Bad Officials

[TennTarpon]

Just wait until Oak Ridge travels to Science Hill. OR better hope it doesn't have that group of bozos that officiated the Greeneville - Science Hill match last night. The little dark haired guy (looks like a younger version of Mr. Bean) is particularly dangerous.

[siegelplayer4]

no just for the record brittney didn't open her mouth even after the ref had called that foul. the ball was at her feet and the defender was going for the back tackle and tripped. unfortunate but it calls like this happen more often than not in bigger games like this.

[JustWin]

In years of watching various high school sports, soccer by far has the most inconsistent officiating. There is no argument about it. As a fan you go to a game and never know what will be called and what won`t be called. I don`t know if we just have bad refs or soccer is just that subjective. But there is NO DOUBT that it is inconsistent.

 

 

Questionable calls always seem to happen in soccer. It's a shame that it is that way but you just have to go with it.

[noonesfool]

Part of the problem is that soccer is a contact sport that is a non contact sport or vice versa. And unlike football and wrestling where there is great clarity on personal fouls I don't believe you have that in soccer. Also there is an almost 100% agreement in those sports by officials on what looks like a clip or an illegal crossface. In soccer you can see the personalities of the middle official come through. Was he a soft player or an animal. They often call that way. Most of the officiating I've seen this year has been good. But once in a while when a less competent official is in the middle of a large field over seeing 22 players it is an adventure like herding cats.

[soccer67]

Lets just play Darwinien Soccer - get rid of the officials, anything goes and only the strong survive.

 

Soccer is no different than any sport utilizing subjective officiating/judging. It is part of the sport like it or not. At lest soocer has some rules for the officials to rely on. Many sports are decided soley on the subjective opinion of an individual judge or group of judges. That is even harder to swallow when your competing do your best then get screwed because the judge dosen't like your politics or haircut.

 

There is no answer to the problem. A team, coach or player must quickly adjust to the flavor of the officiating - good/bad/ugly/incompetent/tight calls/loose calls/no calls - and play accordingly.

[DonCChatt]

I've seen my share of questionable or even bad calls, and I wasn't at this game. The key question is whether or not you believe that the referee did it on purpose to shift the outcome of the game. I truly believe that in most cases, the referee couldn't care less who actually wins. Mistakes happen; you’re out of position, etc. Also, if a referee has seen a player playing on (or just over) the line all night, that player might not get the benefit of the call. Also, I have seen calls where the player got to the ball first before any contact occurred, but the fact that somebody else went down or somebody got hurt seems to almost compel the referee to call something on somebody. So a foul, perhaps, or even a card is called. To go to a red card seems harsh (unless the player had been warned)….

[soccer67]

Just wait until Oak Ridge travels to Science Hill. OR better hope it doesn't have that group of bozos that officiated the Greeneville - Science Hill match last night. The little dark haired guy (looks like a younger version of Mr. Bean) is particularly dangerous.

 

He really does look like Mr. Bean! And he has no clue what off-sides in soccer means.

[mustcoach]

Aren't they all the "worst calls or refs I have ever seen in my life". LOL /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

Soccer67 is right...JUST ADJUST. If you go into a game thinking the refs are not going to be good then you are never disappointed. From there it can only get better if the ref seems knowledgeable.

If the game is getting dangerous because the ref has allowed it to get that way then I will say something. But guess what you get then..."one more word and you are outta here." The guy has some badge on his shirt, thinks he is Soccer God now and anytime you ask, not question, about some calls he gets offended and shows his authority by threating to throw you out because his ego won't allow it from some Coach who could not possibly know more then he does. The BEST refs will give an explanation if asked and will listen to a reasonable request from a captain or coach to just watch the physical play. It is the few "bad apples" that just brush off a captain as some young kid who knows nothing or a coach as someone who is a threat to him.

The BEST refs do all they can to get educated about the game. The BEST coaches and players do the same. Find out the ones that want to pull a paycheck only and do one of two things...Get them to be serious and educate themselves in the professionalism of HOW TO or GIT RID OF THEM! We expect it from coaches all the time in every sport. Don't do it right, don't care, don't win...they get fired unless they change. Are refs beyond that?

Not one person better come back with "go get your license" or "quit complaining and get on the field". I have been a licensed ref, probably a much higher grade then alot of you. I got out of it because my love of the game is in coaching.

[repete]

Lets just play Darwinien Soccer - get rid of the officials, anything goes and only the strong survive.

 

Soccer is no different than any sport utilizing subjective officiating/judging. It is part of the sport like it or not. At lest soocer has some rules for the officials to rely on. Many sports are decided soley on the subjective opinion of an individual judge or group of judges. That is even harder to swallow when your competing do your best then get screwed because the judge dosen't like your politics or haircut.

 

There is no answer to the problem. A team, coach or player must quickly adjust to the flavor of the officiating - good/bad/ugly/incompetent/tight calls/loose calls/no calls - and play accordingly.

 

The only problem is that there aren't enough people willing to step up to officiate because of people with a lynch mob mentality. So you reap what you sow sort of speak. Soccer is a physical game, its played that way all over the world. I tend to let them play, bringing them to the ragged edge, but reigning it in as appropriate. Players like that because it pushes their skills to the limit, which they want. People want their teams to win, so naturally they will be biased. Its all white noise to me when I am out on the field. Their point of view is slanted from the perspective of armchair observer. Most never have called a game in their life. Usually at this level in the tourney assignors go with the top refs, who are college and semipro level. I cant speak for one region over another but I know the folks where I ref are very good. My suggestion, stop assigning blame and get over it. Coaches make mistakes, players make mistakes, referees make mistakes. It goes with the territory. This is not an exact science. Its highly interpretive and subjective. It requires alot of judgement and weighing the decision versus the spirit of the game. People who are engrained in the football mentality usually have the toughest time adjustng to proper soccer. HS soccer is hamstrung by additional NF and TSSAA requirements that thickens the rule book needlessly to keep lawyers from sueing schools.

[wcsoccernut]

You can forget about the TSSAA evaluating soccer officials. I called TSSAA last year about the 3 PK's Bearden got during our game and the man at TSSAA who was in charge of soccer asked me what a PK was! I knew that after that commet the TSSAA takes the officials word on everything and the sport is not monitered very well.

 

 

my understanding is that all you have to do to be a referee for tssaa soccer is take an online test. if you can read a book and answer a question you too can be a referee. some of the recreational soccer refs at 12 yrs old are proabably better informed about the game than some of the officials we see in the high school game

[repete]

my understanding is that all you have to do to be a referee for tssaa soccer is take an online test. if you can read a book and answer a question you too can be a referee. some of the recreational soccer refs at 12 yrs old are proabably better informed about the game than some of the officials we see in the high school game

 

Thats not factually accurate. That's not "all" you have to do. You have to attend at least 3 meetings of a local association a year, which means you have to join the association. You have to be in good graces with the association, and be assigned by an assignor of that association that is blessed by TSSAA. You have to go to the annual coach/referee rules meeting. Usually the assigors rank the games and the referees and cross match. You have to pass the post season law review to qualify for post season play. Look at local association web sites. There they will have more detailed requirements. It is a big disconnect when people cry "incompetence" and then find out with a little digging that their least favorite referee is in fact, very active in their local association, probably even the president . You have to bust hump, do games in areas you dont want to, probably spending the game fee on gas and food. Its called paying your dues. And you do it year after year until one day you get the call to do a big game. So its not all true that you just take an open book test and voila, you're doing Bearden vs Farragut. That comes with experience, most physically fit, proven track record, and trust. Sure there are politics but mostly its about managing scarce resources and putting the most capable with the most demanding games.

[oknative]

You can try and appeal the card... If you have a video, send it to the TSSAA. We had a team do that a few years back.

 

Neither TSSAA or NFHS allows the use of video when it comes to appeals, if the appeal is on a point of fact. My understanding is that "fact" means what a referee sees - most fouls, trips, charging pushing, etc. are "fact". If the ref determines a play to be trip, then its a trip and there is no appeal possible as to whether it really was a trip.

 

Again, my understanding, is video replay could be used if a rule is missapplied. For instance, if a goalie reached outside of the penalty box and picked up a ball, the correct call would be handling - direct kick just outside of the penalty box. However, if a referee awarded a PK based on the same call, this call could be appealed because its a misapplication of the rules.