Question Number: 22895

3/4/2010

RE: Select Under 19

Ed of Plano, TX USA asks...

In the second half, a game is getting out-of-hand and there have been several times a player has been fouled with no fouls being given.
After the ball goes out-of-play, it is our throw-in or goal-kick, can a coach just sit his players (on the field) and just wait-out the remainder of the game not participating?
They didn't come off the pitch, so they have not abandoned the game, they just don't want to see an injury to their players.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Well they haven't restarted the game either, have they? The referee could caution a player for delaying the restart. And then another and another until ... either he's given second cautions to enough players so only 6 remain, or he tires of the exercise and decides to abandon the game. Either way, the league will be informed.

If you truly feel your players are at risk of harm, you should pull them from the field and take the consequences of your actions.

I suppose another tactic would be to restart play, but then stand aside and let the other team do what they will with the ball.

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Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The laws of the game do not require a team to try to win and the referee cannot make a team play, but passive agressive techniques to protest the referee's decisions are not the answer. The referee eventually will abandon the match, and will report the conduct to the league.

Of course, there is a chance that the referee will not go directly to abandoning the match, but will instead first warn and then dismiss the coach for irresponsible behavior and then caution one or more squatting players for delaying the restart of play or for unsporting behavior (bringing the game into disrepute.). In the end, however, a sit in won't prevent an abandonment of the match.

There may be times when the conduct of the other team is so dangerous that the coach will decide not to play as a matter of safety and pull his players from the field of play. What happens next is up to the league. It may treat the conduct as wise and honorable or it may impose disciplinary sanctions against team and coach. Thus, it ought to be the coach's last option.





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Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Players would never do this without specific instructions from a coach, at least not in an organized game. In sandlot soccer, the players will stop playing if one team is cheating or being bullies or otherwise making it no fun to play. But in organized soccer, in this case youth, the actions described by the coach in this case will be subject to league sanctions.

In Select U19 play, a good referee isn't going to call everything that happens - you do know not all fouls must be called? So is it getting out of hand because of the coach's reactions and thus his players' behavior or because the players, of their own accord, are complaining to the referee with no results? If the former, and the coach instructs his players to sit, the referee should abandon/terminate the game and file a full report. That shouldn't sit well with the disciplinary committee because the referee's decisions are final on facts of play. The coach is in no man's land, because he is caught in a he said/she said type of argument, with no facts on his side.

If on the other hand, it is the players who have been complaining, the referee ought to be reported to the assignor so he can be assessed. The objective will be to see if the referee recognizes the fouls that must be called and has the appropriate management techniques to deal with teams of different strengths or abilities.

There is no mention of injuries that occurred without punishment or of anything beyond an observation that the game was getting out of hand. I have watched many a game where parents are coming unglued, coaches are over-reacting and the players are having the time of their lives, playing full out. Fortunately, the referee should only interested in the players' reactions - it is their game.

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Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Ed
It is a game and if the team don't want to play the game then there is no need for the referee to be there.
I would ask the team if they want to play. If the answer is No or No answer then I would simply go home and inform the League of the decision to abandon the game. The League can sort out the consequences.

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