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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yeah - I have been surprised at the frequency and tone of comments directed at the referees over the course of several years watching my kids play competitive soccer. Most of the time, the comments are all about fouls — usually alleged fouls that are not called, and sometimes fouls that are called. It seems to me that the inherent vagueness of how much upper body contact is permissible — exactly how much of a contact sport soccer is — exacerbates the problem.

It’s often difficult for the refs to get it right in real time, I’m sure. Heck - even in the past when I was drafted as a sideline assistant, it was sometimes hard to tell who kicked the ball out and whose throw in it was.

I don’t know what the answer is, but paying the refs more is probably a good idea, both to attract more adults to the job and to increase the quality. [/quote]

better pay woud help get more refs involved but, I'm a ref and assignors or whoever need to hold the referees more accountable as well.  There are some sorry refs out there.  They won't learn the new laws (handball has been changing every year for the past few years, they don't know the drop ball rules, etc) and they just don't follow the play sufficiently to at least be in position to try to make the correct call.

Reffing at fields during the height of covid when parents needed to stay away or at least outside of the fence, etc was absolute heaven but, like I said, Refs need to do better too.  Each year, refs need to recertify and take a test on line but you can look up the answers as you go.  It's like an open book test. You don't have the internet on the field.  You need to know on the spot and immediately. Referees should reread either Law 11 (Offside) and Law 12 (Fouls and Misconduct) each week plus one or two other Law. And it really would hurt if parents gave these Laws a read once in awhile so they know what they are talking about.[/quote]

Agreed.  I am a parent coach, TM, and have reffed in the past.  My DD plays NCSL Division 1, and I have been shocked at how wide the disparity in reffing quality is.  Some refs are amazing, both from a technical perspective, and attitudinally.  I make sure to compliment and thank them every time.

On the flip side, I have seen:
- Refs not knowing basic rules for the age groups they are reffing.  Heading rules, build out lines, etc.  I watched a ref award a PK based on a girl heading the ball in U12 (which is totally legal, and even if not, the consequence would not have been a PK).

- Some absolute travesties of offside calls.  I'm not talking about anything close, I'm talking about literally 1/4 of the field offside and not called.

- Refs not checking the field equipment (huge holes in nets in tournaments that are affecting game results).

- Inappropriately aggressive verbal treatment (angry yelling) of 10 year old girls who did nothing malicious.

- Too many PKs called based on handballs that do not meet the current definition.  These are handballs that would not be called in a professional men's match.

We definitely need more talent.  Why am I not out there myself?

- I'm coaching one team and managing another.

- I'm well compensated professionally so the $$$ is not a motivator.

- I'm at a stage in life where time is at a premium, and I can't justify to my spouse taking hours off on a Sunday to do something that doesn't involve my kids.[/quote]

Also, my biggest pet peeve at parents yelling at the ref is when they go ape&@^ over the ref getting a throw-in wrong.  I see this so often (parents losing their mind that the other team incorrectly gets possession) and it almost never impacts the game.  Yelling about this constantly creates noise and tunes out potentially valid protests over goals that never should have happened due to offside, penalty kicks, or refs incorrectly ruling a ball across the goal line (or not).  [/quote]

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