We are our own worst enemies. I realized this during a tournament this weekend. As decent people, we desire to please others. This often conflicts with our position as referee. It is true that when we make a decision on the field, we disappoint about half the people involved in that particular game. However, we are obligated to make decisions that are supported by the LOTG, without regard to the popularity of that decision.
This weekend, I worked a local tournament. I was crewed with 3 other referees. They all have a great deal of experience and I respect their knowledge and abilities. We had 2 incidents that I observed that illustrate the point I made above.
First, in a U-12 game, we had a situation that instigated a conversation about Denying an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity by Foul. A ball was played to a player near the top of the penalty area. The player dribbled straight at the goal, unopposed. in the middle of the penalty area, he beat the goalkeeper who immediately pulled the player down from behind. The ball was at the player's feet. He was heading directly to the goal and he had no other defenders in his way. In this particular situation, the attacker's team mate put the ball in the net before the referee stopped play.
I was off that game. I joined into a conversation between AR 1 and the referee as they were coming off the field. The AR was making his point that, had the ball not gone into the net, the goal keeper clearly had denied a goal scoring opportunity and had to be sent off. In the case of what actually happened, the goal keeper should have been cautioned. The referee was making the case of the players only being 12 and was saying he would have a tough time sending off in this situation. I agreed with the AR. The player had to go had the goal not been scored. I pointed out to the referee that had the players been, say U-17, he would clearly have no problem sending off the goal keeper. I also pointed out the LOTG is clear and makes no reference to age. My suspicion is the referee was uncomfortable with dishing out a severe punishment to a young player. However, this is an obligation of our position as referees.
The other situation involved a coach behaving badly. One of our crew had to leave early so a replacement was sent to our field. The rotation of the crew put a relatively inexperienced referee on a U-12 game. Having seen this referee work before, I felt he'd have no problem with the game itself. However, we had heard that the coach of one of the teams was a notorious problem in the technical area. AR 1 was a very experienced referee. I was AR 2.
I observed this coach starting problems in the technical area shortly before the half. The referee went over and spoke with him at least twice. At half time, AR 1 commented that the coach must be dismissed if he continues. The referee seemed to agree. Shortly into the second half, the coach was causing problems again. From my vantage point, I could only see the referee and AR 1 speaking with both coaches. I could not assess the severity of the situation. I was told later that AR 1 advised the referee to dismiss 3 times.
If a referee fails to deal with poor behavior in the technical area, it will not be long before the teams on the field start to misbehave. That is exactly what happened in this game. Not only was the coach a problem, his team starting acting out as well. The cautions started. The referee was losing control. Fortunately, we got through the game. However, because this coach was never dismissed, he will continue his behavior at other games and cause problems for other referees.
We must deal with irresponsible behavior firmly and quickly. Remember, when behavior is a problem, the coaches are not your friends and your action is not a conversation or debate. The poor behavior must cease immediately or the personnel must be dismissed. The "Ask, Tell, Dismiss" policy has always worked for me. See the "Ask, Tell, Dismiss" video here.
Showing posts with label Game Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game Management. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Monday, November 15, 2010
What's Really Going on Here?
I took a weekend off to watch my son play at a tournament. I've made some observations that got me thinking about how and what we evaluate on the field to make decisions to manage the game.
I observed a game in the morning in which I noticed something odd about the officials match control. In this particular game, the white team was clearly more physical, but less skilled than the other team. The green team had far more skill with the ball, but seemed to be slightly less physical. The temperature of the game was clearly going up slowly but surely over the time that I watched. White was getting increasingly physical, even grabbing at the back of no less than 3 players on breakaways. What surprised me is there was neither an "Advantage!" from the referee nor a whistle. White obviously noticed they could get away with more, so they increased the aggressiveness of their challenges. At one point, I observed a scissors tackle on against a green midfielder that was shielding a ball into touch. No foul. Suddenly, the green midfielder turned on the white player and went nose to nose with him! I heard him say something like "that better not happen again." The center barely made a move toward the players to get things under control. At that point, the AR motioned the player over. I was close enough to hear him admonish the green player for his behavior.
Let's examine what was happening here. By my observation, I see white playing increasingly aggressive, testing the limits with the referee. The referee seemingly does nothing to show white exactly where the line is, so they keep testing. At some point, we reach the green team's limit on what they will tolerate, so they lash out. The referees punish the green team.
I am of the opinion that what one sees on the field is merely one way to evaluate what is happening. The apparent frustration of one team should be noticed. Perhaps the frustration is because we, as officials, are missing something that is happening. It could be green is just getting outplayed, or it could be that white is indeed playing unfairly. In the latter case, it is just a matter of time before green takes justice into their own hands as they see that the referee is either unwilling or incapable of dealing with the problem. This is one of the reasons we see major incidents in some games. In the game described above, the only caution issued in the game was for an "f-bomb" uttered by white after blowing a decent opportunity on goal. We have to have our priorities right. This is a U-15 game. Where I referee, you are going to hear language on the field that is not directed at anyone. Worry about the big things, like the temperature of the game.
The federation has a directive that is aimed at this sort of thing. It is titled Game Management Model - Foul Selection and Recognition. It discusses the idea of promoting game flow, versus the need to call fouls and control the game. Check it out.
I observed a game in the morning in which I noticed something odd about the officials match control. In this particular game, the white team was clearly more physical, but less skilled than the other team. The green team had far more skill with the ball, but seemed to be slightly less physical. The temperature of the game was clearly going up slowly but surely over the time that I watched. White was getting increasingly physical, even grabbing at the back of no less than 3 players on breakaways. What surprised me is there was neither an "Advantage!" from the referee nor a whistle. White obviously noticed they could get away with more, so they increased the aggressiveness of their challenges. At one point, I observed a scissors tackle on against a green midfielder that was shielding a ball into touch. No foul. Suddenly, the green midfielder turned on the white player and went nose to nose with him! I heard him say something like "that better not happen again." The center barely made a move toward the players to get things under control. At that point, the AR motioned the player over. I was close enough to hear him admonish the green player for his behavior.
Let's examine what was happening here. By my observation, I see white playing increasingly aggressive, testing the limits with the referee. The referee seemingly does nothing to show white exactly where the line is, so they keep testing. At some point, we reach the green team's limit on what they will tolerate, so they lash out. The referees punish the green team.
I am of the opinion that what one sees on the field is merely one way to evaluate what is happening. The apparent frustration of one team should be noticed. Perhaps the frustration is because we, as officials, are missing something that is happening. It could be green is just getting outplayed, or it could be that white is indeed playing unfairly. In the latter case, it is just a matter of time before green takes justice into their own hands as they see that the referee is either unwilling or incapable of dealing with the problem. This is one of the reasons we see major incidents in some games. In the game described above, the only caution issued in the game was for an "f-bomb" uttered by white after blowing a decent opportunity on goal. We have to have our priorities right. This is a U-15 game. Where I referee, you are going to hear language on the field that is not directed at anyone. Worry about the big things, like the temperature of the game.
The federation has a directive that is aimed at this sort of thing. It is titled Game Management Model - Foul Selection and Recognition. It discusses the idea of promoting game flow, versus the need to call fouls and control the game. Check it out.
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