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Amen.

At a scrimmage and last night in the season opener, refs called PKs and in both cases the refs were completely unable to see if the foul (questionable at best) was actually in the box—the first call came from the OTHER side of midfield, the second came from across the field with a crown that was huge. Also, club players are viewed as too "rough" by both the fans and the refs, marring the games tremendously. The 2-person system and the quality of refs in SC are BOTH inexcusable. Our players deserve much better.

Purpleandyellow, you are an idiot. Go get certified, and go out and ref, and then come back on here and blab about the quality of referees. I am sure that there are plenty of excellent referees, but you probably don't like the calls against your team. As a referee you are only going to make half of the people happy half of the time. As long as you ref the game to keep the kids safe, and you are not intrusive to the game itself drawing attention to yourself, that is all you can do.

Without the refs, you won't even get to play the game. Be appreciative that they are even there - especially with all the complaining that goes on in soccer. They're part of the game. Both teams have the same crew. Adjust and enjoy the game for what it is at the moment.

One and Only: I have to side with purpleandyellow about lousy calls with two refs across a field with a crown. With 3 refs, the ref stays more in the middle of the field. With 2 refs, both tend to hug the sidelines and can't see stuff in the middle. But does a ref really know a club player from just a HS player? I doubt it. Some refs call it close, others let them have contact. The players just need to know how close it's being called before cards are given (in most cases).

While I accept my own possible idiocy, I also would state that I see horrible calls against BOTH teams at ALL high school matches. Note that I protested the 2-man system first in my comment. MUCH could be improved by a 3-man system. That stated, SC has not caught up with the ref needs in terms of refs who have experience with high levels of soccer, such as premier league. The calls I noted were from refs who were clearly out of position; it was impossible to make those calls. Part of that was due to the system, and part was due to the out of shape refs who do not move. Ref-ing is a very hard job; I know that. But I am basing my comments on that many refs are excellent, making the poor refs who are never in position to make calls even more disturbing. Ref-ing high school is made even more difficult by the huge span of quality and experience among players and among refs who have never seen, apparently, a high level of soccer. As I stated before, THE PLAYERS DESERVE BETTER. I do not care about who wins the match.

Well, purpleandyellow, while you do make a valid point there are still a few things I don't really agree with.

"The Players Deserve Better" Yeah, there are some bad refs out there (like I said in my last post, it's inevitable) that make bad calls but I wouldn't go as far to say that the players deserve better. Refs call them as they see them. Do you honestly think, with all the hate they get from making 'bad' calls, that they really go out there and purposely make 'bad' calls? (Back to what you said about not caring who wins the match. Well, do you think the refs care about who wins enough to make bad calls repeatedly against one team over another?)


Just because you see a few refs that make bad calls doesn't mean they're all bad and it certainly doesn't mean the quality of the reffing has dropped any over the years. It's all a matter of relativity; ten years ago the sport may have involved less player-to-player contact, thus less calls made by refs and now, ten years later, the sport may involve more contact meaning more calls. That doesn't mean the refs have gotten any more strict or just starting making bad calls.

But that's simply my opinion. I think the ref's are out there trying to make the game a good, clean one for everyone. Nobody's perfect so when I see them make a call I don't like, I just let it go because nothing I can do will change the call.

Every comment has valid claims.

Bad calls - sure there will be bad calls, no one is perfect; and as always those on the field have a better view than those in the stands; and those on the field who aren't refs most likely aren't objective. Also, consider that the sport has grown tremendously in the last decade. New referees have been required which means there are many who don't yet have a lot of experience.

On the other side, I have seen very good players who have made mistakes, some times horrible mistakes, it happens. That doesn't mean they aren't making the effort or should be benched or be subjected to abuse by the fans, or referees.

I've been to club games and seen evaluators so I know they are out there. Most likely they will be at games with less experienced officials. One in particular provided detailed explanation for questions I had about rules and interpretation of play on the field. If you happen to stand around the officiating team after games you even hear them asking their peers how their performance went, asking about specific calls they made, or hadn't made. And surprise, if you are civil to them, they'll even talk to you about the game and explain how they saw the action and why they made a certain call.

Definitely each ref has his own style, which sometimes may, I don't know with any certainty, be directed by the center/head ref. I sat next to a friend at the state HS championships last year who happens to be a coach and a referee. With each team of referees for each game he would tell me the particular styles of the officials, whether they called everything or let them play, that sort of thing. He was right on with his familiarity of the officials.

I even gained a greater respect for them from another 'fan' sitting about 10 feet away. This man screamed at the referees the entire game, questioning and criticizing every call made, so much in fact that you had no idea what team he was supporting. When he started yelling at the players, well....I just hope I never get like that.

What is the difference in per-game cost between using a two-person referee system and a three-person referee system?