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Yes, agree with Steve above. I've had similar experiences many times. I now basically ignore all comments from coaches and pretend I can't hear them. Works pretty well.

This sounds spot on to me. I'd often speak to the captains not the coaches. And slow the match down for a bit.

Very good points made above. I generally pretend I can't hear the coach and only speak to them if it's getting ridiculous. Steve Peters "The Chimp Paradox" is useful in understanding what's going on I'm the coach's head.

Great post. I'm a similar age and am 2 years in. Sounds like you're reasonably fit. I'd use that to focus on being in the right position and keeping up with play. That's what I try to do and it compensates a bit for my inexperience. Frankly, sounds to me like you gave the right mentality...

I'm interested in tips on keeping a positive mindset. Some context: I reffed two matches for my local club this weekend (U12 boys and U16 boys). Both relatively challenging, which why I was asked to ref (as some of our younger refs have had negative experiences with these teams). In the...

I would advise largely ignoring the coaches. If they're appealing for every decision, as sometimes happen, basically pretend that you can't hear them - unless they're abusive of course. Little tips I've picked up on in the last 2 years: - tell them it's no jewellery when you do the equipment...

This is an important survey!

Lots of very useful advice here. And all consistent with each other. Many thanks.

I've been asked to ref an U16 match this Sunday because there were a few discipline issues (bad fouls, dissent etc) the last time one of the teams played. I'm not very experienced at reffing but am one of the older refs at our club, hence me stepping in. Should I just follow my usual routine...

Personally, I set the bar quite high for handball in youth football and only award it if it's definitely deliberate. Yesterday, I reffed an U17 match and there were about 10 appeals for handball, of which I gave none. In the example above, I'd say it's definitely not a penalty.

I'm a bit disappointed in this comment. This forum is usually very good in terms of debating and discussing refereeing decisions rather than making critical comments of individual.s

I'd say just very confidently say "It's a free kick here" and then walk away. If someone says "it should have been a penalty", just say "no, definitely not." Then tell them to get on with the game.

I reffed an U16 boys match. Very clear dissent from the away no 14 led to two yellows and a dismissal. Not a single doubt about the decision. At the end of the match, the away coach comes to talk to me, says the player was provoked for the first yellow by the assistant referee and so it...

So I decided to do a blog of my experiences as a grassroots youth football referee. And here it is: https://grassrootsreferee.blog/

Thanks all, very helpful responses. Nice to get this clear in my head so I can focus on other things.

What is best practice when players shout "mine" or "my ball"? I think the laws of the game mean that "verbally distracting an opponent during play" is an offence. Back when I was playing (a long time ago), we were told never to say mine or my ball, but instead to use our name. This seems to...

Club AR. It was an U14 Youth match. Perhaps highlights the importance of some simple pre-match instructions.

Having read these comments, I am sure the ref was right that it was not offside. One bit of context I should have added is that that Assistant Referee was quite vigorous in his flagging, which influenced how I and others viewed it. Thanks for all the feedback.

I have confused myself over the offside rule. At a match on Saturday, where I was a coach rather than a ref, the midfielder played the ball towards a player who was in an offside position. The assistant referee flagged for offside just as the defender headed the ball out of play. The referee...

There's a lot written about interval training and high-intensity training. But for most refs (like me) whose current fitness is ok but not great, I think developing basic fitness is the key thing. I'd recommend following the couch to 5k programme, or just doing a couple of 4k or 5k runs a week...