Terrible Labor Day Ref

There was an absolutely incompetent female AR for the FC Dallas v Tomahawks semifinal at the Plano Labor Day Tournament. She was too lazy or too distracted to hang near the last defender, and so kept guessing at offsides calls from ten yards up the sideline. Since she was guessing, she was wrong a pretty large share of the time. Both teams could see it. Granted it was hot and humid and on the last day, but I wish refs would just stay home if they are too tired or lazy to keep in position. Pretty sure I've seen this particular ref perform this way before.

Your team must've lost. (?)

With group play being only 1 hour games how could they be tired? At 200 bucks a game per team maybe they could be a little more selective with there officials.

wulfgar07 wrote:Your team must've lost. (?)

Why? No one thinks a ref is bad unless they lost? Pretty sure both sides were unhappy with this ref.

Usually when folks come on this forum complaining about a specific ref in a specific game, that person's team lost.

wulfgar07 wrote:Usually when folks come on this forum complaining about a specific ref in a specific game, that person's team lost.

We won every game and most of the officiating was horrendous. Not complaining because we are used to it. The good news is, it was equally bad for both teams.

The tournament was so big that the referee assignor could not have known many of the referees - important that an assignor knows the capabilities of the refs, strengths and weaknesses, but that is not always possible - and the need for quantity overcame the goal of quality. Many of the better refs were doing college games, worked in Austin (there is a contingent of Classic refs that goes there every year) or actually took a day off.

nearpost95 wrote:The tournament was so big that the referee assignor could not have known many of the referees - important that an assignor knows the capabilities of the refs, strengths and weaknesses, but that is not always possible - and the need for quantity overcame the goal of quality.  Many of the better refs were doing college games, worked in Austin (there is a contingent of Classic refs that goes there every year) or actually took a day off.  

Any truth to the grumblings I heard on the sidelines of the referees being brought up from Mexico to work the tournament?

Outsourcing the refs?

I have been told by a Classic official who is in charge of refs that when you constantly challenge or complain about calls the refs will call everything against your team because of your challenges. He said he would do the same.

I have heard parents say that too. "Don't say anything else because the ref will make it worse!"

I thought these guys were supposed to be unbiased? Why would they try to make it worse? Unfortunately for those few good refs, a lot of refs in Classic and these tournaments are too fixated on the spectators and what they might say or calls they question. They need to just concentrate on the game. As I said there are refs who ignore parents and just do their job and those we appreciate. I mean when have you ever seen a ref kick out a whole stadium of people?

Friend of mine says we should just get used to it, maybe so.

Amen!

I don't know about this year, but a few years ago, they bussed in a bunch of refs from Mexico, none of which spoke english and it was a freaking nightmare.

SailorMoon wrote:I don't know about this year, but a few years ago, they bussed in a bunch of refs from Mexico, none of which spoke english and it was a freaking nightmare.

I did not see an English speaking referee until Monday, so it was likely a repeat performance.

SailorMoon wrote:I don't know about this year, but a few years ago, they bussed in a bunch of refs from Mexico, none of which spoke english and it was a freaking nightmare.

The language was definitely not the nightmare. Soccer, Futbol is a Universal game that translates nicely to all countries. We get refs equally as bad who speak English in Classic League. I think the bigger issue I saw was they let the N. Tx kids adopt a much rougher style of Mexican League play, which in turn enraged parents and coaches. It caused many games to get out of control.

It was when the ref had to get kids to translate whatever he was saying.  And who knows what got lost in the translation.  You can't caution or speak to my kid in a language he has no understanding of and expect everything to be wonderful.  Yes, most soccer is universal, but some form of communication has to be understood by all.  And they weren't calling anything and one of our players got hurt and was out for several months as a result.  Enraged is a nice way to put it!!

With that many teams though, I don't know what the answer is as far as getting enough refs. And yes, some english speaking refs are just as bad if not worse.

I believe some refs are just afraid to show cards early on a game, I was at a game between teams that are just below the line on fouls and this ref just started giving cards and took control of the game. They only spoke Spanish but the players and coaches understood quickly how it was going to be. The result 1 red card and 5 yellows all in the first half, very smooth second half. But that was only one game, between both of my kids I saw a lot of games where some of the calls where questionable. I agree with Riquelme, keep winning and complaining and you will get nothing, but they should be somebody in charge of player safety somewhere or maybe we can charge NTX for the hospital bills. Just saying.

I will way in here....first - U17 didn't even pay half of the $200 you mention so lets get that straight. This isn't Classic League, Premier League or Plano Premier League pay - They don't even pay anywhere close to that.

This is a tournametn due to size where alot of inexperienced refs or those that have not worked competitive games get their first taste of this level. There were over 11,000 referee spots that needed to be assigned. If every ref did 6 games, that is over 1900 refs that are needed. There is an age restriction on who can and cannot work, based on age and experience.

Personally, I limit the number of games I will do in a tournament like this due to the heat and no breaks between games (less than 5 minutes after paperwork is filled out). Most of the experienced refs I know did the same or would only work in the mornings.

Plano Labor Day is the lowest paying tournament in the area and it is the biggest. Yes they are mini games at the older ages, but 80% plus of the teams are at U14 or below so the games are pretty close to full for these ages.

You get alot of refs working U16, U17 and above who have never worked this level and frankly they are a little cautious as the game is much faster and can get out of control quickly. They have to learn somewhere and it is better at a tournament than league play.

Even in world cup, you can see that refs made tons of mistakes. To me, it is part of the game. Some days you're lucky and the ref give the call to you, other days they won't. Imagine if they have to call every foul, all you see is free kick. I don't think that would be fun. Unless, it is dangerous, and blatanly trying to hurt somebody, then a warning or a send off is a must. So, play on folks...

ayza wrote:Even in world cup, you can see that refs made tons of mistakes. To me, it is part of the game. Some days you're lucky and the ref give the call to you, other days they won't. Imagine if they have to call every foul, all you see is free kick. I don't think that would be fun. Unless, it is dangerous, and blatanly trying to hurt somebody, then a warning or a send off is a must. So, play on folks...

Totally agree my point is that refs should concentrate on the game and not what parents are saying. We have too many thin skinned refs.

And too many parents that loose their cool on the sidelines.

TEK2000 wrote:And too many parents that loose their cool on the sidelines.

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This

TEK2000 wrote:And too many parents that loose their cool on the sidelines.

Refs should have thick skin. Rowdy parents comes with the territory. If a ref cant handle that then maybe he/she should look for another hobby.

Parents might also realize they signed their kid up for a contact sport and not feel the need to pop their tops when little jimmy or susie touches the ground. God forbid they touch someone else or....wait for it, break a sweat. Oh no, mommy and daddy can't go wipe that 1 bead of sweat off with the ice-cold towel waiting in the cooler. even in chess you have to touch the pieces. don't wanna break a nail.

It's sports! Kids fall down, scrape their knees, and keep playing. Last I checked, the ref couldn't call a foul until AFTER it's been committed. The first foul of the game has to be committed before it can be called. If an injury happens on that, you gonna blame the ref for not setting the 'tone' of the game???

there are good and bad refs out there; just like there are good and bad coaches, parents, and players. but hey, everyone needs to blame somebody else so the ref is the easiest target. Or is it the pasture of a field, or the ball that didn't have enough air in it, or the GK that couldn't catch, or the kid that was too slow, or the coach that yelled to much, or the coach that didn't yell enough, or..... whatever

twotone wrote:Parents might also realize they signed their kid up for a contact sport and not feel the need to pop their tops when little jimmy or susie touches the ground. God forbid they touch someone else or....wait for it, break a sweat. Oh no, mommy and daddy can't go wipe that 1 bead of sweat off with the ice-cold towel waiting in the cooler. even in chess you have to touch the pieces. don't wanna break a nail.

It's sports! Kids fall down, scrape their knees, and keep playing. Last I checked, the ref couldn't call a foul until AFTER it's been committed. The first foul of the game has to be committed before it can be called. If an injury happens on that, you gonna blame the ref for not setting the 'tone' of the game???

there are good and bad refs out there; just like there are good and bad coaches, parents, and players. but hey, everyone needs to blame somebody else so the ref is the easiest target. Or is it the pasture of a field, or the ball that didn't have enough air in it, or the GK that couldn't catch, or the kid that was too slow, or the coach that yelled to much, or the coach that didn't yell enough, or..... whatever

don't get your panties in a wad dude. My point was having thick skin. No the refs are not to blame about everything. Most refs have majority good calls and a few they miss. I was speaking of refs who are listening for anything negative from the parents and then turning to confront them because their little feelings got hurt.

Riquelme wrote:

twotone wrote:Parents might also realize they signed their kid up for a contact sport and not feel the need to pop their tops when little jimmy or susie touches the ground. God forbid they touch someone else or....wait for it, break a sweat. Oh no, mommy and daddy can't go wipe that 1 bead of sweat off with the ice-cold towel waiting in the cooler. even in chess you have to touch the pieces. don't wanna break a nail.

It's sports! Kids fall down, scrape their knees, and keep playing. Last I checked, the ref couldn't call a foul until AFTER it's been committed. The first foul of the game has to be committed before it can be called. If an injury happens on that, you gonna blame the ref for not setting the 'tone' of the game???

there are good and bad refs out there; just like there are good and bad coaches, parents, and players. but hey, everyone needs to blame somebody else so the ref is the easiest target. Or is it the pasture of a field, or the ball that didn't have enough air in it, or the GK that couldn't catch, or the kid that was too slow, or the coach that yelled to much, or the coach that didn't yell enough, or..... whatever

don't get your panties in a wad dude. My point was having thick skin. No the refs are not to blame about everything. Most refs have majority good calls and a few they miss. I was speaking of refs who are listening for anything negative from the parents and then turning to confront them because their little feelings got hurt.

can we get an example bro