by GivinUDaHimelik » Tue May 03, 2016 12:36 am
Some of you know I played in a local soccer league (U18 division) for the past several years - spring and fall. My elderly coach, Ken, was also the president of the league. The first full season was good for me, and taught me some of the basics of the game. After that, the experience was less and less fun, because I found that the "star" players controlled most of what went on*. The "stars" also got away with a lot of junk. My brother and I became somewhat disliked by the older guys because we fought for fairer teams than the ones being chosen by the "stars". When we asked Ken about it, he didn't give a real answer and just said he couldn't control everything.
The reffing in our games was usually awful, we only had one guy who was any good; the rest were too old, fat, or didn't care. We complained about the quality of the reffing, but Ken once again never gave a straight answer. Eventually, my sister's usual ref for her games quit doing girl's games because he couldn't stand my sister's coach, who always stood up to the ref for his players getting beat up. That ref started refereeing our games and boy, was he awful. He was fat, gave no effort, was a nutjob, and thought he owned the rulebook. This past Saturday, we had the same ref. And things just exploded.
It started with him missing several offside calls that I suggested he missed. Later, I was totally obstructed when a I beat a kid badly, and he just stood there and hockey checked me. I immediately stood up and asked for a foul. He told me it was clean, and when I told him the opponent got no ball, he said, "He doesn't have to get ball." I said, "that's in rugby and football, and not european football either." About a minute later, I made a clean sliding tackle (all ball, no leg whatsoever) and he called a foul on me and told me to go to the sideline to 'chill'. I told him I got all ball and he says, "You need to relax and go to the sideline, that was dirty." I ask him how it was dirty and he tells me I got no ball. I reply that he said earlier you don't have to get ball for a clean play. He gets real mad, tells me I need to chill. I then said I'd go to the sideline, but please give a better effort and make the same call both ways so the smaller and younger guys don't get hurt. He then says, "you're out for this game and maybe the next for a comment like that." I said, fine, but go read up on the rules of soccer.
On my way to the sideline, he calls me back to midfield, and says "Get on the sideline, now!" I told him I was going, but he'd just called me back. After getting to the sideline, one of the other teams players told me to relax and don't get wound up. He was at midfield, so I called back, "I got no problems with you or any of the players, I'm just worried this ref is going to get some smaller kid hurt because he won't give a better effort!" The ref then stops play and yells to the sideline to my 'coach' Ken that now I'm definitely out for the next game.
I'm on the sidelines fuming at the nutcase now, and the coaches keep telling me to chill, I'm out of order. So I ask Ken, was my tackle clean. He says Yes. I ask him if the other guy obstructed me before that. He said Yes. So I ask how I'm out of order and he just says that I am. No explanation of how. I ask him why he didn't tell the ref that he missed a call and he says, "Then I'd be banned and sitting." I told him he was the president, he couldn't be banned. I told him I was only standing up for the players because he was too weak to do it. He says I can't do that. I ask where it says that I can't stand up for the younger kids and again he says you can't do that. I told him I want my money back or I play next week. He says it doesn't work like that, and I told him, "Then I play next week."
*Side note: This same ref reffed a game in the past fall where one of the "stars" pulled a small kid down by the collar from behind. The ref gave him a yellow but the "star" refused to leave the field. All 3 coaches, his teammates, the ref, and his opponents told him to get off the field, but he wouldn't. He stayed on. When I brought this up with Ken, he said he didn't remember that and I shouldn't bring stuff up from the past.
When my dad confronted the ref afterwards, the ref wouldn't talk to him about my "suspension". When my coaches where asked, they said I was being "extremely disrespectful" to the ref. My dad said, "get me my money back and your headache disappears." We haven't gotten our money back yet, so looks like this Saturday I go to see if I can weasel into playing.
*The U18 boys consists of one 40-man roster and we choose teams each week by new captains. The "stars" would just always stack the teams.
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