I have a couple of dumb questions. I was at a U17 Challenge game and witnessed the most bizarre referee I might have ever seen. We had this referee last week. We got up 4-0 in 10 minutes. He quit calling fouls for us entirely. One was a from behind penalty in the box. When asked by the players, why the call wasn't made, he said, "You already have 4 goals!". We ended up with 2 players hurt because he refused to call the fouls and the other team realized that they weren't going to get calls against them.
Today, the same referee, still U17 challenge level. Before the game even starts, he informs the fans that they are not allowed on the other side of midline. He actually stopped the game when no one was yelling at him (or anyone else) to make parents of one team move to the other side of midfield. When did the SCYSA or the referees get the authority to tell you where you can stand when you are watching a game and there is no controversy. I could see this if the fans of the 2 teams were getting into it or something. One of the players on one of the teams didn't keep his foot down on any throw. When one of the players ask why it wasn't being called, he replied, "I see it, but I am not going to call it, just play." It was also pouring down rain. After a foul, the goalie from one team kicked the ball back to where the foul was. He hit one of his opponents in the back of the head, 30 yards away. THe ref gave the goalie a yellow card for hitting his opponent. I just wish these players were that accurate from 30 yards, lol.
The biggest problem I have with this referee is that he is incompetent at best. At worst, he is just plain horrible. I only pray that he is not allowed to do any state cup games in the U15-U18. There is no place for his kind of officiating at that level. He, fortunately didn't effect either of the games the past 2 weeks, but he eventually will. Now I have a couple of questions.
1) When did FIFA add a new law that allows referees to minimize the scores or equalize games (it was my thought that they were to call the fouls as seen and protect the players, I have looked everywhere for this new law) ?
2) Are we now not allowed to talk to our friends on other teams because we are pulling for our own?
3) Where do we stand if we are just there watching, with no affiliation to either team (get there early, the line standing on the midline will get long) ?
I am not sure who assigns this person, but they need to bump him back to U10 rec, where he can keep up and everybody will be happy with a 5-5 tie. I think he played on too many teams that got slammed 20-0 and he refuses to let that happen to any other team. I also think that if he watched what was happening on the field a little more and learned the laws of the game and then learned to call the game as it is played, he might be a good U10 academy ref. Maybe! Has anyone else noticed this with any other referees?
