Well, that was eventful. A few days ago I thanked my referee secretary for the season's work and informed him that, due to a new job, I would have to reduce my Saturday refereeing significantly from next September. With the penultimate match of the season scheduled at the ground where I seem to have given the vast majority of my cards, obviously a peaceful departure was not written in the stars! Even then, I did not expect to treble my entire tally for the last two seasons from 50 to 60 minutes in the second half of an incongruous game. I was bemused by the fact that, while the parents and coaches were perfectly civil, on another day two more of those cautions might have been converted into reds.
I feel that it wasn't my hesitation or errors that lost control of the game. I made an error or two on the restarts (identifying the first offender), but apart from that it seemed as if some noxious chemical had been borne on the wind and catastrophically altered the players' behaviour. The trigger was an away player who had been skirting a booking for a little while; I booked him and a home antagonist for AA. Their team-mates clearly saw this as encouragement, however, rather than a deterrent.
2 minutes after that, the away captain and a home defender were booked for handbags. 2 minutes after that, a home striker was dismissed for pushing a hand into my chest after he thought an opponent should have been booked for a foul I had awarded. 2 minutes after that, a home defender earned a second AA caution along with one for an away midfielder.
I would be interested to hear your views on my then granting a request from the away manager that he be allowed to speak to his players and calm them down. I know such time-outs aren't supported in law, but I granted it for the sake of harmony (time added on at the end), since some probably feared abandonment at that point. It then progressed quite smoothly, the 11 men beating the 9 3-1 after making hard work of their numerical advantage. A few minutes before full time, I thought I would be putting my hand into my pocket for the umpteenth time after I spotted an ostensible stamp by a home striker on an away defender. This boy immediately claimed, quite graciously, that it was a complete accident, which I didn't feel obliged to argue with.
I suppose I'm pleased that my emotional response to these incidents suggests I'm becoming more hardened to certain aspects of refereeing. And if this means they behave better for 'next season's ref' (optimistic), I am satisfied. In terms of reporting, I have been through Whole Game, but are there different procedures if the teams belong to different counties? And are extraordinary misconduct reports required for any match with a sending off?
I feel that it wasn't my hesitation or errors that lost control of the game. I made an error or two on the restarts (identifying the first offender), but apart from that it seemed as if some noxious chemical had been borne on the wind and catastrophically altered the players' behaviour. The trigger was an away player who had been skirting a booking for a little while; I booked him and a home antagonist for AA. Their team-mates clearly saw this as encouragement, however, rather than a deterrent.
2 minutes after that, the away captain and a home defender were booked for handbags. 2 minutes after that, a home striker was dismissed for pushing a hand into my chest after he thought an opponent should have been booked for a foul I had awarded. 2 minutes after that, a home defender earned a second AA caution along with one for an away midfielder.
I would be interested to hear your views on my then granting a request from the away manager that he be allowed to speak to his players and calm them down. I know such time-outs aren't supported in law, but I granted it for the sake of harmony (time added on at the end), since some probably feared abandonment at that point. It then progressed quite smoothly, the 11 men beating the 9 3-1 after making hard work of their numerical advantage. A few minutes before full time, I thought I would be putting my hand into my pocket for the umpteenth time after I spotted an ostensible stamp by a home striker on an away defender. This boy immediately claimed, quite graciously, that it was a complete accident, which I didn't feel obliged to argue with.
I suppose I'm pleased that my emotional response to these incidents suggests I'm becoming more hardened to certain aspects of refereeing. And if this means they behave better for 'next season's ref' (optimistic), I am satisfied. In terms of reporting, I have been through Whole Game, but are there different procedures if the teams belong to different counties? And are extraordinary misconduct reports required for any match with a sending off?