SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Abusive Referees

We had a game tonight in which the referees totally missed the game. One ref was more interested in what the fans were saying rather than what was happening on the field. They lost total control and caused much frustrations for the players. It's a sad day when referees lose control of a game and forget that they are there for the players. The one thing that really bothers me is that the SCHSL feels that referees do no wrong. It's time that some kind of controls be put in place to evaluate the referees and either retrain the bad ones or get rid of them completely. The bad ones are hurting the sport and hurting the players.
Overall, the referees this season have done a good job. But, there's always those few that bring discredit to the referees has a whole and to the sport. I'm tired of hearing that we don't have enough referees...bull. Some that I have refereed with, before becoming a coach, have given it up cause "it's no fun" anymore. What can be done to get better referees and to keep them? It's just so frustrating to have an incompetant referee destroy the fun the players should have while playing soccer. Any comments? Any suggestions, anything we as coaches can do to get rid of the bad apples?

you may have gotten bad referees because your game wasn't important. its possible all the good ones were tied up with soccer powerhouse matchups.

Here's an idea:

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-extratime&prov=ap&type=lgns

As a coach and a referee (for wrestling, not soccer)I personally think coaches need to realize that not all the refs are in it for the kids. I also feel that coaches need to educate their fans and players regarding how to handle refs. Their is a way! Yelling at them will get you nowhere, I myself have learned to ignore the yelling coach, in fact I usually tell them to focus on coaching their athlete and not me. The players in general make way more mistakes than the officials, at least mine do. I talk to and treat the officials in our games the same way I want to be treated, like a human. Do I question calls, sure I do, but I always try to use sir and I don't scream. We had some refs last night who were not the best, they made some calls that I didn't like, one that even led to a goal. Did I throw a fit and rant and rave? NO! I asked the ref why he made that call, listened to him, and let it go. He wasn't going to change it. I established the proper relationship with the ref. I also make sure to chastise my players and pull them off when they commit stupid fouls. i.e. I say good call when the ref makes a call against us. Think about how you would want to be treated. It is sad that we live in a world where we want to blame the ref when we lose. Refs don't win or lose games, players do!

kickit,
I agree with your approach. I think one thing that would help provide quality officiation of high school games would be to have the 3 man system for all games. Supposedly, its a money issue right now. In baseball you have 3 officials observing a relatively slow-paced game. In basketball you have 3 officials on a small court. In football you have 7 officials on the same size field that is handled by 2 refs, currently, in a SC high school game. Pay the money to have 3 refs.
Also, it would be helpful to have extra assessors at games to observe some of the 'alleged' poor refs and assist them with an Improvement Plan. If they can't improve, they may need to be removed. But, then there is a shortage of refs in the system, and quite often, many shy away from the game because of the ref abuse they see. The league should have a zero tolerance for ref abuse. It would be better for all concerned.

here here 2004! SC high school soccer has spent to much time in the dumps of all the other sports. If they can have that many refs, we should too...

Can a Booster Club offer to pay for a third referee at their home matches?

A lot of you are saying money is the issue. It might also be that your area does not have enough refs. We have used 3 man for a long time now here in the charleston area, however there are times when we have to use 2 man due to a shortage of refs due to the amount of games being played that night. Just a thought. Someone out there knows the answer. I would think that some of the coaches who have been coaching for a while might know the answer. I think if a school request 3 refs that they will be provided if avalible, however NHSF rules allow you to have only 2. Maybe a rule change at the National level is needed?

Question---

Are there quality basketball referees who are not busy once basketball season is over? If so, could we not in some way entice/encourage them to learn the game and come help out on the soccer pitch? Seems that this is something the HSL could help out with IF it is the case that this potential resource is available. It seems to me that this could possibly solve both the quality and quantity available issue.

Just wondering...

This is the reason why referees get the leeway they do--1 post about a particularly bad referee, and a few days later their are complaints about a dozen referees. I would imagine that if complaints were rare and a director received multiple complaints about a single ref then maybe there would be some action; however, after reading so many posts about different referees even I (who have no authority besides that granted to insight) decline to take any of them seriously--a case of 20 good apples preserves the bunch!