Guardian Article
- Thread starter RefJef
- Start date
Richard smith
Well-Known Member
This matter, as far as I am concerned should be stamped out at the 1st sign of dissent creeping ino the game which you are refereeing.
Tell the offending player that if his/her dissent continues a caution will be forthcoming.
I often use this strategy and find it very useful for dealing with the problem of dissent
every Referee should develop his/her own strategy for dealing with Dissent. I developed this method of dealing with dissent in my first few seasons of being a qualified referee. I hope that sharing my strategy on dealing with dissent will help others
If the referee speaking to the media has taken action at the time and reported everything to county then he has my full and absolute support. If he hasn't then you have to question what is going to stop the offender from doing it again, and again, and again?
As I said before, I do speak from experience here, as I have lost count how many times I got emails from referees complaining about the conducts of teams, managers, supporters, etc, only to then find out that they haven't reported a single card or misconduct after the game. What do they expect me to do, I wasn't there so can't do anything.
When I was an inexperienced referee I used to struggle badly with dissent, and that is because I either ignored it or cautioned for it, there was no middle ground. These days I get few problems with dissent, that isn't because I get every decision correct, but rather I cut it out at source and make it clear it isn't happening in this game. That doesn't mean using cards necessarily, less than 10% of my cautions last season were for dissent, but I don't ignore it which was always my problem before. You have to be preventative and cut it out at source, not reactive and throw cards around.
As I said before, I do speak from experience here, as I have lost count how many times I got emails from referees complaining about the conducts of teams, managers, supporters, etc, only to then find out that they haven't reported a single card or misconduct after the game. What do they expect me to do, I wasn't there so can't do anything.
When I was an inexperienced referee I used to struggle badly with dissent, and that is because I either ignored it or cautioned for it, there was no middle ground. These days I get few problems with dissent, that isn't because I get every decision correct, but rather I cut it out at source and make it clear it isn't happening in this game. That doesn't mean using cards necessarily, less than 10% of my cautions last season were for dissent, but I don't ignore it which was always my problem before. You have to be preventative and cut it out at source, not reactive and throw cards around.
I believe Padfoot has spoken..... are we done here?? 
I tweeted this article on Sunday and it picked up almost 5,000 views after Jacqui Oatley highlighted this situation by retweeting my link. She's one of the few journalists who understands the plight of referees and grass roots in particular.
zarathustra
RefChat Addict
There is a problem with dissent/abuse towards match officials at all levels of football in England.
Nowhere near enough is done by the FA, CFAs, leagues and/or clubs to tackle this, I.e. to deal effectively with persistent trouble makers.
However, I have little sympathy for referees who make the conscious decision to ignore abuse/dissent or to not use the correct sanctions.
We all make mistakes, and sometime we will try to manage something which doesn’t work out the way we think and end up with bigger problems.
When starting out we all make mistakes, I bet even Padfoot has made a mistake or too in his time, the important thing is that we recognise that we have made a mistake and do whatever is necessary to rectify that.
I for one have no problem with people who come here asking for help being told it like it is, I.e. not sugar coating things to save their feelings from getting hurt. There’s no such thing as a safe space in the real world
However, any criticism should, where possible, be constructive. I.e. if you tell someone they are rubbish then you need to tell them why, and what they can do to change that.
Nowhere near enough is done by the FA, CFAs, leagues and/or clubs to tackle this, I.e. to deal effectively with persistent trouble makers.
However, I have little sympathy for referees who make the conscious decision to ignore abuse/dissent or to not use the correct sanctions.
We all make mistakes, and sometime we will try to manage something which doesn’t work out the way we think and end up with bigger problems.
When starting out we all make mistakes, I bet even Padfoot has made a mistake or too in his time, the important thing is that we recognise that we have made a mistake and do whatever is necessary to rectify that.
I for one have no problem with people who come here asking for help being told it like it is, I.e. not sugar coating things to save their feelings from getting hurt. There’s no such thing as a safe space in the real world
However, any criticism should, where possible, be constructive. I.e. if you tell someone they are rubbish then you need to tell them why, and what they can do to change that.
Caldilo
New Member
I ref in Northern California and here is a clip from an incident report from the competitive youth soccer league for US Club Soccer. This still comes down to the referee being willing to punish the offender. If no one is sent off, these punishments don’t occur.
Incident Summary: A parent was sent off for persistent complaining.
Comments: The coach of the Celtic team is suspended 2 games - 1 for failing to control his team's spectators and 1 additional game for the verbal abuse of minor referees.
All of the parents and coaches of this Celtic team are required to attend a Positive Coaching Alliance Course at their cost. Written evidence of attendance must be provided to amittler@norcalpremier.com no later than January 7, 2018
If the parents or coaches don’t comply, the team is no longer allowed to compete in the league events.
Incident Summary: A parent was sent off for persistent complaining.
Comments: The coach of the Celtic team is suspended 2 games - 1 for failing to control his team's spectators and 1 additional game for the verbal abuse of minor referees.
All of the parents and coaches of this Celtic team are required to attend a Positive Coaching Alliance Course at their cost. Written evidence of attendance must be provided to amittler@norcalpremier.com no later than January 7, 2018
If the parents or coaches don’t comply, the team is no longer allowed to compete in the league events.