Referees

Hello everyone. It has been a while since I've posted but now that spring has come and Mike and I are playing again, you can expect some more posts. So Let's start with this one, eh?

Both Mike and I have been soccer referees for quite a long time. Over 10 years of experience for me and likely close to 7 or 8 years for Mike. One thing we can both agree on this that referees just get no respect (cue Rodney Dangerfield). As noted in this article by Norman Hubbard, even professional referees get blamed for Premier League team failings. The disrespect that many managers at this level show referees is transferred to lower levels of soccer, all the way down to youth soccer here in America.

As I've said before coaches and players have a sense of entitlement that they cannot do wrong and that the other team always fouls them unfairly. Teams often believe the referee is out to make their team lose. I've personally heard these, "He doesn't know what he is doing out there" (once again, years of experience) or "He must be from the city/town of the other team" (at out of state tournaments). When you hear lines like that, it becomes hard to take real, constructive criticism which is what many referees need because let's face it, none of us are perfect and we learn from our mistakes.

We wonder why we don't have experienced referees in the ranks anymore here in America. Well you need to be mentally tough to be neutral, because you are going to get grief from all sides. So next time you watch or play, remember that the referee is human too and deserves your respect (even if he/she is honestly bad, there are some out there who are). I know I will.

Reffing Update

Right sooo, I think one of the last posts before our hiatus, Mike was talking about us going out and reffing that spring and this fall. Well good game, cuz after the first tournament I was fed up with it. So take a knee, cuz here comes a nice rant.

Back when I was reffing about 4 years ago, before I went to grad school, I remember it being a challenge but being fun at the same time. Sure you would have the occasional uppity player or coach or parent, but not too bad and not too often. Nowdays, it's like you are supposed to be omnipotent out there. Know everything that's happening at all times. If you make a mistake, you're blasted for it. I mean hey, we're human, we're gonna make mistakes or not see fouls. But according to the spectators (especially parents) that's not good enough.

Then there are the players... most of them are good. Don't say a word, play hard, and play right; just like they should, like I did back in the day. If I got fouled, I didn't say squat whether I got the call or not. I just got up and kept playing. Now you have a few prima donnas out there who just can't have anything go against them. And once they start, it becomes contagious...

Lastly coaches. When I coached, unless it was a clearly blatant wrong call, I didn't say anything. I wanted to set a good example for my team. Now, every coach thinks they are "Sir Alex" out there and will question every call you make. I was yelled at by a coach from the other sideline, while I was an AR, not even the center for making a correct offside call, twice, on his team. It's enough to make you want to stop because even for the money, it's just not worth the abuse.

Now I know what you're thinking. You're saying, "A.J., you just have to grow thicker skin, mate." Wrong, no matter how thick your skin is (and I'll tell you, mine is pretty thick and my fuse is quite long) the comments get to you on some level. In the end, I am all in favor of the quiet games that are implemented in some areas where there are no spectators and the coaches can only give instruction to their players.

Anyway, rants like this should not deter anyone from giving reffing a shot. Mike does it still and enjoys it. He can forget easier than I. And in fact, I don't mind being an AR, but I don't know if I'll ever center again, unless it's an emergency. But something needs to be done about the lack of sportsmanship directed at the officials. Most of these kids are younger than I am by 10 years and if I am sick of it, imaging what they are going through. Players, coaches, and especially spectators need to chill out and realize what I did so long ago. This is a game. No one is going to die if they lose, no one will be making six figures if they win. The coaches aren't going to be selected to the US Men's National Team. It is supposed to be fun for everyone involved. But at the moment, I don't know if it's fun for anyone.

Catching Up

It's been a while since there's been anything notable enough to update upon here. But, I did want to just write a little bit about how pumped I am about Manchester City's recent success in the EPL. In the past two weeks they have secured a spot on the FA Cup Final against Stoke City (beating Man U on the way ;-) ), as well as all but locked up a Champions League Spot for next season, knock on wood. Woo!

Also, it sounds like A.J. and I will be restarting out refereeing careers this weekend after a three year hiatus. We've had some bad luck with weather canceling out a tournament once this year already, so hopefully the Wisconsin weather doesn't turn on us this weekend again!

Lastly, go vote on the MLS Goal of the Week! There were some really sweet goals this past week, and I had a tough decision to choose between Chad Barrett's goal for LA and Juan Agudelo's goal for Red Bulls. I eventually chose Agudelo, but I'll let you decide yourselves.

View the Video of the 5 Goals of the Week here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2VEmzbZs04

Vote here: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/vote-now-att-goal-week-wk-6