The Ref Stop

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TheFoodieReferee

TheFoodieReferee

Member
Level 5 Referee
So, just had a tricky open age game that was pretty competitive, which I thought I managed well and had a decent performance.

However, game finishes, no away player shook my hand (they got beat 2-1), the away manager has accused me of being on first name terms with every player on the home team, despite the fact it's the first time I've ever referee'd both teams and that I extremely inconsistent (granted, I'm only human but I felt every decision I made was on par with any previous I made in the game) anf that I gave more to the home team than the away team (H had a lot more possession than A team).

One KMI, I pushed out wide on a A attack on the left side, realised the ball was about to come in so I've come back towards the middle around 4 yards from the edge of the box and the winger has absolutely fired a ball at me, it hasn't touched me but an A player has run into me and they've lost possession, I've let play go on, but is this correct in law?

Lastly, one away spectator said it's the worst referee performance he has ever seen and I wasn't up with play despite covering 11km in the game, yet another said I had a good game.

Let me know your thoughts, really beating myself up here as it's the first time I've actually had anything like this happen.
 
The Ref Stop
I wouldn't say what you described was a KMI. That term is reserved for match defining events like penalty, goal, and red card decisions.

You were right in law not to stop play - player colliding with referee is not one of those incidents for which we award a DB.

I wouldn't be concerned about petulant 'feedback' like that. It doesn't direct your attention to anything useful like any particular decision they were unhappy with. That being said, you should always reflect on decisions you were uncertain about, or decisions which led to problems, and have a think whether you could have been in a better position or handled an incident differently.

Don't reflect to the extent that you question your abilities, though.
 
Correct in law, other threads on here and further advice on that might differ but as the law is written you can't stop play for player / match official collision, only if the ball touches a match official, stays on the pitch, and possession changes or promising attack starts.

Unfortunately the experience you had today wont be the last time.

You just have to be true to yourself..we all know when we havent performed our best and we all know when we have done ok, and we all know when a team are blaming us despite us having done ok. You'll never please 22 players and sadly there is a culture of finding someone else to blame.

Manager loses all credibility when he makes comments that are factually incorrect and probably says the same about every ref when he loses. Lots of teams I ref frequently I now know a lot of their names, and it's mainly as I've booked them and not coz I am there mate, and I certainly don't favour them.

Dust it off and go again 💪
 
Nothing to beat yourself up about here. Teams, coaches and fans see games through their own lens always. I’ve had so many games when the losing team won’t shake my hand that it almost seems the norm. Sounds like a close, contested and important game and one team is always going to go home disappointed in those circumstances. No doubt you made mistakes (we all do) but you sound like an invested, thoughtful and highly mobile referee to me. It is good to self reflect but none of the incidents you describe sound particularly problematic. Try not to let it get you down and get back on the paddock when you can. We all have bad experiences but it is the good ones that makes refereeeing worthwhile. Good luck for next time.
 
Thank you all so much for your kind words, I really do appreciate it.

I've took some time to sit back and make some notes on the game as part of a self reflection. I'm putting it behind me and cracking on as got my next middle Saturday, ironically with the home team. On the MO/ player collision, for me, looking back, there was literally a split second to react and attempt to get out of the way of the incoming ball and I had started to back peddle but the player was behind me at the time and I don't think my positioning could've been much different to be honest.
 
Further thoughts...
Have you had a mentor visit? do you have anyone neutral that can come and watch? Preferably another experienced referee.
Are you planning promotion, if not, any reason? Get some qualified opinions and advice 👍
Finally, kudoa for the self reflection..it will serve you very well
 
JamesL said:
Further thoughts...
Have you had a mentor visit? do you have anyone neutral that can come and watch? Preferably another experienced referee.
Are you planning promotion, if not, any reason? Get some qualified opinions and advice 👍
Finally, kudoa for the self reflection..it will serve you very well
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Hi James,
I’m planning on going for L5 for the end of the season, I’ve just got my L6 promotion and going for the double jump and then hoping to head for my L4 next season and get up as far as I can.
On the mentor/ neutral coming to watch, I can certainly speak to some of the lads who are higher up than me in my local CFA core group and see if any would be willing to come down and give me some pointers, my last obs had me pretty much 50/50 on standard expected and performed well.
 
TheFoodieReferee said:
Hi James,
I’m planning on going for L5 for the end of the season, I’ve just got my L6 promotion and going for the double jump and then hoping to head for my L4 next season and get up as far as I can.
On the mentor/ neutral coming to watch, I can certainly speak to some of the lads who are higher up than me in my local CFA core group and see if any would be willing to come down and give me some pointers, my last obs had me pretty much 50/50 on standard expected and performed well.
Click to expand...
You're doing well then. Thought you was brand spanking NRFB 🤣
Refer back to my 1st post 👍
 
Yo, Foodie!

However, game finishes, no away player shook my hand (they got beat 2-1)
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This happens frequently, especially from the losing team. Often if nobody shakes your hand from either team, you probably didn't have your best game haha. But this is definitely nothing to beat yourself up over. Happens to a lot of us often, especially as you work higher level more challenging matches.

The away manager has accused me of being on first name terms with every player on the home team, despite the fact it's the first time I've ever referee'd both teams and that I extremely inconsistent (granted, I'm only human but I felt every decision I made was on par with any previous I made in the game) anf that I gave more to the home team than the away team (H had a lot more possession than A team).
Click to expand...

Sounds like this coach was just frustrated, IMO. Accusing you of knowing all the players on the opposing team by first name when you didn't know any of them was clearly just wrong. And if the home team had significantly more possession, your logic makes sense that the home team would have been fouled more.

Regardless, it might be helpful to get ahold of some game film to rewatch and see if it's more than simply calling more fouls for one team than another. I find that when coaches talk about inconsistencies, it's usually 1 or 2 calls, no-calls that they're talking about and not 10. Might be worth watching back to see if you can spot them. If you can't see plays you called for the home team but not the away team, again, sounds like the coach was just frustrated.

One KMI, I pushed out wide on a A attack on the left side, realised the ball was about to come in so I've come back towards the middle around 4 yards from the edge of the box and the winger has absolutely fired a ball at me, it hasn't touched me but an A player has run into me and they've lost possession, I've let play go on, but is this correct in law?
Click to expand...

I agree with @Redster You're correct! If the ball hits you, it's a different story. But nowhere in the LOTG does it say to stop the game because a player makes contact with you. This has happened to me, especially in small-sided games (7v7, 9v9, etc) when I don't have as much space to work with. Players often get frustrated but it's part of the game.

I would try to replay this moment in your head though and see if there was a better position you could have gotten into that would have avoided this situation altogether. 80% of the time I'm trying to think what I could have done better in a given situation, position is at least part of the solution haha.

Just read this in your other comment though so maybe it was just one of those moments! "On the MO/ player collision, for me, looking back, there was literally a split second to react and attempt to get out of the way of the incoming ball and I had started to back peddle but the player was behind me at the time and I don't think my positioning could've been much different to be honest."

Lastly, one away spectator said it's the worst referee performance he has ever seen and I wasn't up with play despite covering 11km in the game, yet another said I had a good game.
Click to expand...

Spectator opinions can really get you down, especially if they're negative. But always remember most of them only know the basics of soccer and few know the intricacies of the LOTG. Sounds like you worked hard, covered a lot of ground and did well generally.

Like I mentioned about the coach above, if a fan thinks you, "weren't up with play" they're probably thinking of 1-2 moments, not 10. Nothing to beat yourself up over. Definitely focus more on the positive fan haha.

Most of all, I agree with @JamesL's positivity. Keep it up!

Hope this helps :)
 
Cheers again everyone!
Just to report back, had the home team from that game on Wednesday evening again yesterday and they were good as gold, as was the other team who they were playing. No questions asked or any grief, just 2 teams wanting to play football. Happy to be back in it and cracking on.
 
TheFoodieReferee said:
Cheers again everyone!
Just to report back, had the home team from that game on Wednesday evening again yesterday and they were good as gold, as was the other team who they were playing. No questions asked or any grief, just 2 teams wanting to play football. Happy to be back in it and cracking on.
Click to expand...
Also something that happens a lot too. Lost track of how much aggro had in first games and then subsequent games players behave better as they know my boundaries and the consequences of crossing them
 
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