SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer Playoff Refereeing

I have seen a lot of criticism of refereeing in the playoffs. I think some of the responsibility also rests on the referee assignors. It is my personal opinion that the pool of referees needs to be cut down for each round of the playoffs.

For instance, if the Charleston area has 100 elegible referees, then that pool should be cut to 75 for the first round of the playoffs. Then to 50 and so on.... also, I think that referees and linesman should get a small bonus for each round of the playoffs that they ref in.

My thinking is this.... referees are selected to be in the playoff pool based on regular season performance. However, since refereeing is one of the most thankless jobs, the incentive would be higher pay. So, after the regular season, you cut the field. Then after the first round, you cut a few more.... it is a lot like what we as coaches do-- a playoff roster.

I would also be in favor of having a 4th referee in the Upper and Lower State Finals and the State Champinoship game. I would also be in favor of a "Referee of the Year" Award for each assignor's area and a "State Referee of the Year" both with a cash bonus to accompany the recognition.

Crappy referees should have some reason to improve their refereeing. Perhaps the honor of being in the playoff pool and the chance at the "Referee of the Year" award would convince some of them. There will always be some who think they are perfect and do not think they need to improve. However, the stigma they would develop in the refereeing community of NEVER being on the Playoff Roster would provide enough incentive to either make them improve enough or force them out.

The refs in the CC v. WHS match were poor. They allowed the match to progressively become more and more inappropriately physical. I feel we should never blame the outcome on the refs, but it was poor. Uncalled foul and handball in the box late in a close match leaves the losing team feeling the refs cost the team the match. With 3 refs a match should never become that physical. High school soccer suffers from too many fouls and uneven calls. The players deserve better. The WHS v. Gilbert match in the second round was called well. The regular season match between Emerald v. WHS was also called very well. That shows it can be done.

last night i went and watched the SCS/Emerald game and saw one of the worst refereed games i have ever seen. Emerald played very dirty!!! there were blatent fouls from behind, elbows to the heads, taking both hands and shoving, slide tackles when we didnt even have the ball, then the usuall pulling of the jersey. none of these were called, the ref just let the game keep playing on!!! oh and SCS still beat Emerald!!! i think that qualifies them as BAD!!!

From the games that I've watched, it's not been very good. Several of the AR's don't know what offsides or a bad throw-in look like and basically make a mockery of the game. Hopefully the officiating tandems will be better in the semis and finals!

Friday night "I" went and watched the SCS/Emerald game and saw one of the worst refereed games I have ever seen. SCS played very dirty!!! There were blatant fouls from behind, elbows to the heads, taking both hands and shoving, slide tackles when they didnt even have the ball, then the usual pulling of the jersey. None of these were called, the ref just let the game keep playing on!!! Oh and Emerald was beat by SCS.!!! I think that qualifies them as BAD!!! Two critical fouls in the box that "scskeeper" left out that was not called on SCS that decided the game. Two people watched the same game and saw two different things but one in common Refs not calling the game properly. And by the way scskeeper were you the one that yelled at our injuried girl to "get off the field that she had enough rest" LOW CLASS for a supposed Christian school and person.

Voice, totally agree. Being a ref, have been very disappointed in the performance of the crews I have watched during the playoffs. The playoffs should have the best refs possible, no exceptions. Coaches should be giving the assignors some feedback during the season.

I will have to agree that the assignor needs to shoulder some of the blame for the poor quality of officiating in the playoffs. The referees for the Ft. Mill/Lexington game, as noted by fans from both sides, were horrible. Assignors need to be rating the refs during the season to ensure that quality officials are assigned to the playoff games. In the Rock Hill area, the assignor, Sam Tucker, rates the officials during many of the games and does assign based on quality. After a recent playoff game I saw him meet with the three officials, who did a very good job, and give them feedback about their performance. That should be done everywhere. The playoffs are much too important, and usually so closely contested, that a bad call or two can influence the outcome of the game.

It seems like there should be a program in place to encourage/mandate coaches feedback on ref performance, good and not-so-good, for every game. A simple on-line check off form would make it quick and easy to submit as well as facilitating compilation of a rating. Also, I've noticed the NC refs at preseason scrimmages seem to have some type of supervisor with the crews tweaking their performance. The refs impress as professional and effective. Maybe they have some "tools" SC can benefits from.

We need a mechanism and a process for allowing everyone involved to report and to have recorded in a centralized format all concerns during matches throughout each soccer season. Some times players are in the wrong, some times coaches are in the wrong, some times refs are in the wrong, and some times fans are in the wrong. If anyone could post a complaint, we could see patterns and address those patterns. Since we often have too few refs in this state to keep up wth the growing demand in soccer, we have left too much power in the hands of refs with no value placed in the complaints of coaches and ADs. Surely an on-line system could be aranged so that coaches and refs could grade each match, noting the quality of refs, the behavior of coaches, players, and fans. We all know there are dirty teams, misguided coaches, and poor refs (all of whom are in the minority of each group); simply knowing that and whispering about such doesn't do us any good. And it ultimately hurts the players who matter most in all this.

Dorman vs. Hanna had a great crew