Question Number: 27526

Law 5 - The Referee 6/16/2013

RE: Travel Under 16

Tracey of Fredericksburg, Va USA asks...

What is considered abusive power of a referee? Here's the situation - The referees were making some really bad calls. As a former ref, I know that it can be difficult to catch all angles and make all proper calls. However, during the game the sideline ref was being quite arrogant. I know that if parents are unrulely that the ref can face the parents and give them a warning. This ref did not but instead kept making rude comments to the parents. After the game, as the refs was exiting the sideline, the center ref and sideline started making comments to the parents about how we know nothing and that until you take a referee course that we don't know the rules. They kept antagonizing the parents and when I told him that I had been a ref and know the rules, he got in my face. He kept badgering me for several minutes. At that point, however wrong as it was, I felt that I had every right to defend myself. Of course they reported me and I was talked to by a lady that was in charge of the referees. Here's what I told her, 'the refs were being smartasses to me and I had every right to defend myself. I told her that I had a been a ref and know that as a ref you do not engage with parents after a game - its more for the safety of the refs. You certainly do not get in parents faces and yell at them. It is unprofessional. Refs are not suppose to listen to parents and are suppose to walk away from any type of engaged conversation that is hostile.' The lady just said ok and walked away. Do I have the right to lodge a formal complaint against the refs for abusing their power as refs?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Tracey
Referees and administrators are subject to disciplinary procedures in the same way as anyone else involved in the game. So there is a formal complaint procedure. USSF states and I quote
'' Any allegation of misconduct or of conflict of interest by a game official as described by subsection (a) of this section, or of unethical conduct, misuse or abuse of authority or conflict of interest as described by subsection (b) of this section, shall be made in writing to the State Referee Administrator or to the State Association(s) or Organization Member that shall report all such allegations including any allegations against the State Referee Administrator, to the State Association(s) or Organization Members through which the accused game official is registered or through which the accused referee development program person is appointed..''
My experience of disciplinary matters is that panels need to have 'independent' neutral observations of what happened such as that of a match observer, league official etc to make a judgement on the complaint. Your involvement with the referee at the end of the game IMO is unhelpful to the complaint as it then becomes a "He said I said" complaint where the points made can't be proven convincingly enough by either party. The referee crew will no doubt contest that the behaviour by parents towards them was totally unacceptable to the point where a formal report had to be made.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Referees should never engage unruly parents, Instead, go to the coach and tell the coach to deal with the parents or the game will not be restarted. After the game, one should only talk to calm parents and then only to explain calls or educate, never to argue.

As part of our ethics, when we are at a match and not working it, we are not supposed to criticize another referee. I know how frustrating it can be, but you only made matters worse.

These officials may have called the worst game in 20 years but still should have kept their mouths shut and not engaged the parents if for no other reason than their own safety. I can't imagine being so stupid as to go up to a group of already irate parents and tell them how little they know. A good way to get pounded.

The referee crew was out of line. Start with the assignor. Don't dispute calls as, frankly, that's none of your business. You have no idea what the referee crew saw. Concentrate on the referee and Ar engaging the parents during and after the match.

And consider this, how'd you like to finish what was a horrible game with horrible fans. You walk off the field and have somebody come up to you and identify themselves as a referee and then proceed to tell you what a lousy game you just called. That's basically what you did. As a matter of procedure, that referee had every right to report you for a breech of ethics. As you said, we've all been there and we all know what a thankless job it is we do. The last thing we need is a fellow referee arguing with us