"honorable soccer"

[goo]

i was checking over the ref topic and didn't see too much that i found terribly exciting, a little too much love for TSSAA refs who tend to be disproportionately old and incompetent, but nothing too objectionable until i found this:

 

6rbfr1

A ref is not expected to make every perfect split-second decision, but many refs do not make the right calls in obvious situations. Last week, after a player on the other team was granted numerous free kicks when he was barely being touched and obviously diving, I approached the referee ( AS A CAPTAIN) and informed him about this. He said to me, "YEAH I KNOW." How are players ever going to learn to play honorable soccer when the refs are letting them get away with it.

 

nothing really disturbed me until that last. i posted the following response:

 

honorable soccer is more or less synonomous with rookie soccer. the higher level soccer you play the more important the ability to gain advantages by bending the rules. one of the worst things that refs can do to young players is to keep the game too honest; it becomes a genuine hobble later in their careers.

this is certainly not to say that when a referee can tell that a player is diving, he ought not to make the call - that is teaching the kid to cheat poorly, which is also far from advantageous at the next nevel.

there is, however, nothing intrinsically wrong with diving. much as i, as a defender, am much more often the victim of dives, it was important for me to learn how not to allow opposing players the opportunity to dive convincingly, a skill without which i'd have struggled at higher levels and which i would not have developed if soccer culture in TN deviated so much from the norm that i was never exposed to "dishonorable" soccer.

my personal response to kids who dive on me is to foul them hard and to discreetly let them know why. insofar as all good defenders can execute said plan artfully enough to avoid having it called, i suppose that this is somehow also dishonorable. it is, however, no less necessary.

the general ability to push, no, to break the rules without being called is one that ought to be cultivated rather than discouraged if one is serious about reaching the next level.

(the only caveat to this general proclamation of course being that intentionally fouling someone in a way that could cause a serious injury is never acceptable and i suppose might be a part of honor)

 

the only response so far has been relatively positive and i was wondering whether the general consensus is that i am right or if people who hold views similar to 6rbfr1's simply aren't checking the end of the ref post because that topic is kind of dying?

[goo]

just figured that i would transplant the one response that i've gotten so far from the ref to this topic:

 

defender25:

As a defender (as you might've guessed by my name), and before you get the waterfall of negative remarks on this post that you're probably going to get, I want to be the first (and maybe the only) one to say good post. You are absolutely correct. And as a ref I can say that yes, if you clearly recognize that a player's diving, then you should obviously not give them the call, and if its obvious enough then you should call it against them. As a defender, I agree completely with what you said about fouling the "diver". I know that's probably going to be a very unpopular thing to say, but you are right about the next level. And I will say that learning to deal with a diving attacker is one of the fine points in being a good defender, and its sometimes not easy to learn.

[Law-Five]

The issue you're addressing is real enough, but it's affecting soccer at all levels all over the world. Watch any of the professional leagues play and see how many players do the "log roll" trying to get a player ejected by faking the dive/injury. FIFA is trying to address the issue, but other than using post game review and fines there isn't much they can do during the game (all calls are based on the referees judgement). As a ref you have to constantly ask yourself when there's illegal contact and the player falls - was it a foul before the player fell? A good ref knows whether contact is fair or foul, falling really has nothing to do with the call unless you're trying to allow for advantage. You really can't just blame older refs who appear complacent - this is affecting refs everywhere. FIFA has to do something about this - perhaps like they did about 10-15 years ago with fouls on an obvious goal scoring opportunity - automatic card (usually red). Maybe if a player fakes an injury or dives, and then gets up and sprints down the field, the ref issues him an automatic yellow. Of course, in high school if you stop play for an "injury" the player already has to leave the pitch. There's always integrity.

[6rbfr1]

see how many players do the "log roll" trying to get a player ejected by faking the dive/injury.

 

This is the point I was trying to make with my post. I also agree with the others in fouling a diver. If they want to be put on the ground, then grant their wish. Maybe we should go back to the way it was 20 years ago, when it took a lot more than a shove to get a foul called. Then players wouldn't dive because it would do no good.

[The Contractor]

This is the point I was trying to make with my post. I also agree with the others in fouling a diver. If they want to be put on the ground, then grant their wish. Maybe we should go back to the way it was 20 years ago, when it took a lot more than a shove to get a foul called. Then players wouldn't dive because it would do no good.

 

I agree.