Question Number: 17293

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/13/2007

RE: Competive High School

Andrea K of Hartstown, Pa Crawford asks...

The opposing team's goalie called one of the referees an "idiot" ,among other things, because she disagreed with the call he made..... The ball and most of the action was down at the other net and our goalie was struggling to hold on to the ball. From my seat, I did not have a good enough angle to tell if the goalie had control or not. In our region the laws have recently been changed regarding "goalie control" and are, in my opinion, properly geared toward protecting the goalie. The other referee heard this disrespectful comment and turned to the other team's goalie and yelled at her and told her to "zip it". My daughter and I as spectators, thought that blatant disrespectfulness to the referee was card worthy in some cases,but my husband ( head coach of our team) said that goalies are rarely punished with cards. What do you feel the proper punishment should have been? She was VERY LOUD and everyone heard. I dont recall hearing her coach yell at her, but he may have done so later in private. ( i hope so anyway). It has always been my opinion that the goalies should, can, and will call a lot of the shots regarding game stategy from their spectacular vantage point within the goalie box. That being said, the goalie often times dictates the "feel" of the game and in my opinion, should be setting a good example for the team. Should she have been carded or is a verbal reprimand sufficient?

Thanks and this website is wonderful!!! I have learned so much. I appreciate the time you put into your answers!

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

The behavior of the goalkeeper is an affront to The Game and should be dealt with by a disqualification. YES, the goalkeeper should be sent-off, even in high school in America. Sadly, few referees have the courage to force gentlemanly or ladylike behavior in students. Further, coaches do not either. The coach could have, when the referee failed to enforce the rules, taken her off and administered his own discipline. Again few coaches these days will put proper behavior ahead of winning.

When the referee and her coach allowed her to insult the authority of the referee in front of spectators they brought The Game into disrepute. This is unforgivable. Please see allow your husband to read this, my opinion in the matter. Also he might want to read the NFHS Coaches Code of Ethics on page 95 of the Rule Book.

You'll note the other coach has violated 4 of the 11 listed. Not only that but he has, in effect, told his daughter it is fine with him if she publicly calls him an "Idiot" when she doesn't agree with a decision he makes.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

What do I think? I think this young lady needs to be taught some manners and the best way to start is to send her off and show her a red card.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

I suppose it is possible the referee wasn't sure if the girl was referring to him or to someone else, but it is hard to understand doing nothing about such a scenario. Under the Laws of the Game, a referee can send off a player who uses offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures. The language and its use are in the opinion of the referee - not the spectators or the coaches. The referee could also caution them for unsporting behavior, depending on the circumstances and what was said, how it was said, etc. Public (read loud - heard by everyone in the vicinity) comments which are detrimental to the game should be dealt with by the referee in a firm and fair fashion.

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

At least, this should have been a yellow card. I can sometimes find it within myself to reduce a red card to a yellow, when there is an appropriate amount of "chewing out" that goes along with it. Players do get frustrated and we need to remember that. I can sometimes have a streak of mercy if the circumstances and context are correct.

However, I'd say a majority of the time, if a player called me "an iditot" or any other insulting name I will send them off (or eject/disqualify, whatever you like to call it). Oh, and it wouldn't matter what position the culprit played.