Not be a jerk or anything but..... I don’t referee games for the parents and their ignorance of what’s going on isn’t my concern. The game is for and about the players who have a much better understanding of what goes on than do their parents. I always communicate with the players and explain decisions, let them know what my thinking is on calls, and make sure they know they’re what’s important about the job I’m doing. Parents being frustrated about not knowing things isn’t my concern at all. That being said, if a parent approaches me with a question after a game I’m more than happy to give a short explanation time permitting. And, to be honest, parents who have seen enough soccer to know how refereeing can be, good and bad, are usually complimentary to me after games.
No offense taken. But I do note the parents are the ones paying our fee. Yes, the kids are the most important and they are the primary customer, but they don't pay the bill. Parents do have some right to understand what's going on in the game they put their kid in and are paying so handsomely for. Sure, it's easy to point to the Laws of the Game and say learn them and to scoff when the parents yell for offside on a corner. But we already established there's a lot of vagueness in the Laws that leaves a lot in the discretion of the ref. And unfortunately the refs aren't calling it all the same. If some refs are taking the approach that time is over when it's over (taking into account the added time rules, if permitted by the particular league, and PKs) but others are letting it play out, that's an issue.