I just wanted to give kudos to one of the ref teams we had this weekend. It was a gentleman and two young ladies, the center ref called a very tight game, he didn't let anything go especially the hits after the plays. It was one of the cleanest games I have seen in a long time. The center ref mentioned after the game, that he cares about the safety of the players, which we, as parents, appreciate.
But then we had a ref team of a gentleman and two young men that let everything fly and lost control of the game. Girls were elbowing and literally pushing with both arms fully extended from behind. One even clocked a girl in the face with her elbow and no call. The AR ref mentioned to us, it doesn't matter how you win, just as long as you win, which tells me they didn't care about safety. Yes, I know soccer is a contact sport and players will get hurt. I understand the tripping and the legit body contact. But hits after the play, elbows in faces (no reason for an elbow to come that high especially if you are going after the ball with your feet) and full arm extensions are not soccer plays.
It is very sad that some take reffing seriously while others take it as "it's just a job" and who could give a crap about what happens on the pitch.
But then we had a ref team of a gentleman and two young men that let everything fly and lost control of the game. Girls were elbowing and literally pushing with both arms fully extended from behind. One even clocked a girl in the face with her elbow and no call. The AR ref mentioned to us, it doesn't matter how you win, just as long as you win, which tells me they didn't care about safety. Yes, I know soccer is a contact sport and players will get hurt. I understand the tripping and the legit body contact. But hits after the play, elbows in faces (no reason for an elbow to come that high especially if you are going after the ball with your feet) and full arm extensions are not soccer plays.
It is very sad that some take reffing seriously while others take it as "it's just a job" and who could give a crap about what happens on the pitch.