'Revenge' fouls and tedious macho posturing

Games 3-5, 2020-21

 

Sometimes you know when a player is out to get back at an opponent. The 'revenge foul' is a particularly hard one to prevent, and short of following the aggrieved player around and shouting 'No foul! No foul!' as they head towards the play, there's usually not a lot you can do. In my first game of the weekend, there's a brutal revenge foul that comes out of nowhere, conducted with the efficiency and cynicism of a Kremlin-backed assassin.

 

Early in the second half, there had been a tussle for the ball in midfield, and a home player came away with the ball. The away team's number 9, who's just come into the game at half-time, complained that he'd been fouled, but I'd seen it differently and let play continue. A few seconds later I had to stop play as the number 9 was now in a shouting match with several players from the home team. I didn't catch exactly what was said, but I showed him a yellow for unsporting conduct and invited him to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the game and play football instead (which, to be fair, he did).

 A couple of minutes later, the same number 9 receives a pass in the centre circle. The home team's number 11, presumably upset by whatever the number 9 had said to him, rushes in at him from behind with straightened leg and takes him out at the ankles. The number 9 falls in pain to the floor (he goes off for treatment, but returns to the game later). I blow loudly, pull out the red card from my back pocket, and the number 11 turns and leaves without the hint of a complaint. Honour satisfied, or something, though it could easily have been a broken leg...

The gobby Captain who thinks he has special rights

Games 1-2, 2020-21

It's the first half of my first game for almost six months, and the away team's captain is yelling at me. He went in unnecessarily late after an opposing defender cleared the ball upfield, and as the pass went astray, I blew for a free-kick. I don't know why the captain's so mad at the call and I don't much care, but I tell him firmly that there's no point in dissent during my games. It should be a yellow, but it's a friendly and we've all been out of action for a long time so I leave it at a lecture. Call it Covid-related leniency.

 

Around 28 players take the field for tonight's game in all, and only one has a problem with my refereeing. In the second half, it's the mouthy captain again who complains at great length that a goal his team just conceded was "clearly offside" (it wasn't). As usual, his authoritative view of the play comes from the other half of the field. This time, I show him the yellow card and he can't believe it. He's the captain, for goodness sake. He's allowed to criticise the referee, and the referee has to be man enough to take criticism on board.

While writing his number down I tell him that the rules explicitly state the exact opposite - namely, that there's no special dispensation for the captain when it comes to poor behaviour on the field. This is underscored five minutes later when he goes in late on an opponent with a straight leg tackle. Second yellow and off, and his protests are even louder. My refereeing's laughable, I'm a joke, etc...