The Referee

Tuesday nights supply game was “interesting” its fair to say. The first 20 odd minutes were fine with no real issues.  We had a few 50/50 challenges where I chose to have a word, but other than that no major issues.   Then after 20 odd minutes I awarded a penalty to the home side.   The player had shaped to shoot and was tripped, kept on his feet but stumbled a bit backwards so the chance had gone.  I awarded the penalty and the home side scored. From this point on the away side started to moan asking for everything.   So a few public words and we were fine. until the 43rd minute!

I awarded a free kick to the away side in the centre of the pitch.  They pump the ball into the box, attacker jumps for the header but is flagged offside. All fine and im coming back to the halfway line to get back into position.    As I am doing this one of the away team players runs along side me

Him “Fucking Joke”

Me “What is”

Him “You are”

Me, “Sorry! What!”

Him “you’ve given us nothing”

Me, “I have now, name (show him yellow card).

I then suggest that his team mate take him away before I double it up. We finish the half and there’s some moans about the penalty but apart from that off we go.

Second half and the first 10 minutes are at a pace but again nothing of great concern.  Then it all happens.   Home team attacker runs into the box with the defender.  The defender reaches across him and holds him back, flag goes up and penalty.

Assistant calls me across to confirm penalty and what had happened, so yellow card for the player.  While this is taking place something happens in the penalty are to cause a few players to square up.  I head back into break this up and get the penalty underway.   However out the corner of my eye I notice that the two benches are having a stand off behind my assistants back.  Not his fault as the way the benches are set out this is all behind his back.   So I shouted down to him to turn around and he regains calm.    

I am now trying to get the player over to me to sort the caution out however he is clearly not going to come over and keeps saying “its not a penalty”.  So in the end I just went to him and cautioned him…..along with the keeper and another player due to dissent.

At long last we got the penalty taken, which was well saved by the keeper.   The ball then was cleared and play broke up field, where an away player was fouled.  I blew up but play carried on for a second and the away player caught an opponent with a bit of careless arm.  Given how the game was now on an edge, I still awarded them the free kick but cautioned the player for the arm.

To use a phrase and a tip that was given to me a few weeks back, now was the time to “Boss It”.  Raise your profile in the fact that you will now have to kill it and get it back under some form of control.  With the hope that the players will regain composure and get back to a normal game.

This didn’t happen!   The challenges started raining in and I just had to kill the game.  Advantage had gone out the window.   In the end I ended the game with 12 cautions for a mixture of fouls and two for delaying the restart. 1 red (two yellows for same player) and shifted a sub for foul language.   I could arguably have had more cautions if I had tried, but you have to keep it to an element of credibility and not appear to be petty.

After the game the assessor came in (an ex Premier League Referee) and his first words were ” I have no idea what you could have done different.”    This helped straight away as with a game like that you start to doubt yourself straight away.   So to get someone of that status and experience make a comment like that helps the confidence.