Question Number: 25758

League Specific 11/20/2011

RE: u-17 Under 18

Jason Hoernke of clifton, virginia usa asks...

Is it possible to report a tournament ref for being a bad ref?

Here is what happened :

my team mate went up for a header and then got elbowed in the face,
the missed the elbow and when he went over to talk to the AR, the AR said that my teammate started 'it' and that he DESERVED it.. i just think thats wrong to hear from an AR

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

I can't say whether the call was good or bad - there's too much emotion involved and too few facts. If that was what the AR said, he was probably out of line. If you want to report a referee, you can contact the tournament organizer. They will take your report at face value, and decide whether or not to do anything about it. I know some tournaments are not much concerned with appointing quality referees. If that is the case, the customers of the tournament, the teams, need to tell them to get their act together or else they won't return.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jason
No one deserves to be subjected to violent conduct on the field of play. If the referee crew is doing its job well, all acts of violent conduct should be dealt with properly and that includes both instigator and retaliator in equal measure.
So the alleged comments from the AR are not acceptable under the referee's code of conduct.
As regards making a report that should be made to the tournament organisers. Whether any action will be taken will depend on the veracity of the report and if there was any independent 3rd party there that witnessed the events.
However I recommend that your team does file a report through your club secretary and hopefully the matter will be investigated fully if it is a quality organised tournament

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

This would be a matter for the tournament organizers. Of course, we only have your side of the story

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

If such things occur in the future, talk to the assignor of referees for the tournament. Tell them what happened, as factually as possible. They will discuss it with the referee team, and make appropriate suggestions for improvement, if necessary.

A referee who doesn't listen to the assignor gets fewer, if any games.