Question Number: 22029

Character, Attitude and Control 9/20/2009

RE: Select Under 19

Erik of Arlington, TX USA asks...

Five minutes into the first game of the season, I passed the ball right before when a defender started his studs up slide tackle. I managed to leap into the air to avoid my ankles being taken out.

On my way back down, the defender's legs were under me so I initially landed on them and lost my balance. I ended up stepping backwards hard trying not to fall. This was just a natural reaction to when you are stumbling.

What happened was I inadvertently stomped right below the player's midsection. The player let out a fake scream, rolled around on the ground. The referee blew his whisle and showed me the red card!!!!

I couldn't beleive it. I tried to explain the situation, and asked the referee to talk to his assistant, who was much closer to the play, but he refused.

What am I, as a player expected to do in this situation. Just stand there and let my ankles get smashed? Why do refs refuse to listen or even contemplate that they may have made an error and would be best to double check with an assistant before making such a rash decision so early in the match?

I feel that other player should have been booked for even attempting a studs up tackle. I can't wait until we play them again later in the season. If the referee isn't going to do his job, it would be up to me to send that guy a message by smashing his knee with one boot, and his ankle with the other.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Erik,
if you were shown a red card then there likely is a disciplinary committee meeting. If I was a player who was booked for this and it was a result of what you describe I too could feel as you that it was unfair. That however is part of life, to accept that not all things are fair but YOU know wnat you did! I often say self respect is the gift of integrity you give yourself, no one can take it from you, you must give it away and it sounds a bit like you are tempted to do that right now?

I can not confirm or deny on how or why a fellow referee saw what he saw and decided you stomped not stumbled. The referee made a decision based perhaps on the result of all things but only saw the last of it and in his opinion you were at fault. Mistakes are made and perhaps he saw you in retaliation mode not try hard enough to avoid the foot placement maybe it looked like you purposefully did it! If the AR knew something, not to make the referee look foolish but if the AR had your opinion of the play he could have spoken up privately to the referee.

Sometimes you have bad luck and are accused of something you honestly feel you did not do. The player who mistimed a tackle got hurt maybe was lucky the referee did not book him as well, if you can call have the nut sack stomped lucky but if to wait and plot a revenge tackle is indicative of your thinking it maybe why the referee thought you were guilty in the first place as prone to do such things?

There is no less bitter pill to swallow than be brandished a cheat or denied the effort and in your heart you know it not to be true. Take a high road forgive and resolve to beat the crap out of that team on the score board not his foot or knee. Fair play is an ideal based on competition being contested in the spirit of a chivalry and honest endeavor not dealing out crippling injures to revenge a bit of bad luck .

At the disciplinary committee resolve to speak your piece and look them dead in the eye but you need to forgive the referee and the AR and the opposing player even if you know them to be wrong. Carrying a grudge and being mad and seeking revenge just look at how far the madness goes on in the real world? There is no time, no reason, and no place for it on the pitch
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Erik - if the referee is going to talk to the assistant every time somebody complains about a decision then not only does it make him look indecisive but it wastes everybody's time.

If you want to the referee to consult with the assistant just because you claim he's wrong and he should consult, then you also have to allow him to do it everytime somebody makes the same claim. I'm sure you can imagine what a farce that would turn out to be.

And what would have been achieved then? The assistant referee would either agree with the referee or disagree with him. If the assistant referee disagrees, then that doesn't necessarily mean the referee is going to change his decision - after all, if he was certain of what he saw then he should stick to his decision.

The referee was obviously certain of his decision, otherwise he would've discussed it with the assistant first.

I've seen professional incidents where players have jumped over an opponent on the ground, but deliberately stepped on the player under the guise of being off balance, or it being an accident. My guess is that's what the referee believes happened.

Ultimately referees are human and need to make decisions based on a split second view of an incident, usually under difficult circumstances such as fatigue or 22 players yelling at him. Being human, referees will sometimes make mistakes.

Talking about deliberately causing serious harm to players to 'teach them a lesson' doesn't exactly support your claim of innocence - and if you carry through with that threat then you should be suspended for a very long time indeed. If the referee isn't going to 'do his job', then as a player under the laws if the game it is 'up to you' not to take matters into your own hands but adapt to the referee and deal with the situation like you would any other field condition.

The referee may not have taken action on the alleged studs up slide because he may have believed that it paled into insignificance compared to what he perceived as a deliberate stomp against him. While you may believe he deserved a card, the referee may not (or may have been affected by the end result of the incident) - and as a player you simply need to accept that decision.

Heck, the referee may have looked across to where you were passing the ball and missed the slide tackle completely - he's got so many different places to look at once that this also happens.

Anybody who has played soccer can share your view of a referee who has made a critical error - but while referees are still human beings, this will always be a part of the game. As a player all you can do is act with maturity and responsibility, control your temper, and remember that sometimes the referee's mistakes also benefit your team.

I'm sure the player who made the challenge would be claiming that he went in for a fair challenge for the ball, and the player he was tackling pretended to jump over him but stomped on him, then tried arguing with the referee about it. Heck, he may even believe that's what actually happened.

And that's the thing about incidents like this - normally the players involved - and everybody witnessing it - have wildly differing views about what happened. The referee needs to make a decision based on his views, his interpretation of the laws of the game and the incident at hand, and his consideration for the safety of the players and the spirit of the game.

Sometimes the referee will get it wrong - the fact that the perfect referee hasn't appeared yet would suggest to me that it's impossible for the referee to get all decisions correct.

As Ref Dawson said, the best thing you can do is forgive the player and the referee rather than pointlessly harbour anger and dream of retribution; this favours nobody. If you look at the incident calmly and rationally you'll realise that the referee saw a player step on another, and this is always going to be a difficult situation to judge on - and I'm sure you'll realise that it was probably pretty easy for the referee to mistake your intentions considering what happened. After all, many players are quite talented at making vicious attacks look completely accidental.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Erik, you really need to think about what you said and why you play this game. As I'm sure you're aware, a studs up tackle is illegal and dangerous. I'm also sure you're aware that the referee calls what he sees not what you tell him happened. It's entirely possible he didn't see the studs up tackle but did see you stomp the opponent in his midsection. Given your last statement I can also easily envision your 'asking' the referee to confer with his AR more like yelling or otherwise being abusive. It's also possible that events transpired just as you say they did in which case you got an undeserved red card. But that's life. Sometimes mistakes are made and fouls aren't seen.
However, your attitude and plan for retribution is not only disgusting but intolerable. Thinking like this has no place on a soccer field. If you carry out your plan I can only hope the referee catches you and you are banned from playing in any further games.