SM
The avuncular one
In no particular order, this weeks chosen answers are:
7 - Hattersfan
I would deal with this situation in the following way:
In my opinion this scenario is simple offinabus. However the first comment I would make is that no matter how hard these players were to deal with in a previous game, you can't prejudge them and give them a hard time because of it. This is a completely new game, for all you know they may have learnt their lesson.
Moving on to the main incident, I would award the goal as I have seen nothing that could prompt me to disallow it. I would then walk away and record the goal in my match pad. However, I would make sure that I had my match pad up and could see all the players in case the goal had any negative repercussions, which in this case it did. As for the player running toward me, I would make an initial attempt to calm him down before trying to deal with him. I would keep both my body language and voice calm and relaxed as being confrontational would lead to the player getting angrier and a shouting match would ensue. Hopefully my aurora of calmness will radiate back to the player. When he has finished his outburst and calmed down, I will show him a red card before explaining that he has used offinabus towards me and taking his name. I will be mindful of any reactions that players of either team could have to the red card.
After the player has left the field, I will look to tighten up my match control. I will blow up for smaller fouls for the next 5-10 minutes in an attempt to rein the game in. I will explain to players who have further problems that it is only a friendly and nothing is really at stake. I will see how this approach goes with a view to possibly changing my match control style as the game calms down and develops.
9 - Xman
Here is my answer for the week 1 thread:
Observations around the situation
Firstly, it should be considered that this is not only just a friendly game but also a novelty match between over 35 players, which is a group of players where concessions may be made for in LotG as per page 3 of the book. This game is also a non-competitive, non-incentivised match and therefore your job should be to ensure that the match is played in a sporting and enjoyable manner in a recreational environment for those involved. It can also be noted that due to the nature of the match you are under no obligation to play the legislated 90 minutes as there may be agreement reached on behalf of both teams to stop the game early for any reason which may include but not be limited to: the scoreline, player injuries, player fatigue, adverse weather etc.
What to look for
As you have neutral assistants for this game, as soon as the ball has entered the goal and you are happy for the goal to be allowed you should check the assistant's signal. If he runs towards the half way line then he is happy to award a goal, however, in the incident shown by the image, there may be suitable scope for the assistant to give judge that the attacker had in fact fouled the defender as the incident occurred near to the assistant's diagonal which gives him/her a credible viewpoint on the incident.
Action to take & laws supporting
The main priority of the incident is the player who has spoken to you. Regardless of whether or not the goal is being awarded in this situation, his words go further than the decision itself and are of a deeply personal and offensively insulting nature and satisfy the requirements of Offensive Insulting Abusive language as per law 12. Without question this player should be sent off and ordered to leave the field of play and immediate surrounds.
Attention then turns to the assistant, under law 6, he may have seen a foul which was out of your view and therefore signal for a free kick to e defending team. He may also hold the same opinion as you as run towards the half way line to signal a goal.
Restart
Depending on the assistant: direct free kick to defending team if he has signalled for a foul out with your view OR award a goal and restart with kick-off to the yellow team after the player sent off has left the field of play and immediate surrounds.
Approach for the rest of the game
Care should be taken to ensure that the recreational atmosphere of the match is maintained. For this reason you should ensure that you use the various concessions in the LotG to your advantage to calm the situation down (e.g water breaks, rolling substitutions for players who are becoming frustrated etc) The worst thing to let happen is to allow the game to continue in a way where frustration takes over for the losing team and they begin to endanger the safety of the opposing players or endangering or threatening your safety and authority in the match. For this reason, under law 5 p.24, the referee may abandon the match due to infringements of the laws of the game, if the protection of the players or referee is in danger.
Ultimately the sporting and recreational nature of the match played should always be observed, and any threats to this following the incident should drive the consideration that the match may be abandoned. In the event that infringements of a serious nature cause the match to be abandoned, this should be reported to the body responsible for organising the match for future consideration.
11 - Hullref
I like to be as pro active as I can when refereeing and so I think that the following solution is best for me personally
1.) When I get to the match I would brief my NAR's, including the fact that I had trouble with some of the players before, telling them to keep an extra eye out for any trouble that might arise, also putting extra emphasis on what I want each official to do in the event of a mass brawl or confrontation
2.) I would have a word with the captains of both teams ( but mainly with the one that I had trouble with before and explain that I won't put up with anything like that again, it is a friendly and so shouldn't be a hyper active game. I would also ask for their help in controlling their players before they do anything stupid. What happened in the past is in the past and the game now is all I am bothered about).
3.) I would then be very pro active throughout the game making sure that any sort of dissent is swiftly dealt with, using the captains if necessary or going for cards, depending on the frequency and the severity of the dissent. I would make sure to pick out any from the red team as well, showing that I am consistent and therefore giving credibility to my decisions.
4.) For the incident in question I would try to get the player to shut up quickly (ie. sharp blow of whistle) if he continues, I would go straight for red for OFFINABUS. It is a prime example of OFFINABUS and is something I don't tolerate on the FOP. It wasn't dissent IMO because he carried on with his argument and made reference to the previous game. I don't like giving cards out anyway especially in friendlies but for something this severe I would have to.
5.) I would also send the relevant reports into the CFA and help them with their disciplinary enquiry. It is something that needs to be dealt with and his punishment for the previous incident obviously wasn't good enough. Players need to know that they can't say what they like just because it's friendly, and my relationship with the player/s couldn't get any worse for with this team so I have nothing to lose IMO by putting the reports in.
Well, looking at it, it's an obvious numeric order! lol Thats not to say that is the winning order! That remains secret for now. Congrats guys
