Question Number: 24836

Law 5 - The Referee 4/18/2011

RE: Intermediate Under 12

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 24824

Wouldn't the referee have some discretion in preventing this? I've seen referees telling coaches that if parents continued to dissent with the referees rulings or annoy the players, that the game wouldn't continue until the offending parents left the area.

I could see some parents deliberately trying to distract opposing players.

I would certainly hope there would be something that a referee could do, as bad conduct by coaches or parents encourages the kids to follow suit.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
Yes the referee has absolute discretion in this matter. The Laws of the Game state and I quote
''" stops, suspends or abandons the match because of outside interference of any kind""
I suggest that the referee use the 'ASK, Tell, Remove' process which is a USSF directive
'' The 'Ask, Tell, Remove' process is recommended for all officials to follow regarding conduct by team officials:
# Ask
If a situation arises where there is irresponsible behavior, the official (referee, assistant referee, or fourth official) should ASK the person(s) to stop.
# Tell
If there is another occurrence of irresponsible behavior, the official should inform that person that the behavior is not permissible and TELL them (insist) to stop.
# Remove
If the non-accepted actions continue, the referee must REMOVE that person immediately.''
The same can apply to spectators except that the referee uses team officials to engage with the spectator/s rather than directly himself.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The question was asked about noisemakers such as cowbells and horns. Unless prohibited by local rules, these would be allowed and there's nothing the referee could do about it.

Perhaps you are referring to Ref Contarino's somewhat tongue-in-cheek reply that while noisemakers are prohibited by some rules, the rules don't ban noisy parents. While that is true, the referee does not have to put up with comments from the crowd that serve to inflame the players, nor those that are abusive to any other people - players, coaches, other spectators, or referees.

Under the rules of most competitions, the home team is responsible for crowd control, or each team is responsible for their own supporters. Should comments get out of hand, the referee is justified in stopping play and telling the coach (or field marshall, should there be one) that the game will not resume until the offending spectator is removed. If the trouble-maker will not leave, the game is abandoned.

Since the original question involved a school game, school officials (athletic director, principal, etc) are the ones responsible for crowd control. If they will not do their job and the game is abandoned, interscholastic leagues will typically take a dim view of the situation. Schools may be banned from further participation if incidents are repeated.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The referee can't prohibit artificial noise makers and, yes, I was poking fun at loud mouthed parents who the referee MAY do something about if warranted. Parents cannot be dealt with just for being loud but if they are interfering with the game or being abusive they can be.