Sometimes, I ponder and wonder when seeing the behavior and reactions of certain coaches while standing in the technical area, what are they really getting at? Showing the level of professionalism and the ‘good’ understanding and interpretation of the laws, maybe? Referees are told to be patience and empathy with the acts of the coaches but if they go over board put them back into their place. I read an interesting article in the soccerreferee.blogspot.com and which to share it with those who should read or have the heart to do so.
"Ref Management"
Lest you think I'm paranoid, this thread from the NC Soccer Forums website talks about "Ref Management", which is commonly known to referees as 'gamesmanship' (which is also a polite word for 'cheating'). It is obviously an abhorrent practice, but common amongst youth coaches.
Remember: What follows is my opinion, and doesn't reflect the opinion of anyone else (and if it does, I'll let them claim that).
I don't know how this practice festered, but I imagine it is 1 part watching American coaches on TV (a reference to famed Basketball coach Dean Smith is in that thread), and 2 parts psychology. Anyone who has been exposed to this great game for any length of time knows (from experience) that yelling at a referee will have the desired effect sometimes, even if the referee doesn't consciously admit it. You may get a contested call in your favor, just so you'll shut up for a second. You will, however, also get 'marked' by that referee forever. Forever in his head you will be known as a 'bad coach', and the next time you two meet, he likely won't be as accommodating, and you may find yourself ejected for what you may have deemed less than worthy circumstances.Referees are human, and just like any other human, if you keep poking us, eventually we'll poke back, even if we seem otherwise unflappable. All the practice of gamesmanship does is drive otherwise good referees from the game, and causes, in perpetuity, an adversarial relationship between Coaches and Referees.I argue that this adversarial relationship need not exist.If a coach truly values the safety of his players, and sportsmanship above winning, then he and the referee are on the same page. If, however, a coach values winning more than the Laws of the Game, he will find himself constantly at odds with the Referee, whose functions are to adjudicate the Laws of the Game, and to maintain the safety of all players (I explicitly mention the second, though it can be summed up just by adjudicating the Laws of the Game).Little known fact: The Laws of the Game refer to safety 6 times, and 'dangerous' 7 times. In all instances, either the player is sent off (except in cases of injury where it refers to 'safe removal'), or a foul is called, and depending on the severity, either a caution or sendoff is mandated.So at the outset, there is no legitimate reason for a coach to engage the Referee in conversation (or gamesmanship). In fact, the Laws say very much the same thing:
A team official may convey tactical instructions to the players during the match and must return to his position after doing so. All officials must remain within the confines of the technical area, where such an area is provided, and they must behave in a responsible manner. (Law 3, Decision 2, Laws of the Game)
The LoTG explicitly say what a coach (or team official) can and cannot do. Why then do they act otherwise?Because we let them. I do not mean that henceforth, Referees should caution or sendoff any coach that doesn't follow Law 3 explicitly -- but I do mean that they should be warned or cautioned for any action that can be deemed 'irresponsible'. I've covered those thoughts in a previous post, so I need not cover it here. Why I'm talking about it today is to hopefully shed some light on what the Laws of the Game say about 'Ref Management', and what referees should do.Simply: Any older referee should stop 'shrugging it off' when it happens to him. It may not bother you, but if it meets the criteria in the Laws Of the Game (subject to the Rule of thumb listed in my previous post), then you must deal with it. If you don't deal with it, younger referees will have it happen to them later on, and they do not have your intestinal fortitude. We as referees cannot allow irresponsible behavior to drive away young referees. We must act, both for the good of the game, and for the good of our profession.
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