Pre Season Friendlies

[Rother]

The Carlsberg ref....

[Luke]

Ha I wasn't going to comment on here but Rother has set me up so...

 

Yesterday saw the most ridiculous / mad refereeing performance ever (wait for the refs Union members on my FB to jump on this post but here me out).

 

Youth team friendly (don't use main pitch for friendly so it was up a park, setting important here!) two clubs that get on, 2 teams that just wanted to play football, not a bad challenge in site.

 

The referee kept stopping the game, running over to the team's management and to quote 'you're boys are pissing me off tugging and fouling, sort them out before they really piss me off and i start giving out yellows and sending £10s to county.

 

Now sometimes in friendlies, referees will talk to the benches to calm down a game with the best of intentions and for the right reasons, but this guy was just trying to make the game all about him with absolutely no justification for it. There hadn't been a challenge in the game let alone a bad one!

 

So our Assistant manager (who also is our physio) pointed this out. The ref then sent him off. Legally you can't send the physio off which was pointed out to which the referee told him that he'll have to stand in the bushes then. I said your not making my assistant manager stand in the bushes ref! To which he pointed out the game wouldn't start until he did.

 

Anyway after about 10 minutes (with the boys stood around) we negotiated that he would be 10 yards from the pitch, close enough to effect play but not close enough the ref would be upset.

 

5 minutes later the ref stops it again. 'He's still in my sight, it's upsetting me, he has to go further away, maybe to the corner of the park'. Again more toing and froing. One of the supporters shouted 'ref it's not about you, just let the boys play football', so the ref ran over and then sent him off!

 

Baring in mind this is a public park, and the supporter had done nothing wrong, he refused to go. To much laughter and groans from players, management and crowd, referee said he would refuse to play on until supporter left the park.

 

For the sake of the boys, off he went (after about 10 minutes more btw) and stood half way across the adjacent pitch. 5 minutes later the referee stopped the game again, ran accross the next pitch and told him he had to be at least level with the playground in the corner.

 

This is between giving out yellow cards to both teams that wouldn't be warranted in a competative game, let alone a friendly.

 

At this point both clubs decided we would referee it between ourselves, at which point the ref decided he would ref again.

 

Yes I did still shake his hand at the end btw

[Big J R]

Well, this youth friendly looks like it might have opened a can of worms !!!!

[Rother]

Unfortunately, when the ref said he would call the police if your guy didn't move away from the pitch he did threaten him with physical violence which didn't help matters but it really was quite farcical.

 

On occasions that ref can be quite good, he does play advantage well and can be quite helpful in educating younger players (I've known him for years since my son was in U10s football) but he is too officious and often talks himself into trouble - a little charm when dressed in black goes a long way, unfortunately whatever he has of that quality in the real world is left behind when he gets onto the football pitch.

[Luke]

However farcical the ref, you can never condone threats of any sort and that is very embarassing. I hadn't heard that (I was on the other side of the pitch) but that would have been stamped on.

 

The actual decisions the referee made were fine, his actual decision making was good, that was what was just so stupid and made the rest of it so unbelievable. Anyways, it's a huge shame, but onwards, we have two good young sides who played some good football, and that's what it's all about

[Big J R]

Maybe the word 'Friendly' was misunderstood ! 

 

Edited August 4, 2016 by Big J R