A&H

Junior/Youth Very 1st U12 Red Card

KentRef

New Member
Level 6 Referee
As a favour to my local club, i do a lot of their youth games on a Sunday, normally u14,15 and 16, but on occasions i take charge of the younger age groups. I have had to show a yellow card twice in all the years of doing u12 football, but this sunday, i had my very first red.

Blue 8 and White 6 tussled for the ball in the centre circle (both fairly) and fell in heap on the ground. The ball was hit forward but kept my eye on the 2 players as they had tangled with each other on the floor. Ble player got up and started to run toward the ball when the white player swung his leg really quite visciously, kicking the blue player in the side of the knee. Unfortunately no one else has seen this due to the ball being at the far end of the pitch (for a split second, i debated leaving it as no one else had noticed, and am disgusted with myself for that) blow the whistle, pull the play back and issue the red to the astonishment of everyone there. The manager of the white player, came onto the pitch saying he had never seen that before at this level and demanded to know why his player had been sent off. I explained whaqt had happened and backed down saying he didnt see it but if it happened then fair enough. Managed the game comfotably after that with white team winning 2-1.

As i was leaving i was approached by white team manager and assistant coach (i began grabbing my stuff and looking to make a swift exit. The manager said he had spoken to his player who had confirmed what i had seen. The manager then said that he was delighted i had acted the way i did and hoped id send the red card through as he never wants to see his players behave in that manner. As a side note 2 parents also spojke to me in the car park saying that although by law i was right, surely at 11/12 years old i couldve shown him a yellow instead.
 
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what was the restart ? ;) seriously though, i think that was perfectly well handled and lovely to see the response from the manager.
If you had have ignored it and someone picked up on that then the after match chat would have been very different and you'd have been double disgusted with yourself.
 
To my annoyance I do a lot of games at that level. It's a hard one to call in my opinion because I have always been told 'bear in mind age'. I think I would have given a yellow or asked the coach to take him off for 5 mins and give him a talking to. That what I've been told by an RDO before.
 
To my annoyance I do a lot of games at that level. It's a hard one to call in my opinion because I have always been told 'bear in mind age'. I think I would have given a yellow or asked the coach to take him off for 5 mins and give him a talking to. That what I've been told by an RDO before.
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Please ignore this advice from your RDO. Once players are beyond 'small sided' football, we can do a great service to all their future referees by applying the LOTG properly and fairly. What @KentRef describes is not a marginal YC / RC tackle or dissent bordering on OFFINABUS (which might be appropriately managed by a YC and a strong talking to) but a clear case of Violent Conduct that needs to lead to a dismissal.
 
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@KentRef - you have done the correct thing. While some latitude needs to be shown at U12 and other young ages, VC cannot have any at any level. Any league or FA official that tells you different is denying the correct decision.
 
Please ignore this advice from your RDO.
I can only "like" a posting the once - so +1 +1 +1 +1 +1

Small-sided / mini-soccer has its own set of laws and guidance (which is very much about encouraging participation and learning). U11's and upwards have been deemed to be under the full LotG, so that is what we should referee to.
 
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To my annoyance I do a lot of games at that level. It's a hard one to call in my opinion because I have always been told 'bear in mind age'. I think I would have given a yellow or asked the coach to take him off for 5 mins and give him a talking to. That what I've been told by an RDO before.

In all seriousness, ignore your RDO. There are, of course, certain instances when you can account for the age of a player, but violent conduct is non negotiable IMO.

OP - well done! Correct decision and a refreshing response from the coach.
 
In Scotland organised competitive football with appointed referees doesn't begin until U13. On occasion I'm asked by U12 teams to referee a match in preparation for their step up to competitive football. I'm happy to show a little flexibility in such matches but OFFINABUS and violent conduct are the two misdemeanours which I would deal with as per LOTG and issue a red card as the OP did. I might also consider serious foul play but genuine serious foul play is unusual at this age.
 
In Scotland organised competitive football with appointed referees doesn't begin until U13. On occasion I'm asked by U12 teams to referee a match in preparation for their step up to competitive football. I'm happy to show a little flexibility in such matches but OFFINABUS and violent conduct are the two misdemeanours which I would deal with as per LOTG and issue a red card as the OP did. I might also consider serious foul play but genuine serious foul play is unusual at this age.
Agree. I only give max of 4 free kicks in a game a u12 .IDFK for offside is a lot more. Normally around 10
 
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