Handling a 1-sided affair
I worked 2 adult league matches last night and the second got a bit feisty towards the end...
I worked my weekly adult league matches last night (2x D3 Men’s 7v7). The first game was well-played and went smoothly. The second was a one-sided game that got heated at the very end.
Here’s what I’m keeping with me moving forward!
One-sided games aren’t hot until they are
One team last night was just clearly outmatched by the other.
The game ended 6-1 but it would have been 15 if the team had been playing seriously.
Here are a few of the things that should have tipped me off that the game might go sour…
The losing team was complaining that I didn’t know the rules. But they didn’t know a DFK could be shot directly on goal, that corners could be taken quickly or even how to throw the ball in correctly. They clearly wanted to play and knew the basics but the fact remains they were the ones who didn’t know the intricacies of the game.
The winning team knew they were far superior after ~2 minutes of play and started to grow in bravado over the course of the game. They were clearly enjoying themselves in the second half and probably doing so a little too much.
The teams started to chirp at each other a bit in the second half. Nothing too serious but little comments here and there were starting to creep into the game.
The incident
Then with ~3 minutes left in the game, a player on one team was shielding the ball from a player on the other. It devolved quickly into a grappling match during which a player on the winning team tried to kick the ball while off balance and missed badly.
The players continued to hold onto each other as I cranked on my whistle and approached the scene quickly. I already knew the result; a caution for both players.
After the game ended, someone in street clothes who claimed he was on the losing team but injured (who knows) said it should have been a red card for a high kick. That he was purposefully trying to kick the other player in the head (which is just not what happened in my opinion). He also tried to intimidate me by telling me he was going to report me to an administrator for not sending the player off.
I firmly told him he was more than welcome to report the incident. The losing team was clearly upset after the game and I would have tried to respectfully talk with them but they were not giving me any respect back.
I didn’t think there was anything else to do that could help the situation so I told them what I saw from my perspective and that I don’t appreciate personal attacks. I then left the field quickly.
My takeaways
Curb any peacocking by the winning team when a scoreline is one sided. This leads to souring from the losing team which in turn leads to potentially volatile situations.
Don’t get defensive or raise my voice when someone tells me they’re going to report me. This was the first time it had happened so it caught me off guard and I think my natural reaction was to get defensive. I need to stay calm and respectful in these situations and hear them out. Only then can I tell them what I saw from my POV and try to deescalate the situation instead of escalate it. I think if/when this happens again, I’ll be able to handle it in a more calm manner because I’ve experienced it before.
Keep my ears more alert for shit-talking and nip it in the bud when it happens. I think I’ve been a bit too casual allowing players to chirp back-and-forth because in my mind, that’s part of the game. And maybe at higher levels, I can allow it a bit more. But amateur adult league is probably a place to quash it immediately so avoid escalation.
Know a soccer ref? Feel free to share this with them 💙