A&H

Knackered

JBeil

Active Member
Level 5 Referee
Absolutely worst evening I've ever had as a referee!

Game doesn't start too well when I get run into as a player rushes in to try and grab the ball - I just stood still to give him a chance to get around me as I had no idea which way he'd go, just bowls me over. It takes just five minutes for the away side to start accusing me of being a cheat, and then there's stupid tackles, a penalty call, players screaming in my face all game, s*** ref this, b****** that, blind ref the other. To top it all off, the game ended with a mass confrontation, and for some reason - I can't explain it - I only booked one player, I can't work out why I didn't get the other, but obviously afterwards the lad who got booked has given me his fifty pence worth as well.

Obviously point number one is to stop being s***, but apart from sorting my own game out, how do you pick yourself off the ground when you've had a miserable run of games? I've got four cup finals in the next nine days and I need to be at my best.
 
The Referee Store
So reflect and work out what went wrong and what right.
Why did you allow the dissent......was some of it actually offinabus.....a few less players to watch in the mass con perhaps?
 
Couldn't agree more with the above. The worst games we have are often the best ones, in a way, as they give us the best opportunities to self-evaluate. Think right from the beginning of the match whether there was anything you could have done differently. Any minor dissent you let go that you could have dealt with by giving them a clear warning/cautioning etc.

Some teams are just like that however well you perform so don't beat yourself up too much about it, but use this as an opportunity to learn, move on, and improve for next time! We all have games like these, the most important thing now is how you respond.
 
Work as an AR.
See how refs one or two levels above you handle the first dissent in a game (i.e. always actively, and with e.g. a warning or straight to card).

If you are saying that a player has run into you when the ball was dead to grab it to take a free kick - that sounds like a stupid thing to do - and a good opportunity to do something active e.g. get up, laugh it off... or blast a whistle in his/her face and give them a shouting at, if not a card.

Cheat, directed at you, as mentioned on here before, you should be thinking red card.

This sounds like a game where match control was not what you would have liked. That's OK. It happens. And there are probably lots of areas to address. First dissent is a big one. Use of cards. Identify and sanction reckless fouls.

And there are subtler things: selling the penalty call. A big, quick whistle, and an animated point to the spot, followed by "it's a clear trip for me, gotta be a pen guys" is very different from... a slow whistle, after penalty shouts, and a meek finger at the spot while backing away as players converge.

You can't just take control all the time. But you have to choose the moments you take control. First dissent - you need to take control - be active. Two players sliding in where you have to give a foul and there might be afters - you need to take control - sprint in.

And mass con without NARs is a really tough one. You can only act on what you see. Trying to identify the main culprits is important if you can. Look for clues - hair, shoes, numbers!
 
Every one of us has been in the situation you're in at the moment, the beauty of the game is come Saturday its a clean slate and we all start again.
 
Absolutely worst evening I've ever had as a referee!

Game doesn't start too well when I get run into as a player rushes in to try and grab the ball - I just stood still to give him a chance to get around me as I had no idea which way he'd go, just bowls me over. It takes just five minutes for the away side to start accusing me of being a cheat, and then there's stupid tackles, a penalty call, players screaming in my face all game, s*** ref this, b****** that, blind ref the other. To top it all off, the game ended with a mass confrontation, and for some reason - I can't explain it - I only booked one player, I can't work out why I didn't get the other, but obviously afterwards the lad who got booked has given me his fifty pence worth as well.

Obviously point number one is to stop being s***, but apart from sorting my own game out, how do you pick yourself off the ground when you've had a miserable run of games? I've got four cup finals in the next nine days and I need to be at my best.
What age group? How many games have you reffed?
 
It's happened to me more than once most of them in my early years.

and for some reason - I can't explain it - I only booked one player
In my experience the reason is one or more of these (conscious or sub-conscious)

- You keep the cards in your pocket because a high card count reflect poorly on your refereeing
- You start with a high tolerance for dissent and as the game goes on and dissent creeps in more, that tolerance gets even higher (you are being too nice or too empathetic)
- You feel intimidated and think taking the card out will lead to more dissent and loss of control

The answer to all 3 is very simple. "Nip it in the bud", never ignore dissent and start managing the game/players very early. It takes experience to workout when to stop "managing" moans, whinges or disagreements and start calling them dissent and caution for it. That fine line is at a different place in every game but if you have missed it, and you realise you have, draw the line right there and then.
 
OA sunday league (on a thursday evening, I know). Coming to the end of my first season so somewhere in the region of fifty-sixty?
I think it's probably a question of age
It must be very difficult if you're younger than most of the players
 
It's happened to me more than once most of them in my early years.


In my experience the reason is one or more of these (conscious or sub-conscious)

- You keep the cards in your pocket because a high card count reflect poorly on your refereeing
- You start with a high tolerance for dissent and as the game goes on and dissent creeps in more, that tolerance gets even higher (you are being too nice or too empathetic)
- You feel intimidated and think taking the card out will lead to more dissent and loss of control

The answer to all 3 is very simple. "Nip it in the bud", never ignore dissent and start managing the game/players very early. It takes experience to workout when to stop "managing" moans, whinges or disagreements and start calling them dissent and caution for it. That fine line is at a different place in every game but if you have missed it, and you realise you have, draw the line right there and then.
Absolutely correct. I've had matches where I've let too much go in the first half, realised it at half time and jumped on a relatively minor piece of moaning in the 2nd half just because I've realised I let that player get away with too much. It's not the fairest thing in the world, but if they've been over the line in the first half, better late than never.
 
  • Like
Reactions: one
Full time isn’t quite up to date. Let me know where you are between now and the end of the season and I’ll try and get over. Can’t do Wednesdays though
 
Back
Top