Question Number: 28247

Law 5 - The Referee 3/11/2014

RE: Rec/Club Under 15

Nikolas Fantocone of Fontana, California USA asks...

Should I send off a coach/parent right away? What if I hear a coach swear and I can hear it but not others?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Nikolas
The game is full of emotions and passion. Sometimes coaches / parents step over the line of acceptable behaviour. The wise referee will make a decision on each single incident. Many times it is just a one off incident that has limited effect on the game. The referee may decide to pay no heed to those and they quickly go away. Same can be said for swearing. Unfortunately we live in a world where expletives are used and if every person that swore at a soccer game was removed the referee would very quickly find he is there on his own!! Obviously that is not a free pass to allow swearing just that we have to manage it in a way that uses common sense and that targets excessive / unacceptable behaviour.
Referees are advised to take a stepped approach here. First off the referee has to consider whether the behaviour is having /had an effect on the field of play. If it is not then it may be best to overlook it.
US Soccer recommend the Ask Tell Dismiss approach in dealing with these situations that are having an effect on the field of play.
# Ask
If a situation arises where there is irresponsible behavior, the official (referee, assistant referee, or fourth official) should ASK the person(s) to stop.
# Tell
If there is another occurrence of irresponsible behavior, the official should inform that person that the behavior is not permissible and TELL them (insist) to stop.
# Remove
If irresponsible behavior continues, the referee must REMOVE that person immediately.
The advice is given in this short video
http://www.ussoccer.com/media-library/videos/referees/laws-of-the-game/law-5/ask--tell--dismiss.aspx
Clearly the referee can go to step 3 immediately and remove the person for irresponsible behaviour.
I would also advise that the referee should get not involved with parents or spectators. If there is unacceptable behaviour by persons not involved with the teams the referee should ask the home club officials to deal with the matter again in line with the guidelines. A stepped approach can be used with the home club officials conveying the messages.

A final point of care at underage. Removing a coach from the game can have Child Protection issues if there are not sufficient numbers of 'responsible adults' left in charge of the team. The 'responsible adult' has the primary responsibility for the welfare and behaviour of each child in their care. They will also be aware of any medical or other condition of any participant in their team. Competition rules may insist that teams must have two adults present and the only choice perhaps left to the referee when he must remove that "responsible adult" is to abandon the game and that should not be taken lightly. Usually the threat of ending the game can have the desired effect.
All of these matters are then reported to the appropriate authority.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

A coach may be dismissed immediately for irresponsible behavior, but the recommended procedure involves the three steps outlined by Ref McHugh (Ask -Tell- Dismiss).

In many cases, a quiet word with the coach is all that is needed. Most coaches simply get caught up in the passion of the moment and can control themselves and their players. What should never be done, however, is to simply ignore inappropriate behavior. Behavior that is ignored can ignite into serious problems. Deal with it quickly.

What is an appropriate response often depends on the circumstances. Is it public (can everyone hear it- or for the pros, can everyone see it)? Is it persistent? (A single comment is just blowing off steam; an endless stream of complaints is unacceptable) Is it profane? (See, can everyone hear it.)

In my view, there is one other circumstance that must be considered. The age of the 'target' of the coaches ire. While I am slow to react to negative comments about me, I will not tolerate any thing that is less than positive toward teenage referees. There is no excuse for that form of child abuse.

That said, as I became more experienced, I found I had far less trouble with coaches than when I was first beginning. Sometimes the coaches are seeing things correctly (you aren't protecting the players) even if they are expressing the notion incorrectly.