Question Number: 20618

Character, Attitude and Control 12/1/2008

RE: Select Under 13

Reza Taheri of San Jose, Ca United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 20605

Thanks again Richard and Keith for the feedback. Again, we are more in agreement than you might realize. I would like to help this referee with the issues he had that day, but as you say, have to figure out a way to make sure it doesn't come out as an emotional response of a coach who got ejected. I believe this fellow was working above his head, especially working as many games as he did. I think by the time he got to our game, he had heard so much from coaches that he had a very short fuse. As is often the case, much of what he had heard from coaches was unjustified: we coaches grouse a lot; but a surprising amount of it justified. He was making a lot of mistakes.

The horrible call that got my goat is as follows. But first: it was a game we won 1-0. The call did not make an impact on the outcome. So, it wasn't 'horrible' as in hurting my team. This is what happened. The other team had set offside traps to deal with our speedy forwards. We had had '10 offside calls against us. '7 justified, '3 wrong in my opinion (player A was off, but the ball went to player B who was 20 yards away and onside). The wrong calls got groans and rolling eyes from me, but no words directed towards the referee. Then, a ball was passed to my _left_ wing who was in front of her marker just beyond the halfway line. The ref was watching it from the center of the field, and called offside. I lost it and yelled that he needed to look and see that another player was keeping my forward onside. Had the referee turned 60 degrees to his right to see the middle of the field, he would have seen the defending sweeper keeping my player onside by 10-15 yards. Had he turned 120 degrees, he who would seen his AR in line with the next to last defender, 10-15 yards beyond my forward, with his flag firmly pressed against his leg. At that point the ref turned to me and said 'I am looking at it, I see that she is off'. And I told him why he was wrong -- loudly and emotionally, deserving of a caution but not so abusive to deserve more-- and he cautioned me (with an actual card).

My honest assessment is that he did feel belittled by all the complaints from all the coaches. I feel sorry for him; he is an older gentleman who is spending his weekend working as a referee for youth soccer games. But when you are not very good, sign up for too many games to the point of exhaustion, and feel like the world is out to get you (clearly a subjective assessment on my part, but one that I stand by after seeing him call 4 games), you are not doing yourself or the young players a favor.

At our game, he actually had more arguments with the other coach. By the end of the game, he was so frustrated that my communication with my player regarding ball fetching just set him off. He ran to me from the middle of the field and 'brandished' the yellow and red cards with an air of 'now take this; how does it feel?'

Keith, I am not sure which comment of my mine caused the confusion. There is nothing in our Association bylaws or tournament rules that would have precipitated the USB call. The only relevant tournament rule is no added time. But I feel that to be fair to the other team, he should have added '1 minute to compensate for my walk around the field. But not 5 20".

The tournament director, who has my pass, is yet to rule on the suspension from the ejection until he sees the referee's report. I served a one-game suspension by sitting out the tournament consolation game. Hopefully, that is it. But I need to wait and see what transpires. After that, I will ask the other coaches at the tournament whether, now that the tournament is done and we are all calmer, they agree that this referee did not handle his job well. If they agree, I will write a letter pointing out:
- an unwarranted USB caution
- the use of cards against a non-player
- the blown offside call (or leave that out???)
- at the game in which I was ejected, he argued twice with the opposing coach regarding the jerseys of the players he was substituting in. Now, I understand the protocol regarding tucked-in shirts. But picking on a player who has been playing hard for 60 minutes because her jersey is sticking out of her shorts (not hanging out, just not fully tucked-in), and refusing to let her sub in is a little too much

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Groans and rolling eyes are noticed by referees even if no words are uttered. A well known State Level Referee around here dismissed a coach once for saying 'Hello?' with a tone he didn't appreciate. The horrible call you describe actually wasn't the referee's call to make. It's his AR's call so I don't know why he even made it. That said, were I him, had you simply said 'look at your AR', I would have let it slide. As you yourself say, this referee had had an earful from a lot of coaches. You say much of what coaches say is justified. You may mean that what they say is correct but they still should keep their mouths shut, at least while the game is in progress. I am still confused. Did your PLAYER get a caution for USB or did YOU get a caution for USB. If the player was cautioned for not retrieving a ball you told her not to, I would include it in your letter. If the referee cautioned you and showed you a yellow card, he needs some retraining asap. You, however, had no business telling him why he was wrong. You say you did so loudly and emotionally. why in the world didn't he dismiss you then? You say you didn't deserve any punishment but if you are yelling at a referee loudly and emotionally, you deserve to get booted. Period. It doesn't matter if you are right or not. You are to behave in a responsible manner at ALL times and, more importantly, you are to remain a good role model to your young players who now obviously believe that if the referee is wrong, it's fine to yell and scream at him and tell him his business. What you did was teach your players NOT to respect this referee. The referee is an adult and an authority figure and he is to be respected by players especially youth players. You did not set a good example for your players. US Soccer in it's official publication ADvice To Referees On The Laws Of The Game states "Players' jerseys must remain tucked inside their shorts." This referee, and all referees, that referee under the auspices of USSF are to adhere to the guidelines set forth. I'm also one of those old farts that insist in shirts being tucked in. At subs, I hope this referee also demanded Law 3 be followed to the letter and inly allow a substitute on to the field AFTER the player she was subbing for was completely off the field.
Having been a coach in the past I understand your frustration with a poor referee but you absolutely must hold your tongue and go thru channels. You could have tried speaking to the referee at the half in a respectful and quiet manner. AT this point, I still think a non-emotional letter by you and your fellow coaches outlining obvious breeches of the Law would be your best bet.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Reza: I am going to be short. You said in you letter that you lost it. Well, you are simply not allowed to 'lose it' on the pitch. It makes no difference what the referee did or did not do, you MUST keep your temper. Your only recourse is to communicate with the tournament director.
At U13 girls you will not get a FIFA referee for your games. More likely you will get somewhat inexperienced refs. Instead of helping what you are doing sadly is contributing to the attrition of referees.
I suggest that you do not say ANYTHING from the sidelines. The Laws require you to do that.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Stay away from I saw it this way,
just reiterate

I apologize for losing my temper!
It was inexcusable and a bad example of responsible behaviour.
I know most things are an opinion of facts and I should be able to agree to disagree and move on.

So while I accept I was out of line and will abide by your decisions I still have issue with the performance of the official

Why was I punished for relaying tactical information?

Is it normal to show cards to coaches?

Why such intensity of the little technical irregularities and so much let ago elsewhere? (if true)

From our perspective his foul recognition seemed weak and we were concerned for the safety of the players, (if true)

Unable to stay with play (if true)

His mannerisms and communications were rude and upsetting (if true)

As to the little things. If the substitution is being handled by a 4th official chances are a single referee or the senior AR is not so distracted in trying to multifunction. Subs are procedurally set in stone and if shirts tucked in are the game plans ensure they do so before entering the field. That is YOUR job as a coach not to let the referee's idiosyncrasies affect your players. Do not look for excuses when you provide them to be found.

Being a coach is a responsibility to allow your team to function under all conditions. A referee having difficulty is a condition and you adapt to minimize the impact.

I cannot reinforce the value of more referees, better training and accountability but that is a LEAGUE responsibility! Just because an individual fails to measure up, ask yourself?
Who let him sign in for that many matches?
Who assess and trains the referees in the league?
What monitoring or feedback procedures are in place?
Who is the go to guy on confrontational issues?
Simply saying that referee sucks is no different than saying that coach sucks.

I have had coaches address me at the half saying I need to watch my ARs as they are raising and lowering their flags without me seeing them. Never mind I wave them down or they are unsure based on the experience. I surprised one by ripping him a strip saying if he did not change his formation to take advantage of the skill level of his players he is ill equipped to tell me how to officiate.

Coaches who try to do the job of the referee are POOR coaches plain and simple!

After every match there should be comment cards on hand for coaches, players, spectators, that can drop them in the box allotted for input. If those in charge are SERIOUS at fixing things instead of bandage solutions they should read them regularly and see if patterns develop and PLAN to FIX the issues. You need to point out SPECIFIC flaws and details not general characterizations or opinions.

I do not doubt your sincerity or passion just remember officials are as vulnerable to being bullied as they are to bully and sometimes that is their only defence mechanisms. While ABUSE can NEVER be condoned, cumulative dissent and whining have a toll and whether some of it is deserved it ALWAYS hurts!
Cheers