I've been reffing academy football for 18 months now, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to stick to the no cards policy; it just feels wrong.
Take yesterday for example. U13 match and one player was in my ear constantly, two very strongly worded warnings followed, before he told me to 'put a blue shirt on' (the colour of the opposition). That's dissent, plain and simple. In any 'normal' match, it wouldn't even have got to that point, he would've had two yellow cards and been off. After that comment, I had him subbed.
I've been beating myself up about it since and I feel like what I did was wrong. When I don't feel like I've done my job properly, the enjoyment disappears. I was told in no uncertain terms when I started that "cards won't be necessary" and by another ref that "you'll never ref here again if you show a card".
The quality of football is fantastic and I enjoy reffing academy games generally, but I can't help feeling that, by adhering to the no cards policy, that I'm not doing the 'right' thing. I just don't know what to do. Do I stick with my heart and step down, or do I grit my teeth and get on with it?
Sorry about the length of the post, thinking out loud can be good sometimes!
Take yesterday for example. U13 match and one player was in my ear constantly, two very strongly worded warnings followed, before he told me to 'put a blue shirt on' (the colour of the opposition). That's dissent, plain and simple. In any 'normal' match, it wouldn't even have got to that point, he would've had two yellow cards and been off. After that comment, I had him subbed.
I've been beating myself up about it since and I feel like what I did was wrong. When I don't feel like I've done my job properly, the enjoyment disappears. I was told in no uncertain terms when I started that "cards won't be necessary" and by another ref that "you'll never ref here again if you show a card".
The quality of football is fantastic and I enjoy reffing academy games generally, but I can't help feeling that, by adhering to the no cards policy, that I'm not doing the 'right' thing. I just don't know what to do. Do I stick with my heart and step down, or do I grit my teeth and get on with it?
Sorry about the length of the post, thinking out loud can be good sometimes!