Question Number: 22757

Law 5 - The Referee 1/25/2010

RE: Pro Professional

Amin Jam of San Jose, CA` USA asks...

What would be a right decision that referee has to make when attack of the player accrued to him during the game? When he is threaten to be beaten with that agree player who is not happy with referee's decision?
Is it OK to cancel the game? What he should have done? And what if he has canceled the game? Is there supposed to be any penalty for the referee?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Jam
All Referee bodies have procedures in the case of assaults and these should be followed fully by the referee in these situations. If a referee is threatened with physical assault and he/she is concerned about his/her personal safety then he/she is entitled to abandon the game. In fact if there is physical assault then the referee should most definitely abandon and take steps to ensure his safety which will mean moving to the changing room or away from the area immediately. One would hope that players, club officials would step in to offer protection in these cases.
There is zero tolerance by authorities on the threat of assault / assault towards match officials and the referee will be supported fully in the decision that he /she makes. In these assault cases including serious threats, the player concerned will expect to get a lenghty ban up to life bans for severe assaults. The referee has no worries whatsoever in respect of any abandonment and in fact the relevant authorites will expect that the game will be abandoned and a report furnished to all the relevant bodies immediately where the referee has been physically assaulted. The guilty party is the person who commits the assault or the threat not the referee. When the assault is serious the police should also be involved and proper medical attention sought.

Answer provided by Referee Tom Stagliano

Referee Jam

I believe you are asking: In a professional game, if the referee is attacked by a player or threatened by a player what should he do?

First, one hopes that at a Professional Game there are security personnel available to assist with protecting all participants, including the referee crew.

There was a high level game in Europe a few years ago, when a drunken fan jumped over the fairly low security fence and got fairly close to the referee (possibly making some level of physical contact). The referee terminated the game, believing that if one home fan could easily enter the field and reach the referee crew than hundreds or thousands could, also. In that case the referee terminates the game and submits a complete report to the league. It is then up to the league to determine what to do with that game. It is always up to the assignor to determine when and where to assign that referee again.

Now for amateur matches, where we are at a public park and possibly isolated from others and certainly with no security in view nor near by. I am the judge to whether I have been assaulted or merely at the end of abusive language or gestures. I have been pushed, dismissed the player, and then everything was calm and we continued. I filled out a complete report, but the game was finished with no problems and the ejected player was quite apologetic afterwards. In those cases, I make the judgment: Is it better for the referee crew to go to our cars now and leave, or will it be better to finish the game and then go to our cars? No matter what, we have to make our way to the parking lot and get into our cars. It is a people management decision, as to whether we (I and my crew) are safer finishing the game or terminating and leaving. For example, if a player gets into my face yelling in dissent and then pushes me, I will dismiss. However, is that sufficient in itself to terminate a game? You have to be the judge of that. In all of these situations, you as the referee Must be the Calmest and most Professional person on that field. Given that, if the situation immediately comes under control, the dismissed player leaves the field and immediate surroundings and there is no further threat, why terminate? If you terminate then, you now have potentially 30 persons angry with you rather than only one. However, if the situation appears unstable and you worry for your and your referee team's continued safety, then it is time to abandon the game, leave the area, and fill out the report as soon as possible. One should not gather by the parking lot to discuss the termination with your ARs. Just leave, and call each other later on the phone. Call the league and the assignor as soon as possible (from home, not from a cell phone in your car). If there is a real Assault, and you have to decide what a real Assault is, then call the police. But now you have to wait for the police to arrive. If you are truly under duress, then go to your car and drive to the nearest police station.

As for uttered threats. People say all sorts of things in a fit of anger. The real question is whether this person will act on those words 20 or 50 minutes later when the game is officially over.

The key to all of this is: Be calm and professional from the moment you appear at the field to the moment you leave the field, no matter what happens. If you can do that, you will be able to manage the situation.

All the best.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Referee assault, which includes threats of harm, is very serious. It must be reported, and can have substantial consequences to a player found to have either made or acted upon such threats.

Unless the player immediately leaves the field and its environ after being sent off or even if the player leaves, the referee remains concerned about safety, the referee may abandon the match because of a threat of violence. (Again, the referee should report this decision in the match report).

Threatening a referee may also be a crime. If the referee is concerned about the physical safety of any member of the referee crew, immediately call 9-1-1 and involve the police. No one has the right to threaten the referee. IMO, the referee should always err on the side of safety. If your gut tells you the threat is real, don't ignore it. Call the police.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

I have heard reports that some disciplinary committees, when deciding what to do about an assault, asked the question, 'Then why didn't you abandon the game?' Their feeling was if the game could continue, then the assault wasn't that much.

And let's face it, assault covers a wide range of behaviors. In a soccer game it can be as little as slapping the ref's hand away when he is showing a card - a good reason that the procedure is to not be right in the player's face when administering misconduct. Or it can be as bad as our SRA experienced a few years ago, being beaten unconscious and requiring medical attention.

If the referee believes that once the perpetrator is gone the game can continue, then that is the best course of action. However if the player refuses to leave, or if the rest of the team are just as riled up as he was, it may be best to abandon the game and let the league sort it all out.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Amin, I suspect you clicked on 'Profesional' but you are really referring to amateur games. Professional games, where people pay to see the match are looked after by security people. If a player in a professional game 'attacks' a referee as you put it, there are dire consequences. Depending on the incident, the player is removed, maybe charged and maybe banned for life in professional soccer. If the safety of the referee is not guaranteed, there would be no refs.
I suspect that this kind of thing happened to you and it was in an amateur game. If you are threatened to be beaten and you believe that it is possible, you must abandon game. If you are attacked, leave. Not only should there be no 'penalty' for the referee, the league must take serious action against the player and team. Now this does not always happen but if the player is not dealt with severely, it is simply not worth reffing in that league.
Do you see what is happening at the airports these days at the slightest mention of violence? They take it so seriously that there are even signs up that say: 'It is not acceptable to joke about any action that could harm public safety. You will be arrested and charged.' In soccer we may take it a bit less seriously, after all there is already a battle going on and people are excited. Abandoning a game actually helps the NEXT referee that officiates that team in the future.
To answer your question, the game must be abandoned, a report made to the appropriate authority and you might even consider starting a police report.
In one game, a player who I sent off during a game, came up to me after the final whistle and said he will find me and pointed his forefinger at me and cocked his thumb. He told me that I should watch my back. I reported this to the police. It came to light that he was on probation and action was done against him.
The danger in letting things go is that the perpetrators will keep on doing it and if nothing else, it contributes to the attrition of referees.

Answer provided by Referee MrRef

If the question is what does a referee do if s/he is attacked by a player during the game or is threatened with physical harm, the answer depends on a number of things.

If by attack, you mean either physical contact like a shove, a punch or a deliberate strike with the ball, or language which states or suggests that the referee team's safety is in eminent danger from that player or players, or coaches, spectators, etc. the referee can end the game. This is assault, and criminal charges can be filed as well as filing a complaint with the league authority.

Depending on the level of the game and the skill level of the referee, the game could continue if the referee is able, and the player, coach or fan who assaulted the referee either physically or verbally has been removed from the field, and the referee feels secure. All facts surrounding the assault, resulting send-off or dismissal, any injuries or other matters involved must be included in the report.

Games involving youth players or youth referees should have stricter standards. All assaults must be reported to the league, and if this was a youth referee involved, the game should end right then and there. This sends the appropriate message to those who forget themselves - that such behavior makes it no longer a game, and will cause those responsible to be brought up before disciplinary committees, where punishments can and should include a ban from being involved in the league or sport for a designated period of time.

A referee who is forced by circumstances in a game to end the game due to violence or assault should not be penalized for this action. If the referee feels there has been retaliation against him/her by the league or the teams or even the referee assignor, the best thing to do is to contact the head of the referee organization in your community and work through appropriate channels to address this issue.