I reffed an u13 cup game on Sunday, fairly competitive game and I had to issue a few public warnings which probably warranted cautions but I had gone down the public telling off route instead. It went to penalties and before the 1st pen I took both keepers to one side and specifically warned them about staying on their line.
1st penalty and the keeper jumps forward and it's blasted over the bar so I order a retake. This caused some commotion from half the parents who obviously decided I was being impartial. Anyway, the player retakes and scores. As the ball is bouncing out of the goal the keeper kicks it away towards the corner flag. With all the commotion I decide I've had enough and issue a caution for dissent. Now, I accept I make a mistake here (prizes for those who can explain why*) but as the sin bin applies in this league I effectively send him off. Outfield player takes over and they go on to win the shootout which relieves most of the tension on the sidelines.
This morning I've seen a post by the manager on a public forum that includes the following, "I hope the referee has a think about his decisions during the penalty shootout and learns from it for the future - they are mainly 12 year old children after all"
I emailed the league to ask if they thought this was an acceptable comment but they've just said to report it to CFA if I think it's offensive. It's annoyed me but I'm not really sure what to do next and if it is actually that bad or if I'm just taking it badly, any advice?
*It's a scenario that is unlikely to re-occurr but what I should have done is handy info for those in leagues/cups where sin-bins apply, I'll post the response I got from the FA later so people have a chance to guess
I should add that I do referee one team regularly as the league doesn't appoint officials
1st penalty and the keeper jumps forward and it's blasted over the bar so I order a retake. This caused some commotion from half the parents who obviously decided I was being impartial. Anyway, the player retakes and scores. As the ball is bouncing out of the goal the keeper kicks it away towards the corner flag. With all the commotion I decide I've had enough and issue a caution for dissent. Now, I accept I make a mistake here (prizes for those who can explain why*) but as the sin bin applies in this league I effectively send him off. Outfield player takes over and they go on to win the shootout which relieves most of the tension on the sidelines.
This morning I've seen a post by the manager on a public forum that includes the following, "I hope the referee has a think about his decisions during the penalty shootout and learns from it for the future - they are mainly 12 year old children after all"
I emailed the league to ask if they thought this was an acceptable comment but they've just said to report it to CFA if I think it's offensive. It's annoyed me but I'm not really sure what to do next and if it is actually that bad or if I'm just taking it badly, any advice?
*It's a scenario that is unlikely to re-occurr but what I should have done is handy info for those in leagues/cups where sin-bins apply, I'll post the response I got from the FA later so people have a chance to guess
I should add that I do referee one team regularly as the league doesn't appoint officials