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"We have more problems in soccer than any other sport," Ted Greene told the (Columbia) State on Friday. Greene, the principal at Mullins High School, is an (South Carolina High School League) executive committee member. "We have got to send a strong message."
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TO: Ted Greene, Principal, Mullins High School
You were quoted in the newspaper that soccer has more problems than other sports.
You may be correct that more soccer players get yellow (warning) cards and red cards (ejection) than in other sports.
That is intentional, since soccer is played internationally and in high school as a self-policing sport - the referee hands out the penalty (the card) on the spot.
If a soccer player fouls an opponent, the other team gets a free kick. If it is an intentional foul, or a repeated foul, the player may get a yellow card or a red card and is reported to the principal or AD.
On the other hand, if a football player fouls (holding, offsides, facemask, etc.) his team, not the player, gets a five or 10 yard penalty.
If a basketball player fouls, the opponent get free throws. If a basketball player fouls repeatedly (five or six times), he "fouls out" and sits on the bench. I doubt if the principal gets a report on every basketball player who fouls out.
If we had accurate stats, I suspect that the number of basketball players who foul out in a season far exceeds the number of soccer players who receive yellow or red cards. I'm sure that there are more football games, with 10 or more penalties, than there are soccer games with even five yellow or red cards.
Soccer has problems, many caused by inexperienced coaches and inexperienced officials, but to say that soccer has more problems than other high school sports in incorrect.
cc: Executive committee
