Ejecting an adult from a youth team game

Games 13-14, 2020-21

At all games the German FA requires that the home team names one person who's responsible for order and civilised/sporting behaviour. Most of the time, thankfully, it's not an issue. Just occasionally, though, that person needs to step up when there's trouble among the spectators. Except that they rarely do, unless you specifically instruct them. Sometimes even then, as on Saturday, they still do nothing. Here's a redacted version of the disciplinary report I sat up typing until 1am on Sunday morning:

"In the 75th. minute of an extremely quiet game, the home team's number 7 was attacking the ball in the away team's penalty area. The away team's goalkeeper reached the ball first and cleared it out for a throw-in. The number 7's momentum caused him to collide with the goalkeeper, he was briefly injured, but able to play on.

"A number of home-team spectators were standing in this corner of the field directly in front of the action [it was the only shady spot]. During the game they'd protested loudly about any decisions given against their team - superfluous hysteria with its base in ignorance, but all part of the game...

Want to read more? Click here to order Reffing Hell: Stuck In The Middle Of A Game Gone Wrong by Ian Plenderleith (Halcyon Publishing), published on August 8, 2022.