I love football. European football, that is.
On Sunday I was refereeing at an all day tournament in Scarborough, and I had no idea what level of play to expect. I had to wake up at 5:45 to get to the field by 8:15 for games to start at 8:45 till sundown. We (my ride and fellow referee) got to the field with a beautiful morning sun and dew, and within half an hour or so, it was blazing hot and the heat lasted all day. Oh, and I forgot sunscreen at home, so now my face is bright red.
Enough about the weather, let's talk about the games.
Game one was fast. Both teams came out flying, and playing super aggressive, but (mostly) fair. Only one caution near the end of the match for a handball denying the opponent possession, which he accepted with zero argument. The next game featured the same team which received the caution (and lost). The game was mostly smooth, except for the lopsided score due to a DOGSO-H (Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by handling the ball, for you non-referees) in the 4th minute. Swatted the ball away on the goal line, and was off the pitch almost before the card was out of my pocket. And then things got interesting.
4 more games of pool play before lunch (25 minute halves, by the way), 3 of which I was in the middle for, and they were intense. Every player put 110% into every touch, which can make for some remarkable plays, but also leads to a lot of fouls. And I mean a lot. I don't like to give out cards, as I'd rather just let the teams play, but there are some things that you just can't let slide. DOGSO-H, for example. Or when one player fouls another player 4 times in 2 minutes (same 2 players). This long day of reffing seemed to be full of unavoidable cards, almost all of them were accepted, and all of them were deserved.
The one problem I had was in the first semifinal, right after lunch (at 4:30, because that's when people in Ontario finish lunch apparently). Player on one team (Red) was tackled from behind (by yellow) right near the centre line, but the ball bounced out to his teammate for a 4 on 2 rush, so I played advantage. If I hadn't left a lingering eye, I'm sure a brawl would have ensued. The red player jumped to his feet and got right in the yellow player's face, definitely very threatening. I stopped play to deal with the heated tempers, but not soon enough to diffuse the situation completely. There was lots of shouting, most of it harmless, but the yellow player decided to be both loudest, and most foul, telling the red player to "F*** off." Foul and abusive language, straight red. Easy decision for me. However, in my hastiness to get play started again, I forgot to deal with the red player, who was, in fact, the reason I stopped play in the first place. He should have been cautioned for "Acting in a manner which shows a lack of respect for the game, USB (Unsporting Behaviour).
The red card was protested, but I held my ground and quoted the good old LOTG (Laws of the game) to justify it, and unsurprisingly, it stayed and the player had to sit out of the bronze medal match, which his team abandoned anyway.
The final went well, only one stupid caution. A player was fouled, and awarded a free kick, but decided for whatever reason that he needed to throw the ball at the opponent. Not hard enough to do any damage at all, but enough for a card, and the look on his face told me he knew it was stupid. The day wrapped up about 10 minutes after sunset, and it wouldn't have been able to go any later, as there were no lights on the field. A quick meeting of officials to determine individual award winners, quick payment, and a not so quick drive home finished off the day.
That day is the most discipline I have ever had to give out (6 yellow, 3 red, 7 50 minute games, average out to about 2.5 cards per 90 minute game, which is right around average), but also the most praise I have received. Tempers were flaring most of the day, but many players from most of the 8 teams approached me at one point or another to tell me how great a job I was doing. Let me tell you first-hand, that is rare. When a referee makes a mistake, they are constantly reminded about it, but when they do something right, nobody says anything. I wasn't really planning on having a moral at the end of this, but it seems fitting to say that if somebody does a good job at something, take the time (12 or so seconds is all it takes) to tell them and make their day.
