Yelling at referees is hurting our children

[Unregistered]

Minimum wage Chik Fil A workers can give you homophobic chicken with a smile.
Minimum wage Moe's workers can yell welcome to Moe's with a smile.
Minimum wage theme park workers can make sure you have a magical day with a smile.

If you need more examples, watch Under Cover Boss to see how employees should behave and what happens when they behave badly.

If you go for a discount oil change, it's not OK if they're rude and don't give you the full quart of oil.

There is no excuse for the referees so stop making excuses for them.

And the people who say pay them more, what a joke. Raises are for people who earn them.

[Unregistered]

Parents do need to be more respectful, however, when you are on a competitive team and traveling (sometimes out of state) where the costs get rather steep, you start expecting more. A U18 team should not have a new kid sideline ref that pays more attention to the ground than the game. Hell they are half way down the field, but making offsides calls from an absurd viewpoint. These kid refs need guidance after they walk out of class and further training. I have never seen any young ref receive feedback, and most of the AR's wait for the center ref to make a decision on whose throw in it is. The whole system sucks!!!

[Unregistered]

Minimum wage Chik Fil A workers can give you homophobic chicken with a smile.
Minimum wage Moe's workers can yell welcome to Moe's with a smile.
Minimum wage theme park workers can make sure you have a magical day with a smile.

If you need more examples, watch Under Cover Boss to see how employees should behave and what happens when they behave badly.

If you go for a discount oil change, it's not OK if they're rude and don't give you the full quart of oil.

There is no excuse for the referees so stop making excuses for them.

And the people who say pay them more, what a joke. Raises are for people who earn them.

I'll bet you run a heck of a business.

[Unregistered]

Parents do need to be more respectful, however, when you are on a competitive team and traveling (sometimes out of state) where the costs get rather steep, you start expecting more. A U18 team should not have a new kid sideline ref that pays more attention to the ground than the game. Hell they are half way down the field, but making offsides calls from an absurd viewpoint. These kid refs need guidance after they walk out of class and further training. I have never seen any young ref receive feedback, and most of the AR's wait for the center ref to make a decision on whose throw in it is. The whole system sucks!!!

You are on to something. Maybe we should keep a list of tournaments with very lousy referees.
Here is my first contribution: Dimitri Cup Naples 2017.

[Unregistered]

Maybe instead of keeping a list of problem tournaments with lousy refs, we should keep a list of how many of you complainers become refs to be part of the solution. The reason for the shortage of refs (kids and adults) is perfectly illustrated by many of the comments above.

[Unregistered]

Maybe instead of keeping a list of problem tournaments with lousy refs, we should keep a list of how many of you complainers become refs to be part of the solution. The reason for the shortage of refs (kids and adults) is perfectly illustrated by many of the comments above.

Stupid fat ref...

When you go to the restaurant and your food comes out cold, do you say oh guess I should become a chef to solve the problem?
When the Sun Rail is late every day because it keeps hitting cars, do you say oh guess I should become a train driver to solve the problem?
When the TSA employee is rude, do you say oh guess I should become a groper to solve the problem?

We live in a modern society where not every person does every job but every person is expected to give their best effort. So stop with your nonsense.

[Unregistered]

A referee position is not the same as a chef, a rail driver, and TSA employees; you know this. You are the perfect illustration of why more people do not become refs.

[Unregistered]

A referee position is not the same as a chef, a rail driver, and TSA employees; you know this. You are the perfect illustration of why more people do not become refs.

Is your argument that they don't have to give their best effort in a job they're being paid to do or that they're volunteering so there's really no excuse for them acting like they don't want to be there?

[Unregistered]

Stupid fat ref...

When you go to the restaurant and your food comes out cold, do you say oh guess I should become a chef to solve the problem?
When the Sun Rail is late every day because it keeps hitting cars, do you say oh guess I should become a train driver to solve the problem?
When the TSA employee is rude, do you say oh guess I should become a groper to solve the problem?

We live in a modern society where not every person does every job but every person is expected to give their best effort. So stop with your nonsense.

We do not live in a world where everyone gives their best or is expected to give their best. Never has been. It's more about free will to be as good at something as you want (if you live in a democracy). Ref quality in kids soccer games is a very low priority for people who need to be doing their best in this "modern world." But I have to give credit where credit is due -you are a fine example of giving your best when it comes to hating overweight people and those you view as in service positions who don't really care about your expectations. Good job. Also, I'll bet you've ingested your share of nasty things when you eat out and the people dealing with you tell the kitchen all about your awesome personality.

[Unregistered]

Post #38: my argument is neither of those. I am really not addressing quality of existing refs, but the shortage of up-and-coming refs caused by parent's uncivil and disrespectful behavior toward officials. I have talked with many younger players who studied and tested to become a (assistant) ref but quit only after a few games because of sideline parent behavior. For all of you that complain openly to refs about the quality of refs, you have caused your own mess. You are preventing a new generation of players from wanting to become refs and thinning the pool of currently available refs who want to put up with you.

[Unregistered]

Post #38: my argument is neither of those. I am really not addressing quality of existing refs, but the shortage of up-and-coming refs caused by parent's uncivil and disrespectful behavior toward officials. I have talked with many younger players who studied and tested to become a (assistant) ref but quit only after a few games because of sideline parent behavior. For all of you that complain openly to refs about the quality of refs, you have caused your own mess. You are preventing a new generation of players from wanting to become refs and thinning the pool of currently available refs who want to put up with you.

As a long-serving referee, this is post people should read over and over again. I know many young people that WERE referees, but not any longer. The main reason is the bullspit they have to put up with at almost every single game. Look, we know that every call we make, that half the players/coaches/parents don't like it, but we don't need to or want to hear you yell at us every call you don't like. We have ways to make you stop, but we really don't want to throw a parent or coach out, or dish out cards to players for this. I'll say this to parents: the game is for the kids, not you Ma'am or Sir, so if you want to see the rest of the game, you will stop. Coaches, you know the drill, 3 strike system- we ask you to stop, tell you to stop, then eject you- but we can skip over steps 1 and 2 if you want me to! Players...we find that usually the players are whiny when the coach and parents are too. Many players know we have a job to do and will 'jaw' at us a bit but usually know that what we call is correct, most of the time. Are we perfect? NO! But as I tell coaches, I make decisions on what I see, not what you see. I have never reversed a call because a coach or player or parent told me they saw something differently than me.

So, just go watch your kid play, and be thankful that you have that opportunity. Respect the game, and the process. It's a fantastic game and a great way for kids to be involved in sports. I would hope that some of you and your kids would aspire to become referees. We really do need the help. Our numbers are down. I know of several games at the local clubs I do some games at that had to cancel matches this year due to not having refs. This is ridiculous! Go to http://flsrc.arbitersports.com and check it out. It's ok extra money and great exercise!

[Unregistered]

Look at this fat ref with a martyr complex. There's nothing special about being a referee. You're a grown ass man wearing a uniform to work. If you don't like the job don't do it. If you do the job do it right. That's how the world works.

[Unregistered]

Look at this fat ref with a martyr complex. There's nothing special about being a referee. You're a grown ass man wearing a uniform to work. If you don't like the job don't do it. If you do the job do it right. That's how the world works.

Thanks for showing the world what kind of low-class, bottom-feeding organism you truly are. And by the way, this "fat" ref can do 3 to 4 ninety minute games per day. I bet you get dizzy carrying your snack and beer filled cooler to the field! ROTFLMAO!

[Unregistered]

Thanks for showing the world what kind of low-class, bottom-feeding organism you truly are. And by the way, this "fat" ref can do 3 to 4 ninety minute games per day. I bet you get dizzy carrying your snack and beer filled cooler to the field! ROTFLMAO!

Wow... you must feel so proud of yourself for coming up with all those insults. And you can work up to SIX hours in one whole day? Sorry precious, I know that sounds a lot with McDonalds keeping eveyone part time but people with real jobs regularly do double that.

[Unregistered]

Another stupid article written by somebody who never kicked a soccer ball. I've been around quite a bit and with the exception of the North Pole, the refs here in the US are horrible.

Not only they don't know the rules, but the way they assume the spotlight by consistently making bad calls, giving yellow and red cards for a regular foul and the power trip they're on makes me want to vomit.

Not all, but most of them deserve some kind of abuse just because of how arrogant and how bad they are. And don't make me talk about HS refs, they are beyond bad, even embarrassing to the game.

So yes, this article is a joke, if you've ever played the game you'd know how horrible most are. And I don't care how much they get paid, that's got nothing to do with it.

Problem is there are kids and adults doing this as a hobby or to make extra money without having ever played the game seriously so their interpretation of the game is totally flawed, hence horrific calls all the time.

And I'm not talking about U10's or U12's where you have to protect the players a bit more. I'm talking about U17's and U18's where it's almost a men's game and these refs are forcing to make them play like little girls because every kid that falls to the ground is an automatic yellow or red. Totally ridiculous...