I had a challenging U18's game at the weekend. Although it was a friendly it was very competitive between 2 good teams who tried to play football. The away team were upset that I missed a foul in front of them in the first half, they claim the other team went through the back of their player but I didn't give the foul. Perhaps I got it wrong, but it was nothing more than a foul at the absolute worst. It wasn't a key match incident and would have resulted in a defensive free kick way in their own half.
In the second half there was a tackle infront of the away team again. It wasn't a foul but instinctively I watched the players on the floor rather than the ball and I'm very glad I did. They tangled feet then squared up to one another and then started pushing. Everyone got involved, including spectators on the pitch. I blew my whistle as we have been trained to do and kept an eye the situation the best I could (I was on my own with CAR's). My decision was a yellow card for each of the 2 players originally involved. There was some other shoving but it was difficult to pick out anything more than that (question below on this).
For the final 20 minutes there was the possibility that the next bad tackle would boil over again and I'd have a problem on my hands. Thankfully it did not and I tried to slow the game down as much as I could. It ended in a goalless draw and I was pleased it ended without further incident.
The away manager was upset after the mass con and said I missed punches thrown and ultimately I caused that due to my lack of control. I did not see any punches thrown. After everything calmed down he said he would remove his players from the pitch so I said that was his right but he walked off and the game continued. I strongly disagree with his assessment and other than possibly giving the foul in the first half I think I had a good game. My Dad was also watching and thought the criticism was harsh too as did the home manager who said I had a good game and would like me to ref again for them!
In the second half there was a tackle infront of the away team again. It wasn't a foul but instinctively I watched the players on the floor rather than the ball and I'm very glad I did. They tangled feet then squared up to one another and then started pushing. Everyone got involved, including spectators on the pitch. I blew my whistle as we have been trained to do and kept an eye the situation the best I could (I was on my own with CAR's). My decision was a yellow card for each of the 2 players originally involved. There was some other shoving but it was difficult to pick out anything more than that (question below on this).
For the final 20 minutes there was the possibility that the next bad tackle would boil over again and I'd have a problem on my hands. Thankfully it did not and I tried to slow the game down as much as I could. It ended in a goalless draw and I was pleased it ended without further incident.
The away manager was upset after the mass con and said I missed punches thrown and ultimately I caused that due to my lack of control. I did not see any punches thrown. After everything calmed down he said he would remove his players from the pitch so I said that was his right but he walked off and the game continued. I strongly disagree with his assessment and other than possibly giving the foul in the first half I think I had a good game. My Dad was also watching and thought the criticism was harsh too as did the home manager who said I had a good game and would like me to ref again for them!
- How do you deal with accusations that you caused the issue? I can see this happening time and time again as managers look to undermine you. I tried to put it out of my mind for the rest of the game, but after spending some time reflecting I can't even see from his perspective. Perhaps if there had been a continuation of events which I didn't punish (other than the events mentioned above 2 players squared up and were pulled away immediately by their team) but I don't think that's the case.
- How do you deal with mass con's when you are on your own? I made a real effort to pick out the 2 players who started it and kept an eye on them. If players HAD waded in with punches I'd have a real problem remembering who did it and then punishing it accordingly. Given how fast it happened I suspect you could perhaps pick out 3/4 players at the most. The situation could have got out of hand very quickly and I wouldn't have backed myself to sanction everyone involved. With 2 NAR's that would have been possible but with 1 person it would have been difficult.
- Was there a case to card the away team manager? I only thought of this after but he challenged my authority publicly so perhaps a yellow card for dissent may have been appropriate?