Don’t sweat the small stuff.
We’ve all heard that expression. It has application to calling soccer
matches, but perhaps best modified to, “Handle the small stuff like small
stuff and the big stuff like big stuff - and know the difference between
them.”
Less experienced referees have difficulty distinguishing
between offenses that can cause significant problems and those that usually
don’t. A major problem is one that causes players enough concern so it
affects game control, such as fouls that are dangerous, painful or might cause
injury, along with fouls or other errors that can change the match’s
outcome. They include fouls that appear to go unpunished, often leading players
to think about taking matters into their own hands.
Think about what
you’re telling the players. It might be, “The referee is going to
caution us for technical violations but is not going to protect us from being
fouled or from getting hurt.” their internal thoughts are, “I am
going to do whatever I need to do to protect me and my teammates and keep us
from unfairly being taken out of the game.” Not the thoughts you want
running through their heads at half-time.
Let’s look at a
different way of handling a game. A player curses under her breath. You tell
her to use different words (unless the rules you are playing under requires a
caution or ejection). Then a defender runs to the spot of a free kick being
taken about 30 yards from the goal line. You decide to caution that offense.
Then a player grumbles about being called for a foul and you say, “Today,
that’s going to be a foul.” Finally a player beats the defender and
is deliberately tripped. You issue a caution for unsporting behavior.
What message is being sent? You’re saying, “I’m going to handle
small problems, but I’m going to handle them as small problems.” When
larger problems arise, show you are willing to take sufficient action to se
that the actions are stopped. You’re saying you will make the game safe
and fair. That is what the players are looking for.
Issue your cautions
for serious problems. If your cautions allow the game to settle down, then you
are doing your job well. If the cautions do not settle things down, or even
make matters worse, think about whether or not you are cautioning things that
upset the players or that upset you.
Over the course of a season, 65
percent of your cautions should be for fouls, 25 percent to resolve major game
control issues such as delaying the restart of play and very public dissent,
with the rest for minor problems that won’t go away without a caution. If
your ratio is significantly different than that, discuss several specific
instances with the Chapter Interpreter, the Board Interpreter, or a trusted
mentor.
Reprinted from June
2003 issues of Referee Magazine and
copywritten by Referee Magazine. Used
with permission for the education of EMSOA officials. Further reproduction and
distribution prohibited without permission of Referee
Magazine