Post by spectator on Mar 31, 2014 16:47:27 GMT -5
OK - we've all made a claim at one point or another while our kids have played that at away games, sometimes it seems the Referees tend to let the home team get away with more. BUT - I'm less likely to make that accusation in metro Atlanta at the clubs around here than I am at the outlying clubs like Macon (notoriously known for 'Family' referees), Augusta, Athens and South Georgia - Savannah not so much in my experience over the years, though. And really not so much in the metro Atlanta clubs - we've actually had refs at our home club that seemed to miss a lot of calls that helped the visiting team. But it could be crazy parental perspective - I'll admit to that much! 
However, we played in Macon a few years ago and we really heard one of the girls on their team say 'Uncle Bubba, she's pushing me". We've joked about that since but, I do know it's against the rules to ref a family member's - or even a game where you know too many of the players. And I get that in places like Atlanta, you have a deeper pool of referees than you would in somewhere like South Georgia, but shouldn't the same rules apply - or you'd think the referees would try to go out of their way to be fair to avoid these stigmas and stereotypes.
We had a bad game this weekend. I won't go into details lest I sound whiny - we lost a very sloppily played physical game with lots of fouls called against our team and what seemed like a lopsided few against the home team. Our normally calm non shouting coach was questioning calls until she finally realized it was futile and sat down. We could protest but won't. We lost - goals were not from PKs from fouls so there's really nothing to state that the ref gave unfair advantage that resulted in the game going one way. And while my kid is an aggressive player who has been known to commit a foul or two in a game, I think she got 5 in that game - which even for her is a lot. I didn't appreciate the other team's parents yelling at her and telling the ref she deserved a red card. I just love the parental mentality that every brush on 'my' player is a foul while she can knock your player to the ground and it's 'just playing physical'. Fine - show your ignorance but verbally attacking any player on the field is just wrong and had the referee had control of the game, could have resulted in you being shown to the parking lot! I've seen that happen a few times, too.
It is a physical game but part of being a referee is to manage and temper that so there are no injuries. Our center this weekend completely lost control of the game and it really was a miracle no one got seriously hurt. Guess I'm just paying attention more now that my kid is starting to referee. But honestly, in all the years of going to away games, this weekend's center was by far the most one sided of any I've ever encountered.
So has anyone else noticed or experienced this outside Atlanta or am I being hyper-sensitive sore loser - although the operative word for my kid today is 'sore' - that's the most bruises and scrapes I've seen on her in a while - a full cleat mark on the back of her thigh and fingernail scratches on her arms and back - but no foul! And oh joy, we're headed to Macon later this season, too - I'll say hey to Uncle Bubba for y'all if you want me to!
However, we played in Macon a few years ago and we really heard one of the girls on their team say 'Uncle Bubba, she's pushing me". We've joked about that since but, I do know it's against the rules to ref a family member's - or even a game where you know too many of the players. And I get that in places like Atlanta, you have a deeper pool of referees than you would in somewhere like South Georgia, but shouldn't the same rules apply - or you'd think the referees would try to go out of their way to be fair to avoid these stigmas and stereotypes.
We had a bad game this weekend. I won't go into details lest I sound whiny - we lost a very sloppily played physical game with lots of fouls called against our team and what seemed like a lopsided few against the home team. Our normally calm non shouting coach was questioning calls until she finally realized it was futile and sat down. We could protest but won't. We lost - goals were not from PKs from fouls so there's really nothing to state that the ref gave unfair advantage that resulted in the game going one way. And while my kid is an aggressive player who has been known to commit a foul or two in a game, I think she got 5 in that game - which even for her is a lot. I didn't appreciate the other team's parents yelling at her and telling the ref she deserved a red card. I just love the parental mentality that every brush on 'my' player is a foul while she can knock your player to the ground and it's 'just playing physical'. Fine - show your ignorance but verbally attacking any player on the field is just wrong and had the referee had control of the game, could have resulted in you being shown to the parking lot! I've seen that happen a few times, too.
It is a physical game but part of being a referee is to manage and temper that so there are no injuries. Our center this weekend completely lost control of the game and it really was a miracle no one got seriously hurt. Guess I'm just paying attention more now that my kid is starting to referee. But honestly, in all the years of going to away games, this weekend's center was by far the most one sided of any I've ever encountered.
So has anyone else noticed or experienced this outside Atlanta or am I being hyper-sensitive sore loser - although the operative word for my kid today is 'sore' - that's the most bruises and scrapes I've seen on her in a while - a full cleat mark on the back of her thigh and fingernail scratches on her arms and back - but no foul! And oh joy, we're headed to Macon later this season, too - I'll say hey to Uncle Bubba for y'all if you want me to!
