Referee Abuse
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Anonymous
| Can anyone explain to me the benefit of having thirteen year old kids referee soccer games? If your theory is that there wouldn’t be enough refs without the kids doing it then fine there wouldn’t be enough refs and some parents would fill in or leagues/organizers would have to pay more to get adults to do it. It just seems to me like it is a bit much to ask teams and families to play along with the idea that it is ok for a kid to referee other kids like this. |
Anonymous
I agree. 13 is a bit young. Start at 15. |
SoccerRef
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I'm certified through MD, and the State Ref organization sends this info out multiple times a year. Just checking though my emails, and I see multiple assignors sent the info out as well. But yes, it should be all of them. Here's what was said, along with the reporting link: *Do NOT engage spectators! *Treat what spectators say or do AS IF the Head Coach did or said (do NOT engage spectators!) *Apply appropriate misconduct (warning, caution-yellow, or send off-red) directly to Head Coach per LAW 12 (do NOT engage spectators!) Please continue to report all Referee abuse in your match report(s), to your Assignor(s), and/or on the app HERE. We are here to support you! We immediately act on Referee abuse when we're made aware. Coaches and Clubs have been suspended and expelled for their and their spectator's behavior. |
Anonymous
Well, they are hiring thirteen yr olds. So let’s see you step up and either start reffing games or pay more to pay adult refs. Or is that a bit much to ask? |
Anonymous
It can be a good experience. My kid reffed little kid rec and loved it, but I think our organization tends to be lower key and local. |
Anonymous
I see no problem with a 13 year old reffing e.g. a 5v5 U8 game with no offsides. But solo reffing a U12 game with offsides, in a competitive league, is likely going to be too much for them to handle. Even an experienced ref will miss some calls, as that's a lot to ask. And then of course some lunatic parent will yell at them, which is too much to ask them to navigate. That said, if the league can't afford adult refs, the coaches should ref before parents. Even further, it could be good for coaches to ref (one on each half) so they can quietly coach players on the field rather than scream from the sidelines. |
Anonymous
We moved away from parent refs to teens. They dad who will scream at a dad ref over a handball in U7 will probably keep their mouth shut when the ref is a local kid. We still have some problem, but the incidents declined dramatically when we made the shift |
Anonymous
Well, I actually reffed 180 games this calendar year... and counting. And if they want to pay me more...I'll take it. |
Anonymous
Yeah, I'm in VA and have been reffing about 6 years and have never seen this or even heard it mentioned. |
Anonymous
Sorry, actually its 140 games. |
Anonymous
For every game, whether it's rec or travel, tournament or league games, the center referee needs to complete a game report in the Assignr (at least all the assignors that I work with use Assignr...except one.). This is how the assignors know who refereed the games, thus, know who to pay. But these game reports also include a section for comments. This section is a place where the center referee can add a narrative about any sort of abuse, parent/coach misbehavior, etc. This is where you also include yellow cards and red cards, but you can literally add whatever narrative you want in this section. The assignors should be reading the narratives in the game reports when they are included. So, when in doubt, at the bare minimum, I would include any incidents in the game report. If the assignors deem a follow up is necessary, they should reach out to you. However, if there is anything like a parent or coach following you into the parking lot, I would escalate that very quickly and call the assignor immediately. And if you feel threatened in any way, call the police, then the assignor. |
Anonymous
So you are familiar with the ref shortage and the reason the leagues are hiring younger refs. How many other parents are starting to ref so that there are enough to cover all the games? |
Anonymous
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Just because they are 13 that doesn’t mean they can tell offside or not as center ref better than any adult would.
I’ve seen some young refs who did a better job at calling than some old ref out there. But 13yr should not ref U15 or older as center ref esp if it’s high level of competition. |
Anonymous
Most if not all assignors require center referees to be two years older than the players and have one year of referee experience before centering a "travel" game. I would say, it's the same for rec, but not certain. |
Anonymous
So there is still a shortage, should we lower it to 11 years old? They can do U9/U10 rec games. |