This is why I prefer being an AR...
I had a quarter-final match last night in the our local second-division men's league and it was pretty good for the first half and even the first 30 minutes of the second half but, as is always the way, the losing team decied to go out with a bang in the last 15. Of six cautions issued to this one team in the match, 5 were issued within 15 minutes of full time. Two players received two cautions in the match and had to walk - one for dissent (36'th minute, he had a go at me about being inexperienced after I had called him on a foul) and USB (75th minute after literally just charging his opponent in the corner and knocking him down, shoulder to chest); another for USB (lacing his opponent with profanities after his opponent said "I'm not going to get that" when the ball was launched over the goal line for a goal kick) and the other for Dissent (after he received the caution, he turned his profanity towards me) both in minute 76. After being sent off, he all but refused to leave and only actually left the area surrounding the FOP after having a subsequent go at me and my threatening to end the match right then. He set the match back by about 5 minutes and has had a second report written about his conduct. In the same incident, another of the team's players went nuts after I sent off the team's second player in one minute - he earned himself a caution for dissent as well. Finally, in the 90th minute (during added time), another of that same team's players decided to take a player out at the legs by bending over at the waist and hoisting him over his back. I was generous with a yellow but the other team didn't complain too much... After that, I was told by players on both teams that I had done a good job handling it and that they believed had I been a bit harder on the players in the first half and early in the second and brought the book out once or twice earlier, most of it could have been avoided - which I will accept to a certain point as the temperatures rose slowly over the whole thing - but I believe that the team were just going to go out with a bang and by having 2 players sent off, could use the referee as an excuse for having lost the match instead of what was, frankly, substandard play. But crickey, what a match!
I had a quarter-final match last night in the our local second-division men's league and it was pretty good for the first half and even the first 30 minutes of the second half but, as is always the way, the losing team decied to go out with a bang in the last 15. Of six cautions issued to this one team in the match, 5 were issued within 15 minutes of full time. Two players received two cautions in the match and had to walk - one for dissent (36'th minute, he had a go at me about being inexperienced after I had called him on a foul) and USB (75th minute after literally just charging his opponent in the corner and knocking him down, shoulder to chest); another for USB (lacing his opponent with profanities after his opponent said "I'm not going to get that" when the ball was launched over the goal line for a goal kick) and the other for Dissent (after he received the caution, he turned his profanity towards me) both in minute 76. After being sent off, he all but refused to leave and only actually left the area surrounding the FOP after having a subsequent go at me and my threatening to end the match right then. He set the match back by about 5 minutes and has had a second report written about his conduct. In the same incident, another of the team's players went nuts after I sent off the team's second player in one minute - he earned himself a caution for dissent as well. Finally, in the 90th minute (during added time), another of that same team's players decided to take a player out at the legs by bending over at the waist and hoisting him over his back. I was generous with a yellow but the other team didn't complain too much... After that, I was told by players on both teams that I had done a good job handling it and that they believed had I been a bit harder on the players in the first half and early in the second and brought the book out once or twice earlier, most of it could have been avoided - which I will accept to a certain point as the temperatures rose slowly over the whole thing - but I believe that the team were just going to go out with a bang and by having 2 players sent off, could use the referee as an excuse for having lost the match instead of what was, frankly, substandard play. But crickey, what a match!
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