The Ref Stop

Player giving false name

J

JonA

New Member
A first for me, but I suspect many of you more experienced refs will have dealt with similar...
U14s match this morning - midway into the second half I gave a dissent yellow and sin binned a player (I had gone through the stepped approach and eventually he gave me no choice, I am perfectly happy with my decision). Initially he questioned why he needed to give me his name, so I explained the process of the sin bin / bookings. He then proceeded to give me a name. I heard laughter from his teammates but assumed one of them has said something about me out of earshot, so let it go. Duly sin binned the player. He later came back on with no further incident.
After the final whistle, one of the opposition players told me the sin binned player's teammates had been laughing on and off for the rest of the game because he'd made up a false name.
I approached the team's coach and asked him to confirm the player's name (obviously I could check the player list etc but wanted to raise it with the coach straight away). He confirmed his name was totally different to the name given - the coach was angry about it and said he'd suspend the player for two games as a result (obviously I have no idea if he will or not). By this time, all the players had left so there was no further sanction I could take on the player.
I told the coach I will file a misconduct report.
I think I've handled everything properly, and will indeed file the misconduct report. I'm a bit annoyed that the penny didn't drop when the player gave me the false name - he was coy about it at the time and maybe I should have twigged and paid more attention to what his teammates were calling him!
One question though - had I realised (a) at the time of the sin bin, or (b) later in the match after he'd come back on, what further in-game action would have been appropriate? Thanks.
 
The Ref Stop
If an U14 wants to try and be clever then I'd be inclined to let him learn the lesson from it the hard way.

You've got enough on your plate as the Referee as it is without having to play Sherlock Holmes to get to the bottom of the curious case of the true identity of a dissenter.

Write down the name he gives you, report the name he gives you and also report to the league that you cautioned a player not listed on the teamsheet.

The league will then get to the bottom of the true identity / issue sanctions for fielding an ineligible player. They won't be laughing then.
 
Dazzykerr said:
This is one of the reasons I’m not happy about our leagues here don’t use team sheets
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That's not a problem - in the event of a false name being reported by the referee (via Whole Game System or alternatives) the County FA will request the club provide the real name immediately or the club will be suspended until they do.
The player receives the original punishment plus a disciplinary charge of giving a false name.
A team sheet can assist the referee to provide the correct name to the CFA but it's not necessary.
 
JonA said:
By this time, all the players had left so there was no further sanction I could take on the player.
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There was no further action you could have taken.
Aside from that everything else in order. Confirmed to coach what happened and extraordinary misconduct.
 
Thanks all. Good to have the reassurance I was following the correct procedure. Hopefully this will be something the player learns from.
 
JonA said:
A first for me, but I suspect many of you more experienced refs will have dealt with similar...
U14s match this morning - midway into the second half I gave a dissent yellow and sin binned a player (I had gone through the stepped approach and eventually he gave me no choice, I am perfectly happy with my decision). Initially he questioned why he needed to give me his name, so I explained the process of the sin bin / bookings. He then proceeded to give me a name. I heard laughter from his teammates but assumed one of them has said something about me out of earshot, so let it go. Duly sin binned the player. He later came back on with no further incident.
After the final whistle, one of the opposition players told me the sin binned player's teammates had been laughing on and off for the rest of the game because he'd made up a false name.
I approached the team's coach and asked him to confirm the player's name (obviously I could check the player list etc but wanted to raise it with the coach straight away). He confirmed his name was totally different to the name given - the coach was angry about it and said he'd suspend the player for two games as a result (obviously I have no idea if he will or not). By this time, all the players had left so there was no further sanction I could take on the player.
I told the coach I will file a misconduct report.
I think I've handled everything properly, and will indeed file the misconduct report. I'm a bit annoyed that the penny didn't drop when the player gave me the false name - he was coy about it at the time and maybe I should have twigged and paid more attention to what his teammates were calling him!
One question though - had I realised (a) at the time of the sin bin, or (b) later in the match after he'd come back on, what further in-game action would have been appropriate? Thanks.
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My late father was a referee and subsequently an assessor. Some years ago he was reffing a very competitive Sunday League match between the two top teams in the league. He had cause to send send off a player and in those days, before red and yellow cards, the ref would have to take the player's name and confirm why he was being sent off. The player gave his name as "Micky Mouse" and my father asked him to spell it and simply wrote it down in his book. After the game, when my father was home, he wrote out his report of the sending off to send to the County FA. The player was subsequently suspended for 6 weeks for giving a false name, and the club fined and deducted points for playing an unregistered player!! Happy days
 
CapeTownRef said:
My late father was a referee and subsequently an assessor. Some years ago he was reffing a very competitive Sunday League match between the two top teams in the league. He had cause to send send off a player and in those days, before red and yellow cards, the ref would have to take the player's name and confirm why he was being sent off. The player gave his name as "Micky Mouse" and my father asked him to spell it and simply wrote it down in his book. After the game, when my father was home, he wrote out his report of the sending off to send to the County FA. The player was subsequently suspended for 6 weeks for giving a false name, and the club fined and deducted points for playing an unregistered player!! Happy days
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I had a match where a Michael Mouse played. He always mention to the referees at the start of the match his name, so he didn't get questioned about it if cautioned. ;)
 
lincs22 said:
I had a match where a Michael Mouse played. He always mention to the referees at the start of the match his name, so he didn't get questioned about it if cautioned. ;)
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In Hampshire we have a young player blessed with the name Harry Potter.
When I first refereed in Northamptonshire some years ago, the Appointments Secretary warned me about a team with five brothers in it . . . their surname being "Balls", they were practised in saying just that when cautioned or dismissed.
 
I still can't get over the fact that over there it is 'compulsary' for the referee to get into a conversation with the player when sanctioning. 9 out of 10 times I just show the card and note the jersey number. The player and most others know exactly what is for and in most cases initiating any conversation by me takes a situation from bad to worse.
 
one said:
I still can't get over the fact that over there it is 'compulsary' for the referee to get into a conversation with the player when sanctioning. 9 out of 10 times I just show the card and note the jersey number. The player and most others know exactly what is for and in most cases initiating any conversation by me takes a situation from bad to worse.
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Why change a tradition that goes back to the days before there were numbers on jerseys? 😁
 
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one said:
I still can't get over the fact that over there it is 'compulsary' for the referee to get into a conversation with the player when sanctioning. 9 out of 10 times I just show the card and note the jersey number. The player and most others know exactly what is for and in most cases initiating any conversation by me takes a situation from bad to worse.
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You have the benefit of accurate team sheets, presumably? Many UK leagues don't.
 
More often than not team sheets on Sunday League games are filled in by the captain at the side of the pitch. It might be raining, he might (or probably will) have players running late, and it all becomes a bit of a rushed job. They can be a useful aide, but don't rely on them, this is why you need to take the name of the player not just the number when issuing a card.
 
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It’s really about how leagues function and what is expected of referees. Many leagues here have player passes, which are checked before games. In high school games where I am, the teams provide team lists with player names and numbers, and referees are expected to, solely rely on that list—but we also only report send offs, not cautions. (To my chagrin in my first stint as senior ref (we use a dual ref system for most games :eek:) I forgot to make sure the numbers were there, which I discovered after the game and had to ask the coach for a name/number match.)
 
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