Question Number: 34451

Mechanics 12/14/2021

RE: recreational Adult

Samantha of Edmonton, Alberta Canada asks...

In one of my games, a player on the opposite team lost his cool and ran onto the field and began pushing a number of players on the opposite team. The other team started doing the same to that player. The player who ran onto the field was about to continue with his antics when the ref intervened and pushed him off of a player. The melee died down and after a minute, play was able to resume. My question is are referees allowed to intervene like that and become physical with players who are being aggressive on the field to other players?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Samantha ,
technically & realistically?
NO!
We are supposed to watch observe, record and deal with the aftermath.
Physical altercations are frowned upon.

There were referees within the professional ranks like Collina who could get away with things due in large part to the RESPECT he was afforded by the players themselves! HE could when called upon get tight, straight up, confrontational in your face, I got this, back off, do what I say or face expulsion, finger jabbing into the shoulder with those glaring eyes and facial contortions he was quite the sight but such shenanigans are certainly not advisable.

That said, the character of each referee when managing situations of conflict leads to some rather compromising actions . I have, ahem, bruskly escorted the occassional player off the FOP, usually to save them from themselves. I have also waited patiently for a pain in the derrie to go away whilst sorting out the crowd from going into retailitory mode! . As an adult SOMETIMES our presence seperates kids engaged in bad behaviour but nowadays not so much. Looks like the referee managed to avoid the hole he dug and skirted the edges of an unpleasant situation with a bit of good fortune . Were cards issued? No sanctions? I advise staying clear, perhaps hammerng the whistle and making your presence known to calm or reassure that you are very aware of what is transpiring, but hauling off or grabbing players in a melee type situation is a risky proposition as any physical interactions can turn into ugly altercations which if they go south create legal issues! Use your cards voice and presence but hands on is NOT a good idea.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Samantha
The answer is no and the advice to referees is to stand back and observe or as an exception for the referee to move into a position between players without being physical if that is possible.
In the current pandemic Covid climate referees are advised not to get close or make contact with players period.

Now do all referees follow that advice and the answer is no. Some referees by their training such as in police enforcement, security can be "physical" in managing confrontations between players. They believe that they are preventing it escalating into something more serious such as brawling, punching etc. I knew a few large referees who were quite happy to impose themselves in confrontation situations by placing themselves in the middle of such squabbles. Personally I believe it is extremely risky for referees to confront irate players in this manner yet none were ever assaulted nor was there ever any repercussions for their actions. Times though are changing.

In the English Football League a referees was suspended for I believe 5 games in March of this year for squaring up to a player who verbally abused him. The FA said he "did not maintain his composure" which should have been a red card for the player from a distance. The referee booked the player for simulation and then did nothing about the dissent / abuse other than squaring up to him to confront him about his conduct.

Now in your particular situation the correct decision was to red card the offending player for entering the field of play without permission which was one caution and then adopting an aggressive attitude towards an opponents which was a second yellow. Maybe there was enough misconduct for it to be a straight red card for violent conduct. You do not say whether any disciplinary sanction was taken against the player or not. The action of the referee may have prevented the situation escalating to a brawl with other red cards and maybe even physical injuries.
His intervention was ill advised yet the referee will probably claim that his action de-escalated the situation and allowed the game to resume. In the climate we live in referees who intervene physically in this manner open themselves up to the risk of physical assault, health risks and also the possibility of being reported for their physical action. None of those are worth the risk when a referee has the capacity for match sanctions of yellow and red cards to deal with offenders or the ultimate sanction of abandonment.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Samantha,

The standard recommendation is that referees should not get involved in any kind of physical confrontation with players. Ref McHugh has already given one example of how this can go badly wrong for a referee and in the light of this incident I think it's fairly easy to see why the standard recommendation is quite sage.

I think this is especially true at lower levels of the game. At the higher professional levels there are various kinds of protections for the referee in terms of stewards or even police who can intervene if case things turn nasty but at other levels you're much less likely to have that so there's even more reason for not getting involved in a confrontation where there's no guarantee of what the outcome might be if it all gets physical.