The Ref Stop

Pitch Check(s)

Rob

Rob

Member
Level 9 Referee
I reffed my first adult game on Sunday as some may of read in a previous post. I gave the pitch the once over for dangerous objects etc and removed the odd plastic bottle / aluminium can and basically anything that warranted a danger to the players but is the removal of these items solely the referee's responsibility ? . I didn't mind doing it as I arrived in plenty of time to kill but wasn't sure if it was down to the home team (which I believe it is ).
 
The Ref Stop
To be honest, for stuff like that in my experience, its easier to move it yourself, although I draw the line at removing dog :poop:, its bad enough when I have to clean up after my own dogs let alone someone elses.

If theres something that needs removing then yes, approach the home team or the groundsman if there is one and ask them to do the honour
 
Hi there Rob , if there is the odd bit of debris.....and I pass it, I will pick it up ...but if my overview of the pitch isn't good the home manager will be solely in charge of Black Bag duty !!!:)
 
Hi Rob,

I walk and jog the pitch as part of my warm up checking the pitch as I go. Personally I pick up all rubbish and sticks. As I do almost entirely park football I now keep a few sticks I have picked up with me and use it to mark dog foul. I then make sure the home team clear it up prior to KO. As a dog owner I do now keep dog sacks in my kit bag which I give to the home side if they do not have carrier bags.
 
Cheers guys for the benefit of your experience. How would you deal with broken glass on a pitch as you can safely pick up the larger pieces but wont be able to clear all of the smaller pieces up , do you risk playing the game or for the safety of the players call it off ?
 
If you plan on doing the home teams job for them ...(not advisable )

Firstly ....Buy a van .....

load it up with ...1-2 bags of building sand( Winter only) in case the pitch is waterlogged

4-5 bags of soil or general dirt (pre season /summer ) to fill holes and massive cracks due to a long hot summer

Gardening equipment Including a petrol lawnmower , grass may be rather long ?

Strimmer for round the bottom of the goal posts !!

A compulsory Metal Detector to scan the pitch for dangerous metal fragments ie bits of broken cans of Nelson Mandella discarded the previous night ?

Hmmmmmmm ......... I am taking this too far !!!!!!

;):D
 
I've been down my local club and put sand and stuff on the pitch to help get the game on, I've lined it as well before just so they can play :D A good extra £££ when my games are off :D
 
Officially home team responsability.

Have had both teams lined up on the goal line and shuffling / stamping the 18 yard box as it was sandy / lumpy. Assessor loved the idea as his first comment was "are you really playing on that pitch? with those goal area's" :)

Any dog :poop: or broken glass and the game is off as we can not insoect every sq mm. same as if 1 needle is found, game is off and council called and i'd be advising anyone else on the same park of the discovery.

Unfortuantly some of the :poop: turns up before kick off and no mater what you do it starys for the game, then dissapears to the bar......:rolleyes:
 
I did a game last year and there was a large puddle in the goal mouth which was pretty dangerous, I told the assembled crowd that as it stands were not playing the game. One lad said don't worry ill sort it turned to his mates and said you brush it out and ill do the rest. He then proceeded to keep coming back with sand bags, cutting each one open and tipping the sand into the hole. I said to one of the players, how ace is he has he brought all that with him knowing there may be a problem? His reply......No mate you know those road works at the top of the road, well he's just nicked them all of there!!!!!!!!!
 
I do laps of the pitch, big one first, to check flags and goals. Then keep doing laps (walking pace) smaller and smaller until I've covered the whole FOP.

I remove anything big enough and safe enough to remove.

I bought a pack of 6 training cones from SportsDirect for £2.99 which I use to mark out big divots, holes, dog mess, glass etc then tell the manager to address each cone before play can start.

In terms of your glass question, I had a goal mouth one which was rife with shredded can.

I done everything I could safely, then advised the manager (and keeper) that the area is really heavily plagued with shards of can.

I advised they might want to get their team over there and ask the players to review (22 eyes are better than mine!)

Got the last few straggling pieces that id missed/didn’t want to risk – play went on – no gashed legs.
 
I inspect the pitch myself, removing all offending items that way there is no unpleasant surprises in the match with the exception of dog mess
I tell the home manager its their duty to remove any dog mess I find(never had a problem with that)
I once had a newly qualified referee (16 years old)who was with the home team asked if I minded if he ran the line in full referee kit..i said ok had no problem with that but I asked him to inspect the pitch for me and during the game I found two bits of dog mess,so best do the inspection yourself.
 
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