In the U9 age group with a one ref system Is there anything in the rules that say a ref can leave the field and be replaced by another ref come the second half?

Also, what the heck is up with only having one ref at the U10 CSL games?

Has this always been the case? There has been so many missed offsides calls so far this season. It really can change the course of a game in a hurry.

In the U9 age group with a one ref system Is there anything in the rules that say a ref can leave the field and be replaced by another ref come the second half?

Short answer: yes.

There are a lot of reasons why this may have occurred. Some examples are:

The referee was tired, sick, or injured.
The referee was filling-in for someone else, maybe a late referee.
This particular referee was needed more urgently at a different game.

Thanks felipao.

Could you give me a none justified reason for a ref to leave at half time and be replaced?

Also, what the heck is up with only having one ref at the U10 CSL games?

Has this always been the case? There has been so many missed offsides calls so far this season. It really can change the course of a game in a hurry.

U9 and U10 is typically handled by just one referee. Probably because these are 8v8, short-sided fields, shorter halves. At that age, and with those sized pitches, you may have an incorrect offside call here and there, but 3 referees would be overkill.

Thanks felipao.

Could you give me a none justified reason for a ref to leave at half time and be replaced?

Sounds like you have an axe to grind regarding a specific situation?

Just to play devil's advocate since I obviously have no insight into this specific case: How do you know the referee change wasn't justiified if you don't know what the reason was?

Short answer: yes.

There are a lot of reasons why this may have occurred. Some examples are:

The referee was tired, sick, or injured.
The referee was filling-in for someone else, maybe a late referee.
This particular referee was needed more urgently at a different game.

Was at the game. The ref left beacuse she was nervous. She had made a number of bad calls or no call at all. An AR from another field took her spot. From what I heard it was her first time as a center ref.

Sounds like you have an axe to grind regarding a specific situation?

Just to play devil's advocate since I obviously have no insight into this specific case: How do you know the referee change wasn't justiified if you don't know what the reason was?No axe to grind felipao. No need for a defencive answer.

Let me give an example of the situation that may of may not of occured. A young ref was calling a game, lets say Saturday at Celtic Park. The refs first game was pretty draining from what I saw, but the ref elected to call the next game that was going to start up at 9:10am at Oaks Middle School in the city of Ontario.

My question directly to you is, is there a none justifiable excuse for a ref to leave at half time? Such as, parents putting to much pressure on them, overwhelmed with disicions to make in a split second, or simply figuring out that this may not be what this ref really wants to do on the weekends for extra cash flow. Assuming these are the reasons, would this be fair for the kids to have had "several" calls missed because of one of these examples givin? Also with a newbee ref, you know first timer, perhaps at least one linesmen should accompany the ref for there first time out which I have seen in local summer tourney.

No axe to grind felipao. No need for a defencive answer.

Let me give an example of the situation that may of may not of occured. A young ref was calling a game, lets say Saturday at Celtic Park. The refs first game was pretty draining from what I saw, but the ref elected to call the next game that was going to start up at 9:10am at Oaks Middle School in the city of Ontario.

My question directly to you is, is there a none justifiable excuse for a ref to leave at half time? Such as, parents putting to much pressure on them, overwhelmed with disicions to make in a split second, or simply figuring out that this may not be what this ref really wants to do on the weekends for extra cash flow. Assuming these are the reasons, would this be fair for the kids to have had "several" calls missed because of one of these examples givin? Also with a newbee ref, you know first timer, perhaps at least one linesmen should accompany the ref for there first time out which I have seen in local summer tourney.

All of those reasons are justifiable reasons for a referee not to referee the second half. Referees have to start somewhere...they're not hatched fully trained, with whistle. They have to learn.

There aren't enough referees to cover all the games we have. Sometimes assignors have to make a tough choice-send someone less experienced, or no referee at all. Unfortunately, if this actually occurred, we may have lost yet another referee to the attitude of spectators. In the long run, that is much more important than missed decisions in a U-9 or U-10 game.

-Jorge

Also, what the heck is up with only having one ref at the U10 CSL games?

Has this always been the case? There has been so many missed offsides calls so far this season. It really can change the course of a game in a hurry.

Be ready. The age could go up...in fact, in most other countries the referee works alone until the adult professional level. If the referee shortage continues, expect the age level at which referees work alone to continue to rise.

-Jorge

All of those reasons are justifiable reasons for a referee not to referee the second half. Referees have to start somewhere...they're not hatched fully trained, with whistle. They have to learn.

There aren't enough referees to cover all the games we have. Sometimes assignors have to make a tough choice-send someone less experienced, or no referee at all. Unfortunately, if this actually occurred, we may have lost yet another referee to the attitude of spectators. In the long run, that is much more important than missed decisions in a U-9 or U-10 game.

-Jorge

I agree with this... they take on a lot of responsibility working a youth soccer game. Not only do they need to worry about calling a game fairly, making calls to assure safety of all players, run up and down the field for an hour with balls flying around their heads, sometimes in 100 plus temps, they then have to put up with us...the sideline. We need more good officials in Socal. We can't afford to run off a young ref over a U9 game especially. IMO

I was wondering the same question. Sometimes, there are 3 refs and sometimes only one. The problem arises when there is only 1 and that ref does not venture away from the center circle. Kind of hard to tell offsides, out of bounds, penalties in the box, etc. when you don't move from center field.

I feel for the young refs just getting started. I have seen young refs fall under the pressure of the ranting parents and actually get sick...right on the field. I think as parents we have to be a little more understanding. Yes, they are doing a job and they are getting paid. However, they will make mistakes...they are human. I agree with the poster that said that they are not hatched with a whistle. Now, at State Cup or the bigger tournaments, I certainly expect more experience.

Remember, today's U14/U15 players could become tomorrows refs. Would you want your kid yelled at like some parents yell at the refs today?

No axe to grind felipao. No need for a defencive answer.

Let me give an example of the situation that may of may not of occured. A young ref was calling a game, lets say Saturday at Celtic Park. The refs first game was pretty draining from what I saw, but the ref elected to call the next game that was going to start up at 9:10am at Oaks Middle School in the city of Ontario.

My question directly to you is, is there a none justifiable excuse for a ref to leave at half time? Such as, parents putting to much pressure on them, overwhelmed with disicions to make in a split second, or simply figuring out that this may not be what this ref really wants to do on the weekends for extra cash flow. Assuming these are the reasons, would this be fair for the kids to have had "several" calls missed because of one of these examples givin? Also with a newbee ref, you know first timer, perhaps at least one linesmen should accompany the ref for there first time out which I have seen in local summer tourney.

I wasn't being defensive (rather, correct). Still, I'm trying hard to understand what you're really after in this thread.

You're "example" is mistaken, as the young referee is certainly justified in deciding not to finish the game.

Thank goodness this was only an example, and not something to be truly defensive about. I mean ... imagine how pitiful it would be for parents to pressure a kid to that degree? Surely in the real world, such an example would be unthinkable because real parents have more class and care about the development of all youth, not just the ones wearing their kid's uniform. Right?

The real shame is this imaginary referee would probably be lost from refereeing forever. So instead of continuing his development and being available and possibly exceptional when you really need a good referee (i.e., when the imaginary parents' kids are teens/adults), you'll only have more newbie imaginary referees or imaginary old farts to torment.

I suppose in a few years, these imaginary parents will be walking past a u9 game and reflect on how ridiculous they behaved by making their imaginary 8-yr-old's game out to be the World Cup final.

When my daughter played U10, back in the dark ages before U9 existed in CSL, there was always only one ref during league play. And yes we felt shortchanged. In the long run, it makes no bit of difference. Though, in retrospect, I do have a bit of nostalgia towards one old guy we seemed to get a lot. He stuck to the center circle (lack of mobility) and wore some of the thickest glasses I have ever seen.

Unfortunately for the youngers, this is where the referees in the worst shape seem to be assigned.

Be ready. The age could go up... If the referee shortage continues, expect the age level at which referees work alone to continue to rise.

-Jorge

What is CYSA-S and CSL doing to address the referee shortage? Are they going to be putting together more referee clinics? Are they going to get the word out to parents and coaches within the clus to try and get more refs??

All I get is every once in a while an e-mail saying that there is a referee clinic out in Santa Ana, about once a month. We need more clinics, in more places, and the word to get out about them.

We wonder why there is a shortage of competent officials and then the parents scare away a newby. That is a major problem. I don't blame the referee, she may or may not have what it takes. We will probably never know. LAY OFF THE OFFICIALS!!!

A kid gets cracked in the ankles, hit in the back, swept from behind, and kicked in the stomach. Know I know it was not done on purspose by the other player ( I hope not). What do you do when a newbie ref lets it all go. After a while a parent gets upset at your child being worked. Do we lay off the ref like some of you have said? Do we pull our kid out of the game for their own safety(why would someone have to)Like I said I was at the game and the game before that and I saw a number of kids worked by the other players while the ref just looked and let it go.

I've never reffed a single game in my life and have no desire to do so. My young daughter (not even a teen) went to the 2 day clinic in Santa Ana over the summer, passed the test, and has been reffing since the summer. The ref association my child belongs to has been very good about assigning her as AR to youth games (U8-U10) with a seasoned ref in the center. She's reffed about 30 games (boys and girls) with 10-15 different refs. The refs have been great about explaining their positioning on the field and her positioning on the field. They've given her feedback and asked for feedback.

The parents for the most part have not given her a hard time. She's made some offside calls and even called a few goals back. The ref once blew the whistle and one sideline was adamant the foul was in the box. Where she was positioned she saw that it happened outside the box. Most of the adults (parents and coaches) have been more positive than negative. During one competitive boys game during the summer, the coach on the sideline my dd was on treated her with respect and afterward told her "good job". The adults are going to keep these youth refs around or drive them away.

Her ref association and CSL both want to grow the youth ref ranks. As the older refs retire, who is going to fill those ranks? We're lucky our association has been very supportive of youth refs and made it something she wants to do.

I wasn't being defensive (rather, correct). Still, I'm trying hard to understand what you're really after in this thread.

You're "example" is mistaken, as the young referee is certainly justified in deciding not to finish the game.

Thank goodness this was only an example, and not something to be truly defensive about. I mean ... imagine how pitiful it would be for parents to pressure a kid to that degree? Surely in the real world, such an example would be unthinkable because real parents have more class and care about the development of all youth, not just the ones wearing their kid's uniform. Right?

The real shame is this imaginary referee would probably be lost from refereeing forever. So instead of continuing his development and being available and possibly exceptional when you really need a good referee (i.e., when the imaginary parents' kids are teens/adults), you'll only have more newbie imaginary referees or imaginary old farts to torment.

I suppose in a few years, these imaginary parents will be walking past a u9 game and reflect on how ridiculous they behaved by making their imaginary 8-yr-old's game out to be the World Cup final.Why are you trying so hard felipao?

The question was, here this is real simple for you. "Can a ref leave at half time"? Now this has turned into something els, so I will ask you this then, can a ref walk off the field during a game for having a head ach, having cramps, being to tired to finish, there shorts he or she put on that morning were to small, and he or she had to go back home and get another pair, he felt his(the ref) descion was right and a coach didnt so the ref gets mad and leaves the field, there a big pot hole in the playing field and he or she is afraid of hurting his or her self, the goals are too small, the field wasent lined correctly(none straight lines). In other words, where in the rule book does it give legitiment reason for a ref to leave the filed when ever they want to. On that note where does it say they can walk off whenever "they want to".

1888 hit it on the head, first and formost the kids come first, not the ref's, do you get that? Why is it that when a parent sits on the sideline and says nothing time and time again that's fine, but when a parent or even coach asks for the ref to "protect" our kids we are chasing them off and are going to lose another EPL level ref. My point is call the game with the kids safty in mind first.

This is not a pissing contest felipao, all I'm after is what is aloud and what isnt. CAN A REF JUST LEAVE A MATCH FOR "ANY" REASON?????????

Why are you trying so hard felipao?

The question was, here this is real simple for you. "Can a ref leave at half time"? Now this has turned into something els, so I will ask you this then, can a ref walk off the field during a game for having a head ach, having cramps, being to tired to finish, there shorts he or she put on that morning were to small, and he or she had to go back home and get another pair, he felt his(the ref) descion was right and a coach didnt so the ref gets mad and leaves the field, there a big pot hole in the playing field and he or she is afraid of hurting his or her self, the goals are too small, the field wasent lined correctly(none straight lines). In other words, where in the rule book does it give legitiment reason for a ref to leave the filed when ever they want to. On that note where does it say they can walk off whenever "they want to".

1888 hit it on the head, first and formost the kids come first, not the ref's, do you get that? Why is it that when a parent sits on the sideline and says nothing time and time again that's fine, but when a parent or even coach asks for the ref to "protect" our kids we are chasing them off and are going to lose another EPL level ref. My point is call the game with the kids safty in mind first.

This is not a pissing contest felipao, all I'm after is what is aloud and what isnt. CAN A REF JUST LEAVE A MATCH FOR "ANY" REASON?????????


IMHO - a referee can leave for any reason at any time. The referee association he/she works for may have an issue with it, but it's a free country... It has happened to my team at a tournament. The referee got into a pissing match with the field marshal and split, Leaving the semi final to two refs and a club linesman. smile1

IMHO - a referee can leave for any reason at any time. The referee association he/she works for may have an issue with it, but it's a free country... It has happened to my team at a tournament. The referee got into a pissing match with the field marshal and split, Leaving the semi final to two refs and a club linesman. smile1Well since you put it that way Soccer Coach I would say your right. I'm wondering if there is a rule, or law in the ref world that says they can do this. If you ask me thats quiting and parents should not be blamed for that refs decsion to leave the field. If the Coach/Parent is out of line, send them off......... End of story, after all they are in charge, right?

Why are you trying so hard felipao?

The question was, here this is real simple for you. "Can a ref leave at half time"? Now this has turned into something els, so I will ask you this then, can a ref walk off the field during a game for having a head ach, having cramps, being to tired to finish, there shorts he or she put on that morning were to small, and he or she had to go back home and get another pair, he felt his(the ref) descion was right and a coach didnt so the ref gets mad and leaves the field, there a big pot hole in the playing field and he or she is afraid of hurting his or her self, the goals are too small, the field wasent lined correctly(none straight lines). In other words, where in the rule book does it give legitiment reason for a ref to leave the filed when ever they want to. On that note where does it say they can walk off whenever "they want to".

1888 hit it on the head, first and formost the kids come first, not the ref's, do you get that? Why is it that when a parent sits on the sideline and says nothing time and time again that's fine, but when a parent or even coach asks for the ref to "protect" our kids we are chasing them off and are going to lose another EPL level ref. My point is call the game with the kids safty in mind first.

This is not a pissing contest felipao, all I'm after is what is aloud and what isnt. CAN A REF JUST LEAVE A MATCH FOR "ANY" REASON?????????


BTF,

The crudeness of your language is only equalled by the confusion of your thoughts.

I answered your question long ago. The answer is yes. Referees are not prisoners serving a sentence. They are free to walk off the pitch whenever they wish, for any reason. You can refer back to the first sentence in my first post in this thread. What part of "yes" do you not understand?

Perhaps your hangup is that you wish to mischaracterize the referee's decision as "none justifiable [sic]" and no one is having it.

But this was a real incident, which is why I'm asking you: What do you hope to learn or achieve from this thread? It's evident you didn't like the young referee. That being the case, why are you upset the kid was scared off? That would seem to have been the parents' goal! Were you hoping someone would respond that the referee was not justified in leaving, so you could file a complaint regarding the referee with the league? Kick the kid while he's down? Or would that somehow pacify your conscience?

You need to place yourself in the kid's shoes. He's just learned how to referee, he's been assigned his first game, probably nervous as can be. The game starts and he misses a call or two (or maybe doesn't), and a bunch of adults/authority figures - whom the kid has been told his whole life to respect, look-up to, emulate - start screaming at him. His confidence is immediately shattered. Maybe he feels threatened. He starts second-guessing everything: calls ... ability .... Now his performance really starts to go down the tubes. At half-time he wants out of it and asks a more experienced referee to take over.

How would you feel if that was your kid? Heck, how would you feel if your 8-yr-old kid got that kind of treatment playing soccer? Youth referees are kids too!

Yeah, if the youth referee was more experienced and had more confidence in himself, he would have gone against his instincts and warned or expelled the coach. And yes, that would have been the correct thing to do. But it takes balls a few orders of magnitude bigger than yours or mine for a kid to do that in his first game.

BTF,

Felipao and others commenting have been more than civil to you in this discussion. If this situation is as it seems, it is a very serious abuse of adult power. Hopefully, you were not a parent who in any way contributed to a youth ref walking off due to adverse comments from the sideline. At the minimum, you or other sensible parents should have admonished any parent who in any way criticized the decision of a youth ref.

BTF,

The crudeness of your language is only equalled by the confusion of your thoughts.

I answered your question long ago. The answer is yes. Referees are not prisoners serving a sentence. They are free to walk off the pitch whenever they wish, for any reason. You can refer back to the first sentence in my first post in this thread. What part of "yes" do you not understand?

Perhaps your hangup is that you wish to mischaracterize the referee's decision as "none justifiable [sic]" and no one is having it.

But this was a real incident, which is why I'm asking you: What do you hope to learn or achieve from this thread? It's evident you didn't like the young referee. That being the case, why are you upset the kid was scared off? That would seem to have been the parents' goal! Were you hoping someone would respond that the referee was not justified in leaving, so you could file a complaint regarding the referee with the league? Kick the kid while he's down? Or would that somehow pacify your conscience?

You need to place yourself in the kid's shoes. He's just learned how to referee, he's been assigned his first game, probably nervous as can be. The game starts and he misses a call or two (or maybe doesn't), and a bunch of adults/authority figures - whom the kid has been told his whole life to respect, look-up to, emulate - start screaming at him. His confidence is immediately shattered. Maybe he feels threatened. He starts second-guessing everything: calls ... ability .... Now his performance really starts to go down the tubes. At half-time he wants out of it and asks a more experienced referee to take over.

How would you feel if that was your kid? Heck, how would you feel if your 8-yr-old kid got that kind of treatment playing soccer? Youth referees are kids too!

Yeah, if the youth referee was more experienced and had more confidence in himself, he would have gone against his instincts and warned or expelled the coach. And yes, that would have been the correct thing to do. But it takes balls a few orders of magnitude bigger than yours or mine for a kid to do that in his first game.Ok felipao I was not trying to be crude toward you nore trip anybody up inorder to file a complaint(get real), all your points are great. True your answer was "yes", MY BAD. I then responded with where in the rule/law book it says this. This question was over looked by you only to be followed by more simpathy talk for the young ref. Who infact you refer to as a "He". I never said "He" I've always stated he or she. Dont miss qoute me because you feel I'm looking to attack the the league in some way shape or form, not the case. I was simply looking for a fact in regard to a ref abandoning his game. According to your statment the answer is "YES". Obviously with excecptions, kinda a catch 22 really.

Seems to me your under the impression that I'm a unruly parent, not the case in this matter. A young ref can miss a few calls that's fine by me. My point is when a ref starts to miss calls that can be potentionally dangerous to our players (ala) tackle from behind, cleat to ankle, elbow to back. These such fouls have to addressed wheather the ref is a newbee or not(protect the kids period).

felipao you talk about "what if that was your kid". Lets me ask you this, how long would you wait before(god forbid)somthing really bad were to happen to your child b-4 you would become vocal, seriously? All this simpathly for the "young ref" how about the "young players"??????? I hope your not implying that a young ref being intimidated by some parents is more important than protecting our young players.

Let me finish by saying I have the utmost respect for the ref's in our league, and I NEVER HAD INTENTIONS ON FILING A COMPLAINT against this young ref. However when you have a player down on the ground on several occasions by the same player from the opposing team and nothing is called it frustrates me, for the kids sake make the call.........

BTF,

Felipao and others commenting have been more than civil to you in this discussion. If this situation is as it seems, it is a very serious abuse of adult power. Hopefully, you were not a parent who in any way contributed to a youth ref walking off due to adverse comments from the sideline. At the minimum, you or other sensible parents should have admonished any parent who in any way criticized the decision of a youth ref.Your correct with the first sentence Akersfans.

As 1888 stated this was this particular refs second game of the morning, perhaps this was the cause of the frustration, not the parents as some would like to think.

Again, I HAVE THE UTMOST RESPECT FOR THE REFS IN THIS LEAGUE.......

What is CYSA-S and CSL doing to address the referee shortage? Are they going to be putting together more referee clinics? Are they going to get the word out to parents and coaches within the clus to try and get more refs??

All I get is every once in a while an e-mail saying that there is a referee clinic out in Santa Ana, about once a month. We need more clinics, in more places, and the word to get out about them.
Our problem is not filling classes. Our problem is retention. Most new referees will not make it past their 10th game. The number one reason by FAR is the abuse from the touchlines.

Unfortunately, these referees, being inexperienced, don't know how to deal with it. So we're stuck with what we've got.

-Jorge

A kid gets cracked in the ankles, hit in the back, swept from behind, and kicked in the stomach. Know I know it was not done on purspose by the other player ( I hope not). What do you do when a newbie ref lets it all go. After a while a parent gets upset at your child being worked. Do we lay off the ref like some of you have said? Do we pull our kid out of the game for their own safety(why would someone have to)Like I said I was at the game and the game before that and I saw a number of kids worked by the other players while the ref just looked and let it go.
Ask the coach to pull your child out of the match, and have your team adminstrator contact the league. The problem WILL be addressed, I can assure you.

-Jorge

Ok felipao I was not trying to be crude toward you nore trip anybody up inorder to file a complaint(get real), all your points are great. True your answer was "yes", MY BAD. I then responded with where in the rule/law book it says this. This question was over looked by you only to be followed by more simpathy talk for the young ref. Who infact you refer to as a "He". I never said "He" I've always stated he or she. Dont miss qoute me because you feel I'm looking to attack the the league in some way shape or form, not the case. I was simply looking for a fact in regard to a ref abandoning his game. According to your statment the answer is "YES". Obviously with excecptions, kinda a catch 22 really.

Seems to me your under the impression that I'm a unruly parent, not the case in this matter. A young ref can miss a few calls that's fine by me. My point is when a ref starts to miss calls that can be potentionally dangerous to our players (ala) tackle from behind, cleat to ankle, elbow to back. These such fouls have to addressed wheather the ref is a newbee or not(protect the kids period).

felipao you talk about "what if that was your kid". Lets me ask you this, how long would you wait before(god forbid)somthing really bad were to happen to your child b-4 you would become vocal, seriously? All this simpathly for the "young ref" how about the "young players"??????? I hope your not implying that a young ref being intimidated by some parents is more important than protecting our young players.

Let me finish by saying I have the utmost respect for the ref's in our league, and I NEVER HAD INTENTIONS ON FILING A COMPLAINT against this young ref. However when you have a player down on the ground on several occasions by the same player from the opposing team and nothing is called it frustrates me, for the kids sake make the call.........

At least now you're being upfront about your intent. This really had little to do with your thirst for knowledge on Law 5 and more to do with the fact that you were really upset that the referee in question didn't make the calls you wanted. (Aside: 'He' is the grammatical default when the gender is unknown or unspecified. I wasn't misquoting. If this referee was a girl, just let me know.)

That mystery being finally settled, don't you agree that this was a rather useless exercise? Coming on to this forum to, in essence, complain that a referee didn't protect your players? We could fill all that new server space in the blink of an eye if every parent started a thread to gripe about their last referee. SoCal Kitchen would be quickly eclipsed.

I can guarantee that you will always encounter referees - novice and experienced, young and old - who won't always make the calls you want. Sometimes you'll be right. Sometimes you won't. Sometimes kids will get hurt. I know ... it sucks. But it is a part of the game. And if you want to play, you have to accept the referee's judgment, mistakes included.

Now, you say you want to know about rules and laws. Okay. The LOTG specify the referee's responsibilities. They're available via FIFA's website. See "Law 5 - The Referee". You'll find that there's nothing that requires the referee to finish a game once he has started. Indeed, you'll find that this referee would have been within his rights to terminate the match based on the abuse from the spectators.

The most applicable "rule" that was broken in this instance is specified in the CSL Rules, under "Section 7. Rules and Etiquette", subsections G.3 and G.4.

I would also like to point out "Section 14. Forfeits, Fines and Suspensions" subsection A.6.

At least now you're being upfront about your intent. This really had little to do with your thirst for knowledge on Law 5 and more to do with the fact that you were really upset that the referee in question didn't make the calls you wanted. (Aside: 'He' is the grammatical default when the gender is unknown or unspecified. I wasn't misquoting. If this referee was a girl, just let me know.)

That mystery being finally settled, don't you agree that this was a rather useless exercise? Coming on to this forum to, in essence, complain that a referee didn't protect your players? We could fill all that new server space in the blink of an eye if every parent started a thread to gripe about their last referee. SoCal Kitchen would be quickly eclipsed.

I can guarantee that you will always encounter referees - novice and experienced, young and old - who won't always make the calls you want. Sometimes you'll be right. Sometimes you won't. Sometimes kids will get hurt. I know ... it sucks. But it is a part of the game. And if you want to play, you have to accept the referee's judgment, mistakes included.

Now, you say you want to know about rules and laws. Okay. The LOTG specify the referee's responsibilities. They're available via FIFA's website. See "Law 5 - The Referee". You'll find that there's nothing that requires the referee to finish a game once he has started. Indeed, you'll find that this referee would have been within his rights to terminate the match based on the abuse from the spectators.

The most applicable "rule" that was broken in this instance is specified in the CSL Rules, under "Section 7. Rules and Etiquette", subsections G.3 and G.4.

I would also like to point out "Section 14. Forfeits, Fines and Suspensions" subsection A.6.[QUOTE=felipao] "This really had little to do with your thirst for knowledge". Little is the key word there. My delivery may have been off at first is all.

"Don't you agree that this was a rather useless exercise"? I would say yes, again because of my initional delivery wasn't clear. I am glad to see actual facts presented now instead of here say. Thank you.

"Sometimes kids will get hurt. I know ... it sucks". Fair enough, but should player safty not be prioity?

Very informational to say the least felipao. Now I have some leg work to do, thanks again.

"I would also like to point out "Section 14. Forfeits, Fines and Suspensions" subsection A.6"

felipao, I see where your going with this, but how would this apply to the question at hand?

"I would also like to point out "Section 14. Forfeits, Fines and Suspensions" subsection A.6"

felipao, I see where your going with this, but how would this apply to the question at hand?

I was pointing out that the only rule that may have been broken in this scenario is the rule prohibiting verbal abuse of the referee by the coach/admin/spectators, and therefore, I was directing you to league rules that could be applied.

No, I don't think anyone would be suspended for this, though I suspect the league BOD would be unhappy to hear that a youth referee was frightened off the pitch by the spectators. I don't speak for Mike Benjamin, but I suspect if this thread were written in his section, he'd be disappointed or worse.