I am sure I have covered this many a times before but man, sometimes, even the most experienced coach boggles my mind. Case in point, during a recent U17 highly competitive match, I call a foul committed against the keeper and the team took the kick in between the 6 and the penalty spot. The ball did not clear the 18 before a teammate touched it and headed upfield.
As I begin to whistle, a player from the other team said that the ball had not left the box. The coach for the team that took the kick then goes bat crazy. "How do you not know the rules?" "Only on a goalkick does the ball need to clear the box." "Where did you learn how to ref?" and more of that nature.
I should have pulled out my 2013 rule book and showed him that on Page 41 of the Laws of the Game, it states:
Free kicks inside the penalty area (direct or indirect free kick to the defending team):
- All opponents must be 10 yards away from the ball
- All opponents must remain outside the penalty area until the ball is in play
- The ball is in play when it is kicked directly out of the penalty area
- A free kick inside the goal area may be taken from any point inside that goal area.
So I guess he skipped over item #3 above. And to think that he was a U17 coach, and their team played well means so this means that he knows his stuff, but then again, he doesn't. Why do they try to overplay their coaching. Stick to coaching, something I know little of and do not get into it with the coach, and leave the reffing to me (not that I can't make mistakes, because I can and I do). But I am going to want to hear it from my two ARs or someone impartial. Even if it is the worst call in the world, you are not going to change my mind.
3 comments:
This is unprofessional and in violation of the ethical standards you are to uphold as a referee. Just as it unacceptable for a coach, parent, or player to publish something about you on the internet, you should not publish anything about them. I highly encourage you to speak with your head referee to understand the ethical standards of a ref.
I know that rule as a referee, but it feels like one of the small ones that it is easy to "not" know (that is, never learned) as well. Partially because the ball gets cleared out in most cases.
Anonymous, all these posts could perfectly be a figment of my imagination. The idea is to bring up situations that cause a teaching moment, or generate discussions that help the general reader of this blog. Nowhere do I identify the team in particular, other than it was a match in Northern Virginia. Do you have any idea how many of those happen on any given weekend?
If I had said I did the game in Antarctica, it would have been different, because, well, there probably aren't too many fields down there and if that coach were to see the post, he might identify himself.
Finally, these posts are from my point of view and how I feel about what is going on at the time. Check out SocRef-L when you get the chance and see if perhaps what is talked about there is unethical as the scope there is a hundred fold of what you see on the referee blogs.
Post a Comment