Question Number: 17078

Law 5 - The Referee 10/3/2007

RE: Select High School

Ed King of Warren, PA Warren asks...

Does the Referee have the right to stop the soccer match and remove fans that do not disagree with the referee's calls? I heard of a high school soccer match that the parents of some soccer players were ask to leave because the referee seemed to be making calls that were not popular with the fans.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Many referees will offer recalcitrant spectators an opportunity to leave the area before terminating the match for spectator interference. While the typical American spectators feel they have the right to tell the referee how pathetic they think he is, they don't really because the referee is the authority figure on the field. In yelling and screaming they teach their children not to respect authority. When that happens the country as a whole is harmed.

I have gone so far as giving a whistle to the spectator who knows more that I do. Then I leave the field, I don't whistle a stoppage, tell anyone, I just leave. Where there are player passes they go with me. I submit a report and get paid. The disciplinary committee gets to figure out who the spectator is and then the passes get returned.

I DO NOT get paid enough to put up with some idiot telling me that in my 50+ years of being involved in The Game I know little or nothing. Hard on the players, yup -- but I hope they are hard on idiots too...

Regards

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

The referee has the authority to end the game if the parents are too distracting, or demonsterative, or mean, or pretty much for any reason he sees fit.

Usually, a referee will ask that a constant problem parent be removed prior to terminating the match, that way the kids don't have to suffer for some idiot on the side.

The only exception to this is professional matches, with professional player, with a paid gate. Then conduct in the stands should be monitored by ushers who will eject unruly folk. Yet, even in those circumstances the referee may ask that a serious pest be removed if it hinders the referee from doing their job.

By the way, the parents were not asked to leave because of the referee's decision making - this happenend because the attitude and the behavior of the parents was poor, that I can assure you.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I confess I don't know what the rules are for high school parents. In US Soccer sanctioned youth games, the referee has NO authority over spectators. He may ask them to move or leave but his authority is over coaches and players. So, if a parent is acting up, the referee goes to the coach representing said parent and tells the coach he is stopping the game and not restarting until the parent is gone. If the parent refuses, the referee abandons the match and writes up a report. I have NEVER seen a parent refuse to leave once pressure from the other parents starts. No one wants to stop a game but referees are not required to put up with verbal abuse from anyone.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

I can't imagine why a referee would have fans removed who did NOT disagree with him. However, fans who become so vocal or so obnoxious that they begin to affect the children on the field need to leave, or the game may have to be terminated because of outside interference. That's always such a shame, because it is after all a game, and especially in HS is supposed to be an extension of the classroom and teach sportsmanship and teamwork. What a pity the parents/fans tend to forget this. I have had to ask the field administrators at HS games to remove fans once or twice. Once because they were throwing things at my assistant referee and once because they were physically threatening the referee team (my back windshield was smashed). I've sat through many a game up in the stands while I was assessing the referee team, and I can tell you that very few of the folks watching the games understood what was going on out on the field. They seem to think the referee can call a foul before it happens; they can't. They seem to think that any time a ball touches the hand or arm it is a "handball"; it's not - it has to be done deliberately/on purpose. They don't seem to understand that soccer is a contact sport and that much of the contact is both fair and sporting, and the referee is the only one who can make a decision on these matters. What really bothers me is behavior like this from fans and coaches drives off so many of the better referees. They get really tired of slogging through the manure and leave for less stressful pursuits. Then we are left with not enough of the ones who have a real passion for the game and can handle shoveling a little manure and the others, who do it just for the money or perceived power. What a shame.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 17123