Lincolnite

Too bad about the Saturday match. Not enough sleep perhaps?

1. The ejection: The reason given for the red card was violent conduct (or was it unsporting behavior, like you mentioned?).  If that’s considered violent conduct, then high school soccer has seriously changed in the 10 years since I played.  And it’s incredibly weak if that level of unsporting behavior warrants a red card (referees still carry yellows, right?).  I haven’t seen a weaker red card in high school soccer since Steve Stepanek gave Ty Gifford a straight red card for saying ‘damn’.

Also, the video shows the other ejection from the game, the Pius assistant coach.  Are red cards now shown to non-players?

2. The PK: Do you really think a team’s season needed to end on that play?  Ekeler wasn’t arguing that it wasn’t a foul (though I would have), he was asking if the game should be ended on that type of play.  Should it have? The NSAA official should have answered that question instead of asking another.  You can call it ‘technically a foul’ all you want, but to end those girls’ season on that play is ridiculous.  Again, maybe it wasn’t ‘nothing’, but it certainly wasn’t worth ending a team’s season over. This, and the extremely questionable call in last year’s final, could raise some eyebrows.

It’s the logic, reasoning, and judgment of the officials involved in the incidents above (and yours, unfortunately) that ensures the United States, and Nebraska, will never be respected as far as soccer officiating goes.

...good luck to the Pius boys in the final!

The ejection: The reason given for the red card was violent conduct (or was it unsporting behavior, like you mentioned?).

I didn’t call it unsporting behavior. I called it violent conduct. I did refer to the umbrella of “unsporting acts”; to be more clear I should have used the word “misconduct” in that context. I fixed the wording above.

Also, the video shows the other ejection from the game, the Pius assistant coach.  Are red cards now shown to non-players?

In NFHS rules, yes. I won’t say it has “always” been that way, but it has been that way for many years.

You can call it ‘technically a foul’ all you want…

You don’t think a forearm to the face is a foul? Reasonable people will disagree on whether or not the defender unfairly charged the attacker, but I can’t fathom how a person could argue that the defender’s arm smacking the attacker’s face (resulting in a bloody nose) was trifling. If you want to blame an individual for ending Pius X’s season on that play, blame the sloppy defender. But that would require one to ignore the role of the remainder of the 80-minute match in determining the outcome.

It’s the logic, reasoning, and judgment of the officials involved in the incidents above (and yours, unfortunately) that ensures the United States, and Nebraska, will never be respected as far as soccer officiating goes.

I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean. U.S. referees have more respect on the international stage than ever before, and Nebraska is making quite a name for itself in the U.S. in NCAA, USSF, and FIFA competitions. Considering how mediocre the soccer is around these parts, Nebraska’s referees do remarkably well.

Your complaint begs the question: If your interpretation and application of the laws/rules of the game are so stellar, why don’t you do the game a favor and grab a whistle? I have asked you that before. Will 2007 be the year?

Soooooo, Dave K won’t pick up the whistle.  Maybe he doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does.  I’ve found that to be the case of many.  They complain, usually because a call goes against “their” team, but they don’t know enough to be unbiased.
It takes a special person first to have the guts to be a ref, unpire, etc. and not many people have the knowledge to do it plus it takes an unbiased person to actually do it.
Mr. Wilson sound like he has it together; keep up the good work Mr. Wilson!

<i>You don

As I previously told you, my refereeing days are over.

I must have misunderstood. I thought you just couldn’t do it now (due to injury). I didn’t realize you had written it off altogether. Drat, one more to remove from the “maybe” list.

If I need to become a referee in order to discuss refereeing with you, that’s great.

No such thing was stated or implied, though speaking generally, certain matters are easier to discuss with those with direct and recent experience.

Reffing has made me more unbiased than I think the average fan.  I now look at situations from both sides and don’t just complain when the call goes against my team.

The chest bump certainly deserved a red card.  You want to stop that kind of behavior immediately.  If you give that kid a yellow card what is stopping another kid from doing it?  And then another?  You have to give them all yellows because you’ve set a pattern for leniency.  Then sooner or later you’ll get a punch thrown and all hell breaks loose.  If I saw that in a baseball game, it would warrant an immediate ejection.

As for the Elkhorn situation.  I can see what Dave is saying, that its unfortunate that their season ended on a boarder line call like that.  No ref wants to become the center of attention in a late game situation like that.  (ok that’s not true, most refs don’t)  But if he thought it was a foul then you have to call it.

Ah yes, I went back and read that email and I did leave this fall open as a possibility. I’m not sure how I’d emotionally handle being on a soccer field and not playing.  We’ll see what happens, but I’d still have to find the desire and the time to do it.

<i>The chest bump certainly deserved a red card.  You want to stop that kind of behavior immediately.  If you give that kid a yellow card what is stopping another kid from doing it?  And then another?  You have to give them all yellows because you

So it was the referee’s fault for the foul (and not the player’s)? I fail to see your logic Dave K.

Thats like saying that calling Pass interference on the final play in a football game is the Refs fault.  Also if they would have scored before the foul it wouldn’t have one the game so don’t blame the ref blame that whining coach for not coaching better.

Duff Out