2 Ref Games! Not Good!

[woody4]

Yes, Woody, it is Allen Baker, and yes, I know he is no longer the coach at Klein HS. His point was that referees' calls affect the OUTCOME 5% of the time.

 

I didn't say that referee's have a 95% success rate, and neither did Coach Baker. But there are a lot of folks who subscribe to the notion that refs decide the outcome of a lot of games...and that's asinine.

 

Your accountability assertion is absurd.

How can you know that an officialls calls only affect outcomes of 5% of games? Don't see how that can be kept. Sorry for stating the 95% success rate incorrectly, I thought when you said " Find me anothr profession that can boast a 95% success rate. (MLB batters are immortal for hitting .400, and the last person to do that was Ted Williams)." that is what you were insinuating. I always hate to be absurd, so please enlighten me on how these officials have such a high degree of accountability.

[tiger19]

I am not against a two ref system. Sometimes it works as an advantage. When their is one ref and two linesman the linesman becomes too passive and the ref calls everything. If he misses a call he misses a call. With two refs they both are more active to making a call. NOW, the other side of this is they do miss things. For example, a kid does a bicycle in the box and a kid ducks to keep from having his head cut off. Thus, leading to a goal. Thus, leading to a defeat of another team. The ref. says I didnt see the bicycle. WOW. Cant really miss those. So there are pros and cons of a duel system. You just have to go with the hand you are given and make sure your kiddos know that their are too many factors that influence a game. Thus, not getting yourself in circumstances that a ref can determine the outcome of that game.

 

 

[futfan]

I have 2 kids who are players and certified Grade 8 USSF referees (the oldest quit because of lack of respect from parents and coaches). They have both said that they truly never understood the game as players until they became referees. From the mouths of babes.

My 2 kids are also Grade 8, and have expresses the same thing, they have a better understanding of the game, but they also have the experience of having to do it (ref) themselves, and have more respect for the position. Their biggest beef with parents, interestingly is around the U-8 group. There is still some problems at the U-10 level, but it is the same situation as in High school.

By the time we can get good young referees trained, and start them working bigger matches, they are turned off by the Parents and Coaches attitudes towards referees, and stop working. Then we have to go back to square one, and work with less experienced refs, or have short crews. If people want quality crews available to work all the matches, the best thing to do is not create an environment where no one wants to ref.

 

I want to also add that in this month's copy of Texas Coach magazine, there was a well written article by the coach frrom Klein HS. he has been there for 26 years, since the program's inception. I was really proud to hear him say that in 26 years, he figured that a referee's call/non-call made a difference in the outcome of games less than 5% of the time.

And by the way, the day I stopped hollering at referees was the day I called my first match.

 

Sounds like Joel is not the one saying it, but the coach in the article. If you have a question on the OPINION on the 5%/95%, sounds like a question for him. Keep in mind, theree is no way to keep such a statistic, but his OPINION was based on 26 years experience.

[12fan18]

 

I've found, generally, that the best teams, must and do, figure out their games ref'ing crew and make adjustments to maximize their play with how a crew is making their calls. The other teams, frankly, need to find another excuse.

And I do agree with Futfan, there is nothing more eye opening, than to watch a soccer game that you're not emotionally involved in, try it sometime, like when it becomes playoff time.

[woody4]

Sounds like Joel is not the one saying it, but the coach in the article. If you have a question on the OPINION on the 5%/95%, sounds like a question for him. Keep in mind, theree is no way to keep such a statistic, but his OPINION was based on 26 years experience.

[/i]

No real questions. If you see a question mark in the post concerning the 5%, make no mistake it is rhetorical. I understand that this was an opinion of Coach Baker (very respected man in this profession) but the response was to someone reinterating and supporting his comments. I feel it was fair to ask the question to whoever is regurgitating it as fact.

[bordertown]

I've found, generally, that the best teams, must and do, figure out their games ref'ing crew and make adjustments to maximize their play with how a crew is making their calls. The other teams, frankly, need to find another excuse.

And I do agree with Futfan, there is nothing more eye opening, than to watch a soccer game that you're not emotionally involved in, try it sometime, like when it becomes playoff time.

 

I think you nailed it. I am amazed how many games the players do not adjust to the game the official(s) are calling. They want the official to adjust and get frustated when they don't.

 

Woody, I would contend officials are accountable. Coaches have the right to scratch officials. In my opinion, some coaches abuse that right. Their is a happy balance.

 

I am still struggling with a school requesting 3 officials to cover the boys and 2 to cover the girls on the same night. I think the situation has to do with an official having a hard time to make an early start.

[woody4]

I think you nailed it. I am amazed how many games the players do not adjust to the game the official(s) are calling. They want the official to adjust and get frustated when they don't.

 

Woody, I would contend officials are accountable. Coaches have the right to scratch officials. In my opinion, some coaches abuse that right. Their is a happy balance.

 

I am still struggling with a school requesting 3 officials to cover the boys and 2 to cover the girls on the same night. I think the situation has to do with an official having a hard time to make an early start.

Your right, a coach can scratch an official. What happens to that official? Gets assigned to another game the next week. Does he ever have to sit down with the assignor and review film? How often is any kind of additional training required? Coach gets a card, there is a good chance he will have a sit down with his AD the next morning. Enough of them and he could have a meeting with the UIL. Misconduct on the officials part what happens? A misguided card or inappropriate comment to a coach or player, what happens then? I watched Poteet vs The Colony in the Regional Finals last year, player went down and stayed down. Clocked was stopped and Training staff was called onto field, what is supposed to happen next? Official allows player to stay on, kid takes the set piece and leads to the game winner. Curious to what degree of accountability that official was held. See it all the time. Don't get me wrong, I do agree it is a tough job.

 

[SoccerJones]

I have stayed out of this conversation but decided to add my meaningless opinion anyway. I also am a Grade 8 ref and have a daughter and son who are Grade 9. My daughter won't go any higher because she does not want to call middles because of the abuse from parents...period. She is happy with calling lines for less pay in lower age groups. My son would rather call lines because he says parents are basically ignorant of the laws of the game and was threatened by a parent who thought he was playing favorites. This is ridiculous. He was going to referee while in college to help with having a little extra money but gave up on that. I also have been threatened and have had to remove spectators from the park before a match could continue. The abuse at times is overwhelming. Having said all of that, this is the main reason I will not call UIL games. I have witnessed not only severe profanity outbursts toward officials (unrightly so), but have seen an officiating crew need police protection to get to their cars and be escorted off school property. To me, this is not worth the amount of pay schools are willing to dish out.

 

Like with any organization, the UIL has a hierarchy in place where complaints about officials are made and investigated. Same with USSF. Officials in the UIL request game days, places etc. and are assigned according to their requests. If an official is requested not to call a particular school(s) by coaches, they will be assigned another location...this is true. But a "poor" official will eventually be left with few choices to work his trade. So he/she may drop out. Thus helping to lead to the shortage of officials in ETEX soccer we have now. But this certainly is not the main reason we have a shortage. Only a small, rare circumstance.

 

I have yearly been approached to referee UIL games. My work will not allow me the opportunity to leave to make many early scheduled games. There are many other reasons men and women have declined to referee as UIL officials besides just the "lack of respect" reason. All of which are valid reasons. Are their "bad" officials. Not in my opinion. Do officials miss calls and make mistakes? Of course...they are not machines but humans who make judgement calls based on their experience and degree of officiating difficult or highly public games. Like the retired coaches' observance of the 95%/5% debate. I would have said 2% based on my observations. Soccer, unlike ANY other sport, flows with the level of play and competiveness of the two teams and takes on a "personality" of its own. Good officials get control of a match early and dictate the flow. Less experienced ones (wrongly called bad officials) sometimes let matches get out of control. But they are not doing a poor job of being an official. You who have NEVER officiated should be glad they are there.

 

Two things have to happen before 2 man crews become something rare instead of the norm. 1. When enough men and women feel it is worthwhile to be an official in High School soccer and not have to put up with the abuse of unruly and uneducated fans. 2. Fan support grows enough to consistently allow the smaller or less financially able athletic programs to pay for 3 man crews.

 

For all of you commenting on this subject that have never refereed a match in front of 200 or more rabid parents and fans. You really don't have the background to have an educated argument as to how good or bad an official sees and calls a match. Go get certified and your opinion and vision of referees WILL change.

[SoccerJones]

I've found, generally, that the best teams, must and do, figure out their games ref'ing crew and make adjustments to maximize their play with how a crew is making their calls. The other teams, frankly, need to find another excuse.

And I do agree with Futfan, there is nothing more eye opening, than to watch a soccer game that you're not emotionally involved in, try it sometime, like when it becomes playoff time.

 

 

Teams that play poorly or miss their opportunities will undoubtedly blame officials. Teams who take care of business on the field have no need to criticize officials and almost unanimously proclaim they called a fair match.

[bordertown]

Your right, a coach can scratch an official. What happens to that official? Gets assigned to another game the next week. Does he ever have to sit down with the assignor and review film? How often is any kind of additional training required? Coach gets a card, there is a good chance he will have a sit down with his AD the next morning. Enough of them and he could have a meeting with the UIL. Misconduct on the officials part what happens? A misguided card or inappropriate comment to a coach or player, what happens then? I watched Poteet vs The Colony in the Regional Finals last year, player went down and stayed down. Clocked was stopped and Training staff was called onto field, what is supposed to happen next? Official allows player to stay on, kid takes the set piece and leads to the game winner. Curious to what degree of accountability that official was held. See it all the time. Don't get me wrong, I do agree it is a tough job.

 

Couple of comments.

 

- Woody I think you are in the Metroplex and most of the issues discussed are East Texas. That is not a slight or trivializing your observations. In rural area of the state, it is not practical to sit down with the assignor. In my case the Chapter assignor is 90 miles away. I have only had one school to offer to provide game tapes to officials. I think that is an excellent idea. The main benefit is to review mechanics, not foul recognition. Foul recognition comes with time and good mechanics put you in position for recognize the foul.

 

- You mention a Regional Final game between two Metroplex teams. My guess those officials are the best DFW has to offer. On Saturdays they are calling Solar and the Texans at Richland college. A criticism I have of my fellow officials is sometimes we decide which rules are worthy of enforcing and which are trivial. I contacted TASO several years back after seeing a picture in the DMN of 3 player with 3" shinguards hiked 6" above the ankle. These were probably USSF state level officials not enforcing the law. But here is the failure - not only did the official allow it to happen but the coach was not concerned enough about is players. It was the coach's primary responsibility and the referee's secondarily.

 

- The biggest joke in the UIL is COPE training. For those not familiar with the acronym it stands for Coaches Officials Positive Expectations. The purpose is the reduce the level of unwanted behavior at all sporting events. Great in concept. It attempts to foster an understanding of the role of each group. Officials are reminded that to coaches the game is their career. Coaches are reminded that officials by and large are not paid professionals - its a side gig and the officials are attempting to do their best. Officials are required to watch a Billy Crystal film annually. My understanding coaches only have to watch it one time in their career. I suspect most coaches don't even remember the class. Personally, I think the coaches should go through the training before every season they coach. Often times the antics of the coach fuels the fire in the stands and it goes downhill from there. It would be nice if players and parents have to watch a similiar presentation before each season. I am not holding my breath for that to occur.

 

- Finally coaches probably should have to answer for cards they receive. I hate to start 5 minutes into a game because the coach allowed an illegally equiped player on the field after I asked in the pregame. I am surprised at the number of coaches that answer the question in the affirmative with their captains wearing illegal shinguards. I doubt whether 50% of the coaches have a pregame inspection of equipment, let alone at any time during the season check to see if they have the NOCSAE emblem and whether they are appropriate to the height of the player. But the card may have save the kid a broken ankle or leg.

 

[woody4]

Bordertown, I appreciate your post and feel that it is a fair one. I definetly differ on a couple of issues. I am not sure that I am understanding what you are saying. Are you saying it was The Colony's responsibility to pull their player off instead of the officials. I can assure you that the Poteet coach was letting the official know that he was supposed to leave. Not sure on what your saying with this. I agree that if a coach receives a card he should answer to it. I think that most have to in some fashion, but back to my point of how is the official accountable for any misconduct? Getting scratched here or there doesn't cut it I don't think. Seems like you put a lot of responsibility on the Coach from equipment checks to attending what you want to be mandatory COPE meetings. Why isn't the official responsible for the laws of the game, since when is it a coaches duty to oversee proper equipment. I have had several officials (99% rightfully so) comment back at me some sort of inappropriate jab but don't see anything in your post concerning COPE going the other way. I do agree with you and also understand why it isn't really possible to have the whole film thing, but would be nice. Like I said, don't get me wrong I have seen some very good officials and understand the difficulty of the job but do have some issues I would like to see handled differently.

[bordertown]

Seems like you put a lot of responsibility on the Coach from equipment checks to attending what you want to be mandatory COPE meetings. Why isn't the official responsible for the laws of the game, since when is it a coaches duty to oversee proper equipment.

 

I am not putting the responsibilty on the coach for equipment checks - NFHS has. Read the rules and you will find the the coach has the primary responsibility. That is why the question is asked pregame to the coaches and why the 1st card for illegally equipped players goes to the coach. For the last three years it has been a point of emphasis by NFHS. Alot of high school kids play select soccer and you only have to conform to the rules loosely (ie 18 year old kids wearing shinguards designed for 6 year olds). High school rules favor safety over comfort and tagged the coach.

 

My comments on COPE is it doesn't accomplish its goal if only party at the dance is current in their preseason training. For the most part I think coaches have the big picture on the relationship, it is the 20% that need the refresher coarse. Also there are those officials that are empowered by the cards they carry. In 15 years I have problably issued 3 cards to coaches. Now players are a different story. You go stupid with your play or mouth, I am going to deal with you. I am a big believer the pitch is an extension of the classroom. I guess in some schools it is pretty rough.

 

Woody, I agree with you on the Colony game. My point was those were lower grade (meaning better) USSF officials calling the game, not quacks like me, ignorant of the rules. It was not the coaches responsibility it was the officials who abdicated their responsibility in that situation.

 

I can agree with you to a point on scratches. But going back to this thread of duals vs 3-man, if you are short of officials how are you going to eliminate the bottom 10%. The main reason has been pointed out in numerous posts by adults whose kids quit officiating because of abusive behavior. The only solution is increasing the numbers and to increase the numbers, you have reduce the abuse.

[woody4]

I am not putting the responsibilty on the coach for equipment checks - NFHS has. Read the rules and you will find the the coach has the primary responsibility. That is why the question is asked pregame to the coaches and why the 1st card for illegally equipped players goes to the coach. For the last three years it has been a point of emphasis by NFHS. Alot of high school kids play select soccer and you only have to conform to the rules loosely (ie 18 year old kids wearing shinguards designed for 6 year olds). High school rules favor safety over comfort and tagged the coach.

 

I have not coached at the HS level for a few years now and did not know this. Thanks for educating me. Sounds silly but guess I understand why.

 

Woody, I agree with you on the Colony game. My point was those were lower grade (meaning better) USSF officials calling the game, not quacks like me, ignorant of the rules. It was not the coaches responsibility it was the officials who abdicated their responsibility in that situation.

 

So what were/are the consequences for this officials negligence?

[bordertown]

1) I agree. Lets start the game off by carding the coach. Helps the relationship :rolleyes:

 

2) Guess he wasn't invited to call a game at state.

[Joel]

I think bordertown is spot-on in his assesment of what's going on with the officials.

 

Case in point regarding equipment. At a game in the Border Shootout, after coaches were asked if players were all properly and legally equipped, one of the linesmen noticed that 2 players on Team A had hairclips and bobby pins in their hair. After the coin toss, this linesmen addressed Team A's coach and Team B's. Team A's coach was out of line demanding that "30 seconds before the start of a match is not the time to address equipment". The referee stepped in and commented that he was correct--it should have been 30 MINUTES before the match...and done by the coach. Inside the cover in the NFHS rule book. Even after this, then a verbal warning to a player, the coach received a YC for IL/IP equipment.

 

Further, I would suggest that on the accountability issue, there aren't many professions where someone shows up at your office/workplace and verbally berates you because you're trying to do your JOB. I can't think of any official I have met in the past dozen years who has ever told me, "Joel, I'm gonna go mess this game up, ruin my integrity, lose future assignments, and see just how many parents, players, and coaches I can pizz off." Never. At best, there are 6 eyes, watching 22 players, 2-4 coaches, and bench personnel in a game that doesn't have time outs, a "play clock", a "shot clock" or normal breaks. For a highly respected coach to remark in a COACHING magazine that officials influence the outcome at 5% or less is an outstanding compliment.

 

Finally, why soccer? I dare anyone to try to hold other major sports officials to the same degree of scrutiny and regularity as a soccer referee. Football? Basketball? Baseball? Nothing compared to soccer.

 

Now to play devil's advocate...are there some folks that have no business being out there or are doing this for the wrong resons? Obviously. Will you see missed calls, or sometimes just plain bad officiating? Undoubtedly. I'll even go so far as to say that the BEST referees with the greatest intentions will have games they would just as soon forget. But I'll also say that by and large, these are the exceptions, and definitely not the rule.

 

The best team on the field? Usually the team in the yellow shirts with the black stripes.

[TexasSoccer]

- You mention a Regional Final game between two Metroplex teams. My guess those officials are the best DFW has to offer. On Saturdays they are calling Solar and the Texans at Richland college. A criticism I have of my fellow officials is sometimes we decide which rules are worthy of enforcing and which are trivial. I contacted TASO several years back after seeing a picture in the DMN of 3 player with 3" shinguards hiked 6" above the ankle. These were probably USSF state level officials not enforcing the law. But here is the failure - not only did the official allow it to happen but the coach was not concerned enough about is players. It was the coach's primary responsibility and the referee's secondarily.

 

 

Sorry, just had to make a correction about the officials on this game. Let me first say that I know both of the coaches very well as I am a coach and a referee. I coached against the Poteet coach and have refereed several of The Colony games. Had it not been for the fact that Poteet was in my district I very well could have been in the middle as my name was mentioned in their discussions. Second, I was there and saw what happened and the refs were not from the Dallas or Tarrent chapters of TASO soccer officials and they definaltely do not referee in the Boys Classic League! The reason those particular referees were on the game was that the coaches could agree on three from the Dallas chapter of TASO, so UIL got involved and told the coaches they would be getting the referees from another chapter. THAT chapter chose to send those three to the Regional final game. You would have to ask that chapter if those were the best they had to offer for a Regional Final.

[TexasSoccer]

:cat:

 

:pirate:

 

:homer:

[TexasSoccer]

I have stayed out of this conversation but decided to add my meaningless opinion anyway. I also am a Grade 8 ref and have a daughter and son who are Grade 9. My daughter won't go any higher because she does not want to call middles because of the abuse from parents...period. She is happy with calling lines for less pay in lower age groups. My son would rather call lines because he says parents are basically ignorant of the laws of the game and was threatened by a parent who thought he was playing favorites. This is ridiculous. He was going to referee while in college to help with having a little extra money but gave up on that. I also have been threatened and have had to remove spectators from the park before a match could continue. The abuse at times is overwhelming. Having said all of that, this is the main reason I will not call UIL games. I have witnessed not only severe profanity outbursts toward officials (unrightly so), but have seen an officiating crew need police protection to get to their cars and be escorted off school property. To me, this is not worth the amount of pay schools are willing to dish out.

 

Like with any organization, the UIL has a hierarchy in place where complaints about officials are made and investigated. Same with USSF. Officials in the UIL request game days, places etc. and are assigned according to their requests. If an official is requested not to call a particular school(s) by coaches, they will be assigned another location...this is true. But a "poor" official will eventually be left with few choices to work his trade. So he/she may drop out. Thus helping to lead to the shortage of officials in ETEX soccer we have now. But this certainly is not the main reason we have a shortage. Only a small, rare circumstance.

 

I have yearly been approached to referee UIL games. My work will not allow me the opportunity to leave to make many early scheduled games. There are many other reasons men and women have declined to referee as UIL officials besides just the "lack of respect" reason. All of which are valid reasons. Are their "bad" officials. Not in my opinion. Do officials miss calls and make mistakes? Of course...they are not machines but humans who make judgement calls based on their experience and degree of officiating difficult or highly public games. Like the retired coaches' observance of the 95%/5% debate. I would have said 2% based on my observations. Soccer, unlike ANY other sport, flows with the level of play and competiveness of the two teams and takes on a "personality" of its own. Good officials get control of a match early and dictate the flow. Less experienced ones (wrongly called bad officials) sometimes let matches get out of control. But they are not doing a poor job of being an official. You who have NEVER officiated should be glad they are there.

 

Two things have to happen before 2 man crews become something rare instead of the norm. 1. When enough men and women feel it is worthwhile to be an official in High School soccer and not have to put up with the abuse of unruly and uneducated fans. 2. Fan support grows enough to consistently allow the smaller or less financially able athletic programs to pay for 3 man crews.

 

For all of you commenting on this subject that have never refereed a match in front of 200 or more rabid parents and fans. You really don't have the background to have an educated argument as to how good or bad an official sees and calls a match. Go get certified and your opinion and vision of referees WILL change.

 

 

Amen!!!

[bordertown]

[/b]Sorry, just had to make a correction about the officials on this game. Let me first say that I know both of the coaches very well as I am a coach and a referee. I coached against the Poteet coach and have refereed several of The Colony games. Had it not been for the fact that Poteet was in my district I very well could have been in the middle as my name was mentioned in their discussions. Second, I was there and saw what happened and the refs were not from the Dallas or Tarrent chapters of TASO soccer officials and they definaltely do not referee in the Boys Classic League! The reason those particular referees were on the game was that the coaches could agree on three from the Dallas chapter of TASO, so UIL got involved and told the coaches they would be getting the referees from another chapter. THAT chapter chose to send those three to the Regional final game. You would have to ask that chapter if those were the best they had to offer for a Regional Final.

 

I stand corrected.

 

 

[chebeto]

Your right, a coach can scratch an official. What happens to that official? Gets assigned to another game the next week. Does he ever have to sit down with the assignor and review film? How often is any kind of additional training required? Coach gets a card, there is a good chance he will have a sit down with his AD the next morning. Enough of them and he could have a meeting with the UIL. Misconduct on the officials part what happens? A misguided card or inappropriate comment to a coach or player, what happens then? I watched Poteet vs The Colony in the Regional Finals last year, player went down and stayed down. Clocked was stopped and Training staff was called onto field, what is supposed to happen next? Official allows player to stay on, kid takes the set piece and leads to the game winner. Curious to what degree of accountability that official was held. See it all the time. Don't get me wrong, I do agree it is a tough job.

I see what woody is talking about. The perception that I often get is that officials are not doing enough within their chapters to improve their respective chapters. I feel as though this shortcoming affects their ability to improve as individuals refs and as chapters. Example( A linesman missed an offsides call taking a scoring chance away from a team that ends up losing a playoff game 2-1. If that chance was finished the losing team would have gone up 2-1. Game changer right? Obviously the coach was upset about the call and had a discussion with the linesman during which the coach told the linesman he would send the film for review. Long stoy short he did send it to the head of the chapter. The coach saw that official later and asked if he saw the film. The answer was no! In this case the coach can accept that the linesman missed the call what he can"t accept or understand is why in the world the film wasn't reviewed after the time was spent on making copies of the missed call along with a few others during the match as well as the entire game.) We understand that officials for the most part do the best job they can do during games. I just feel as though there could be more done within the chapters to improve their officials performances on game days. I would argue the difference between talented great teams/coaches and talented good teams/coaches and talented average teams/coaches has alot to do with preparation. I think that applies for officials as well.

[SoccerJones]

"I see what woody is talking about. The perception that I often get is that officials are not doing enough within their chapters to improve their respective chapters. I feel as though this shortcoming affects their ability to improve as individuals refs and as chapters"..."We understand that officials for the most part do the best job they can do during games. I just feel as though there could be more done within the chapters to improve their officials performances on game days."

 

 

Yours IS a valid argument. However, coaches are paid for their profession on a full time basis and must review, examine and correct mistakes either they make or their players make to be one of those "great talented teams"; and earn their pay to keep their job. Almost every official that I know who call UIL matches have other full time jobs and families, leaving them with precious little time to review game films. However, I know when I get assessed and receive constructive criticism in the rec/select/club realm I often wish I had film to see for myself instead of taking a peer's opinion.

 

Having said all that, just like with a plate umpire who calls low pitches as strikes, a batter must adjust his swing and perception for the current game to help his team win. If a linesman has a history of calling offsides too close, tell your strikers to wait an extra half second before breaking. That is part of the coaches preparation to know his officials. The same ones call all the games week to week. The coach should and will learn which ones call certain ways and adjust. I coached for 10++ years in the rec/select/club world and about a hundred in amateur baseball. I learned the officials and always talked with my players before every game/match.

 

Referees get un undue amount of negative criticism from those who have never set foot on a pitch in a referees uniform. Again I plead...walk (run) a mile in their shoes before putting the noose around their neck. Otherwise...accept the outcome of the match. Remember...if a player had cleared or passed the ball half a second sooner, a breakaway may have been successful. It is not always the referees fault!

[panchovilla]

I've found, generally, that the best teams, must and do, figure out their games ref'ing crew and make adjustments to maximize their play with how a crew is making their calls. The other teams, frankly, need to find another excuse.

And I do agree with Futfan, there is nothing more eye opening, than to watch a soccer game that you're not emotionally involved in, try it sometime, like when it becomes playoff time.

 

I think thats what he said. This seems to be as nutshell as you can get.

[JvilleTribe]

Jville girls finally had 3 officials at our game tonight! Much better.. :happy65:

[schoolmarm]

Please refs, if you are reading this post. Be impartial, that is your job! Each team that steps on to the pitch expects for you to be the professional and to take control of the game and call it fairly or as fair as possible. Your reputation is at stake; you are a person who should be respected, but when players are kicked in the stomach, punched in face, jerseys held, and the goalie has the opposing team trying impede her kick out of the box, people often wonder! It is not about the fans, the parents nor the coaches, but for the safety of the players! Please, please, maintain the integrity of the game!

[futfan]

Please refs, if you are reading this post. Be impartial, that is your job! Each team that steps on to the pitch expects for you to be the professional and to take control of the game and call it fairly or as fair as possible. Your reputation is at stake; you are a person who should be respected,

 

but when players are kicked in the stomach, punched in face, jerseys held, and the goalie has the opposing team trying impede her kick out of the box, people often wonder! It is not about the fans, the parents nor the coaches, but for the safety of the players! Please, please, maintain the integrity of the game!

 

 

This seems to be the common thread when people complain about a game.

I infer that you had a game where things were not called that you believe should have been.

If that is the case, then there are two different themes in your post that should be unrelated.

1: Did the referee do a good job?

2: Was the referee impartial?

 

If you imply that they did not do a good job, that is understandable.It sounds as if you had some calls or non-calls that you did not agree with. I know that it is not possible to be right 100%, but sometimes the level of play a referee lets go or does not allow is very different from another ref, or what the observers think, but the players/coaches should adjust according to the level of play. Frequently, a biased observer will not notice that it is happening both ways.

Which brings us to the second part.

If you are implying that a referee is cheating, (and I mince no words here, because if you suggest that they are favoring one team intentionally, is implying they are dishonest) then you may have a case IF IT IS TRUE.

As a referee, one can understand when parents shout from the side about a bad call. But to insinuate that we have called things only against one team (which interestingly enough is often the team behind) is to say that I have an underlying motive to affect the outcome.

 

If that is what you are perceiving, I would ask you to objectively look at the statement, and see my point, that you may have a valid reason for complaining about the ability to call the game, but please, be careful when you suggest that the referee is partial. Almost every referee I know would probably feel the same way... "I may have made mistakes, but not to favor one side over another."