one of his players was sent off earlier. I told him the reason and he said that his player wouldn’t say that and then asked me about the situiation then asked if I was sure it was directed at me. He didn’t seem to believe me, so he asked the other PE teacher 😂😂
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Yeah what I'm getting at is that it sounds like he did direct it at either you or one of your assistants, but tries to get out of it by claiming it was directed elsewhere - which is obviously irrelevant.
 
LothianRef said:
Yeah what I'm getting at is that it sounds like he did direct it at either you or one of your assistants, but tries to get out of it by claiming it was directed elsewhere - which is obviously irrelevant.
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Yes. Agreed. Hopefully he learnt his lesson!
 
I’m a PE teacher. Well done on this game sounds horrific. I can tell you now I hope the school deal with that behaviour as strongly as they should.

Those students should not play school sport again for a very long time. No place for it.

We have a zero tolerance policy to any dissent or bad language or any of the above at our school football. Being a referee, I know how much goes on at club level and we will not have it at school at all. They are here to learn after all! If they can’t do it.. someone else will play instead of them simple ..
 
Redref34 said:
I’m a PE teacher. Well done on this game sounds horrific. I can tell you now I hope the school deal with that behaviour as strongly as they should.

Those students should not play school sport again for a very long time. No place for it.

We have a zero tolerance policy to any dissent or bad language or any of the above at our school football. Being a referee, I know how much goes on at club level and we will not have it at school at all. They are here to learn after all! If they can’t do it.. someone else will play instead of them simple ..
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Thank you! I appreciate that. I know the home school will. Like I said, I used to go there. They have a zero tolerance policy for dissent or arguing, etc. The striker I believe has been put in isolation for a few days and no doubt will be in a lot of trouble with the headmaster. I think the whole team are getting into a bit of trouble as well as, like I said, the majority of them were involved and it really was a ‘mass brawl’.
 
Just one final thing to add Dylan, don't blame yourself in any way for this happening. Should you have abandoned the match? The fact that it continued to the end without further incident indicates that you shouldn't have and therefore made the right call.

The worry after a mass con where punches and kicks are traded is a repeat once the game restarts or how the first tackle is going to be. It would've been the right call to abandon but it was also the right call not to.

The thing I find hardest is remembering who did what to whom and sometimes it's even difficult to remember who started it all in all the confusion. Sounds like you handled it spot on
 
Gamespoiler said:
Just one final thing to add Dylan, don't blame yourself in any way for this happening. Should you have abandoned the match? The fact that it continued to the end without further incident indicates that you shouldn't have and therefore made the right call.

The worry after a mass con where punches and kicks are traded is a repeat once the game restarts or how the first tackle is going to be. It would've been the right call to abandon but it was also the right call not to.

The thing I find hardest is remembering who did what to whom and sometimes it's even difficult to remember who started it all in all the confusion. Sounds like you handled it spot on
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Thank you. Much appreciated. I find that quite hard as well to be honest. I think even the two PE teachers lost track of who did what 😅
 
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