Question Number: 23216

Other 4/29/2010

RE: under 11 Under 11

tim Weare of hurst green, e Sussex england asks...

This question is a follow up to question 23183

Thank you all for your candid replies
perhaps it is time, just for a laugh, to ask whether the fact that it was a league deciding game and the ref was the father of the team being scored against makes any difference to how you feel.
(I am sure the letter of the law still applies)
Very best regards and respect for you all, Tim

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Ouch. Referees who are related to players or coaches are not neutral, and invite speculation on their motives for every call. This is why it is NOT a recommended procedure.

Sometimes, we refs end up filling in for missing colleagues, but we normally do so very reluctantly because there is the appearance of bias even if we work extra hard not to have it be so.

All I can suggest is visiting with the referee association and the assignor and registering a question as to the advisability of assigning a referee to his own son's league playoff game.

It does leave a bad taste in one's mouth, for sure. But, yes, the letter of the law still applies.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

My experience with referees who blow the whistle when the ball is in the air has been: (a) they are looking at their watch and are unaware what is happening on the field; or (b) they believe that as long as they blow the whistle exactly at the moment the watch indicates they are being completely unbiased (since they are no granting neither team additional time to score).

When my son was ten, I refereed a few of his recreational matches (when no one else was available). I tried very hard to be neutral and probably erred far more against my son's team. (Ten years later, he still remembers some calls against him that I've long forgotten.) I would certainly not referee his team in a competitive match, or one that decided who won the league or tournament. I'd much prefer to be on the touchline cheering for my son's team for something that important to him.

While it is possible that the referee was so corrupt that he would cheat in a 10 year old's match, it would take far more than this to convince me.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Tim
It makes no difference to my answer. The ethics of refereeing a game with relations playing is really a matter for the particular referee and the assignor.