Todays game

[Ben448844]

After a very delayed flight back from Tenerife, I got home at 3.30am and went to the ground for a men's Sunday League game, 10pm ko.

Cracking match, it's 4-2 with 88 mins gone, not an incident in the game, it's been as good as it gets. The away team score a screamer from 35 yards out and push for the equaliser. Free kick from the edge of the box comes in and the keeper punches unchallenged and makes a mess of it. As the ball is in the air his own player attempts to win the header but heads it towards his own goal and takes put his own keeper who also lands on another defender. As the ball is going in there's half the home team on the line and they all throw themselves at the ball. I see a couple of hands and heads try to defend the ball but the ball clearly strikes a hand and I give a very clear penalty. The issue here is I have no idea who's handled it. Theres 3 players on the floor claiming they've been fouled (although that's easily diffused by the defender who caused it all who admits it was him). So I try the old trick of saying "come over here" to the defenders on the floor. None of them fall for it. Its literally the last kick of the game. The CAR hasn't got a clue. So I give the penalty and thats it. Theres 3 players I narrow it down to who could've handled it but I just didn't see who.

Anyway the penalty is saved and I blow for full time. Cracking game and its hand shakes from both teams. The manager of the away team is a loose cannon anyway and he was demanding a red but I explained that I didn't see who handled it. His team understand but he's adamant that I should red card somebody but that's just frustration.

Excellent game and one with 2 mins to go was as easy as it gets. Another reminder of how any game can throw up unexpected incidents.

 

[Anubis]

After a very delayed flight back from Tenerife, I got home at 3.30am and went to the ground for a men's Sunday League game, 10pm ko.

Cracking match, it's 4-2 with 88 mins gone, not an incident in the game, it's been as good as it gets. The away team score a screamer from 35 yards out and push for the equaliser. Free kick from the edge of the box comes in and the keeper punches unchallenged and makes a mess of it. As the ball is in the air his own player attempts to win the header but heads it towards his own goal and takes put his own keeper who also lands on another defender. As the ball is going in there's half the home team on the line and they all throw themselves at the ball. I see a couple of hands and heads try to defend the ball but the ball clearly strikes a hand and I give a very clear penalty. The issue here is I have no idea who's handled it. Theres 3 players on the floor claiming they've been fouled (although that's easily diffused by the defender who caused it all who admits it was him). So I try the old trick of saying "come over here" to the defenders on the floor. None of them fall for it. Its literally the last kick of the game. The CAR hasn't got a clue. So I give the penalty and thats it. Theres 3 players I narrow it down to who could've handled it but I just didn't see who.

Anyway the penalty is saved and I blow for full time. Cracking game and its hand shakes from both teams. The manager of the away team is a loose cannon anyway and he was demanding a red but I explained that I didn't see who handled it. His team understand but he's adamant that I should red card somebody but that's just frustration.

Excellent game and one with 2 mins to go was as easy as it gets. Another reminder of how any game can throw up unexpected incidents.

i have had that same incident, in mine away team were 0-3 up at ht but it went to 3-3 and with the last desperate efforts by away team a home hand touched a shot over the bar, obv pk but i too had no idea which player it was
initial pleas for a red when i gave the pk , i got lucky as i knew the away team well and was able to get my message across that the pk would be last kick and the other team not losing a player would have no impact on the game
Away team scored, the end.

 

[Ben448844]

i have had that same incident, in mine away team were 0-3 up at ht but it went to 3-3 and with the last desperate efforts by away team a home hand touched a shot over the bar, obv pk but i too had no idea which player it was
initial pleas for a red when i gave the pk , i got lucky as i knew the away team well and was able to get my message across that the pk would be last kick and the other team not losing a player would have no impact on the game
Away team scored, the end.

Shows the importance of ARs I suppose although I'm not convinced even a NAR would've got the right man. Must have been 5 players on the line by the time the ball got there. It was just under the bar and I saw several hands going for it.

Was pretty funny seeing the keeper run up to me claiming the foul and then I showed them the injured player who'd clattered him on the floor and he just said "hes always been a ****** moron" and just went and stood on the line" waiting for the penalty. It was a great game of football to be fair and two teams who were great to ref. They both had it in them to be problematic for sure but whether it was because of the nice weather or the amount of weed being smoked on the sidelines it was all played in very good spirit.

The game on the next pitch sounded like a right horror show.

 

[RustyRef]

In the last minute of a grassroots game where you aren't being observed you can get away without a red card if you can't identify who it was. At higher levels, especially with an observer, you've got to send someone off even if it ends up being the wrong person. If the usual mind games don't work just pick the most likely, if he then offers someone else up and that person says it was them then you can correct your mistake before play restarts.

 

[Big Cat]

In the last minute of a grassroots game where you aren't being observed you can get away without a red card if you can't identify who it was. At higher levels, especially with an observer, you've got to send someone off even if it ends up being the wrong person. If the usual mind games don't work just pick the most likely, if he then offers someone else up and that person says it was them then you can correct your mistake before play restarts.

If I can't identify a player to be dismissed, I'm accepting that my observation has gone south and won't be interested in condemning the wrong man to a fine and suspension in a desperate bid to preserve what's left of my score. Fact!

 

[RustyRef]

If I can't identify a player to be dismissed, I'm accepting that my observation has gone south and won't be interested in condemning the wrong man to a fine and suspension in a desperate bid to preserve what's left of my score. Fact!

You won't condemn the wrong man to a suspension and fine, if you get the wrong one his club just put in a claim of mistaken identify, offer up the actual offender, and the fine and suspension can be transferred to him.

At L4 if you give a penalty for DOGSO-H and don't send off you observer mark is going to kill your season stone dead, and with so few observations you would likely need a miracle to avoid demotion. Also, and this applies at all senior levels, if someone reports you they will check with the observer, and you could also end up facing a charge and suspension for failing to proficiently apply the laws of the game.

 

[socal lurker]

If I can't identify a player to be dismissed, I'm accepting that my observation has gone south and won't be interested in condemning the wrong man to a fine and suspension in a desperate bid to preserve what's left of my score. Fact!

We’ll, if that was the reason to do it, I’d agree with you. I refuse to do anything just because I’m being observed. (Ok, I exaggerate—when being observed I wouldn’t have different shirt sleeve lengths because USSF used to say they should match some dinosaurs around here thought it was really important, but I digress.)

but it’s not just about that—the offending team has earned the right to play with 10 men—and they know who the perp actually was. So sending off a likely right person both address the penalty of playing short, and gives the team the ability to own up. And of course, they can appeal the wrong person and get the card shifted, too.

 

[Big Cat]

We’ll, if that was the reason to do it, I’d agree with you. I refuse to do anything just because I’m being observed. (Ok, I exaggerate—when being observed I wouldn’t have different shirt sleeve lengths because USSF used to say they should match some dinosaurs around here thought it was really important, but I digress.)

but it’s not just about that—the offending team has earned the right to play with 10 men—and they know who the perp actually was. So sending off a likely right person both address the penalty of playing short, and gives the team the ability to own up. And of course, they can appeal the wrong person and get the card shifted, too.

All pie in the sky, cos it wouldn't happen to me anyway
And if it does because I was incapacitated or some other misfortune occurred, I'd fall on my sword and it would be tough titty for the opposition