Coach Ejection after the game….

Simple U14 girls game…..Let me repeat simple U14 girls game.  I maybe had 5-7 calls the entire game.  I have a 12 year old kid on one line and a 13 year old on the other line.  Both are working their tail off and doing a good job.  They both make good eye contact and are hitting all of the offsides great.  2 minutes left in the game the score is 3-1.  Ball comes through and it looks like I have two players offsides at a quick glance but I can’t tell for sure.  One player is 35 yards from the play and 7-10 yards off (this one I am certain about but she is not in the play).  The other girl is actually the one receiving the ball and it was tight but looked like she had a step off.  I take a quick glance and my AR has his flag down.  She turn shoots and scores.  As she is shooting I see my AR throw his flag up for the offsides.  I hit the whistle and call the offsides.  (the goal would have made the game 3-2, the losing team was offsides)  The coach who hasn’t said a thing all game goes crazy on the sideline.  “that girl is not in the play”  referring to the girl well offsides.  I confirm with my AR that the shooter was offsides.  I explain to the coach that the player with the ball at her feet was who he was calling offsides.  He continues to yell….I turn to him and say, “Coach I have explained the call we are moving on”, he yells a little more and I give him the stop sign hand and he quiets down. 

The last minute of the game goes by and I call the game.  Both team shake hands and he waits for this to be done.  He starts to tell my young AR that the girl was not offsides.  My AR ( I was proud of him stood there and backed himself up) and said “YES the girl that shot the ball was offsides.”  The coach starts raising his voice and says to the kid, “you are clueless”.  I now stepped between him and the AR and said “we are done here go back to your bench” and pointed to his bench area.  The coach tried stepping around me and now was yelling at the kid “your horrible”.  I raised my voice and said “Your done get out of here”.  He turned to me and said “Fine throw me out, he still sucks” and points right at the kid from about 4 feet away.  I said “you got it, your ejected.  You can’t treat a young official that way”. 

I grabbed both of my AR’s and we turned and walked away.  They both were there in a little shock and standing there like statues but  we needed to be moving so I pushed them along….

If he was just treating me that way after the game I don’t think I would have run him that fast but as officials we can’t let a grown coach get all over our young referees that way.  This coach has ripped into a few referees in the past but I wasn’t going to let him rip into a 13 year old kid who just worked his tail off for me.  I understand the value of a goal but the goal still wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game. 

Ironically the next day I had this guy (looked like your classic soccer Dad) come over to the referee tent the and ask for the referee that threw out the coach the day before on a U14 girls game.  Everyone turned and pointed to me.  He came over and thanked me and explained that it was his son that was the AR and he appreciated me stepping in and back up his son.  His son talked about it all night long I guess, I let him know his son acted very professional when a coach couldn’t be professional and I would work with his son anytime.

Tags: AR, coach, Ejection, jerk, Ref, Referee, Soccer, Soccer Ref, Soccer Referee, young referee