The Ref Stop

U14 False Name

Different sides of the pond and all, but if refs started sending off for it, change would occur. But it would have to be consistent, not a few refs on a crusade. I only do games up to 19U—and in my games this is a red every time, no questions asked, and no one is going to argue it was unreasonable.
That is fair enough, but like you suggested at the start, the f word has a different resonance in the UK than to the US and North America on the whole
 
The Ref Stop
Different sides of the pond and all, but if refs started sending off for it, change would occur. But it would have to be consistent, not a few refs on a crusade. I only do games up to 19U—and in my games this is a red every time, no questions asked, and no one is going to argue it was unreasonable.
I don't see how you can send off without already knowing the players name (and if you do, you don't need to ask for it).

What if that player's name really is Michael Mouse? Extremely unlikely, but possible. That's why we've been told to report whatever name is given and then let them get in bigger trouble when the player carded isn't a registered player at the club.

Edit to add: Reminds me of the time Sanchez Watt was sent off for repeatedly saying Watt to the referee when asked what his name was 😆
 
My interpretation is that he’s talking about OFFINABUS (F Off) !
Having read it again, clearly your interpretation is correct and I totally forgot the whole rest of the thread and got distracted by the subject of 'comedy names'. :facepalm:

Apologies all, I'll get back in my box.
 
As I have said on here, I have refereed a player called "Michael Mouse" - it was his real name. He always told the referee before the game, so there was no issues
If someone told me that before a game I'd be keeping a very close eye on their challenges! Helpful to be told though.
 
The only pre-match warning I've had from a player is that he is virtually deaf, so if he kicks the ball after the whistle or doesn't come to me when called, it's not intentional...
 
I had a warning from a coach once that he has intermittent explosive disorder (can't control his temper). I thought he was making it up and he wasn't. I ended up dismissing him inside 15 minutes. Went down well with the team.... I felt bad tbh because he ended up essentially being forced to stop coaching as he got 5 red cards in the space of about 3 months.
 
I don't see how you can send off without already knowing the players name (and if you do, you don't need to ask for it).

What if that player's name really is Michael Mouse? Extremely unlikely, but possible. That's why we've been told to report whatever name is given and then let them get in bigger trouble when the player carded isn't a registered player at the club.

Edit to add: Reminds me of the time Sanchez Watt was sent off for repeatedly saying Watt to the referee when asked what his name was 😆
I've cautioned a Ricky Lambert before, in a league with no team sheets. Did a double-take, but the player's captain was already on his way over to confirm that it was his real name.
 
I had a warning from a coach once that he has intermittent explosive disorder (can't control his temper). I thought he was making it up and he wasn't. I ended up dismissing him inside 15 minutes. Went down well with the team.... I felt bad tbh because he ended up essentially being forced to stop coaching as he got 5 red cards in the space of about 3 months.
This could be solved by asking something along the lines of, how can I help if this situation does occur... At least then you can try preventative/remedial and when that doesn't work no one can say you haven't taken any reasonable efforts before dismissing.
Sometimes having an understanding on how to deal with a neuro diverse condition/symptom might just help in preventing a situation. After all the person has taken the time to disclose it to you, nothing wrong with taking time to understand what you can to help, within reason
 
This could be solved by asking something along the lines of, how can I help if this situation does occur... At least then you can try preventative/remedial and when that doesn't work no one can say you haven't taken any reasonable efforts before dismissing.
Sometimes having an understanding on how to deal with a neuro diverse condition/symptom might just help in preventing a situation. After all the person has taken the time to disclose it to you, nothing wrong with taking time to understand what you can to help, within reason
I did attempt to calm the situation down before I dismissed him, as I have grown up myself with people who have neuro diverse issues so I know how difficult it is to deal with, but it was getting nowhere and it got to the point where the behaviour was just downright threatening which left me with no option. I didn't think before the game to mention it as it caught me off guard, but I absolutely would do so now.
 
A 14 year old telling me to F Off probably isn't getting a red from me - I just don't find it offensive. However, they're at minimum going for 10, and there's situations where they'll be saying bye bye for the full game
I think I would have to agree with this. Without the context of how something is said, and other words used, it’s difficult to make a decision, though I just don’t find being told to “f*** off” offensive in most scenarios.

I think it’s worth remembering that most 14 year olds probably swear more than some adults. I also find it helps at that age with game management to treat them pretty much like adults, with the addition of further concern for safety and safeguarding.
 
I had an U14 game where I correctly disallowed what would have been a late equaliser for handball. The offending player promptly told me to f**k off so I gave a sin bin for dissent. When I asked for his name he sounded unsure of his own name. At full-time I checked with his coach and it was a false name. The coach was furious with the player and made him apologise to me (Only for the false name, not for the dissent). Given the coach's anger with the player I didn't give him a YC for attempting to deceive the referee, should I have done so? I logged the sin bin onto WGS using his real name. Was that correct and should I have submitted an extraordinary report?
Here in Bristol with the Somerset and Gloucs FA's and leagues prior to kick off at u14 the Managers have to provide the ref with team sheets prior to kick off. There is no need to check names, so the name you get given isnt on the team sheet it goes on the report and the league/FA deal with it.
 
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Here in Bristol with the Somerset and Gloucs FA's and leagues prior to kick off at u14 the Managers have to provide the ref with team sheets prior to kick off. There is no need to check names, so the name you get given isnt on the team sheet it goes on the report and the league/FA deal with it.
I wish my league had that. That would make things so much easier.
 
Here in Bristol with the Somerset and Gloucs FA's and leagues prior to kick off at u14 the Managers have to provide the ref with team sheets prior to kick off. There is no need to check names, so the name you get given isnt on the team sheet it goes on the report and the league/FA deal with it.
CFA discipline departments hate this though. At grass roots team sheets are very often wrong with shirt numbers not matching the right player name, and it creates them a lot of work as they charge the wrong player, the club tell them it is wrong, and they have to reissue the charge. Probably less of an issue in youth football, at adults it is often a stressed out captain or manager filling it in, wondering where players are and having to leave shirts set aside for those turning up late (been there and have the t-shirt both as captain and manager). Then inevitably they won't put on the number they were told to when they finally turn up, often because they are still sloshed from the night before and are incapable of following even the most basic of instructions.

One CFA alone were processing as many as 50 of these mistakes every week, and they let the RDO know if any referees were regularly causing the issue. Technically speaking you are supposed to confirm the name when issuing a card, so it isn't the club solely to blame.
 
Technically speaking you are supposed to confirm the name when issuing a card, so it isn't the club solely to blame
This is what gets me with team sheets. I had one game where I did this and all 3 cautioned players gave me the wrong shirt no./name combo so I had a lot of digging around to do. So much simpler to just ask for a name there and then, and then check after the game if it's the real name via manager etc. CFA can deal with the rest.
 
This is what gets me with team sheets. I had one game where I did this and all 3 cautioned players gave me the wrong shirt no./name combo so I had a lot of digging around to do. So much simpler to just ask for a name there and then, and then check after the game if it's the real name via manager etc. CFA can deal with the rest.
In my experience if it at intermediate or senior level and there is a dedicated club secretary completing the team sheets they are very unlikely to be wrong. Whereas at grass roots they are very frequently wrong for the reasons I listed previously.

Even at senior levels though not checking a name can cause you problems. I can remember one L3 who cautioned 4 players from each team in a contrib game, both teams then contacted the FA to say that all 4 of their cautions were for the wrong players. Obvious to see what he had done, he'd looked up the home numbers on the away team sheet and vice versa, had he quickly checked names he would have realised his mistake before submitting it. Didn't help his cause that when the FA appointments officer phoned him and asked him to check the team sheets he said he had thrown them away despite being supposed to keep them for months. By all accounts the air at Wembley turned blue: "you've ****ing done what?"
 
In my experience if it at intermediate or senior level and there is a dedicated club secretary completing the team sheets they are very unlikely to be wrong. Whereas at grass roots they are very frequently wrong for the reasons I listed previously.

Even at senior levels though not checking a name can cause you problems. I can remember one L3 who cautioned 4 players from each team in a contrib game, both teams then contacted the FA to say that all 4 of their cautions were for the wrong players. Obvious to see what he had done, he'd looked up the home numbers on the away team sheet and vice versa, had he quickly checked names he would have realised his mistake before submitting it. Didn't help his cause that when the FA appointments officer phoned him and asked him to check the team sheets he said he had thrown them away despite being supposed to keep them for months. By all accounts the air at Wembley turned blue: "you've ****ing done what?"
My league only requires team sheets to be given to the referee in cup finals, but other than that we don't get them. However, the managers do have to have a 'squad sheet' with them so if needed I can check the name is for a real player registered with that team, and can even cross-reference the face as well. The issue only arises when the manager decides to give a team sheet anyway, and half of the players aren't on it. My experience is very similar, quite often I turn up to ref an U13/14 grassroots game and half of the parents on the sidelines are still recovering from their night out. Change that to an academy game and everything is very well organised.
 
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