Letter To Referees
Greetings NH Referees!
As the Fall season is now kicking off I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone of a few key items.
GAME REPORTS
It is your responsibility to submit a US Soccer Referee Game report whenever any of the following occurs in your game:
- Yellow Card
- Red Card
- Serious Injury (examples below…not limited to this listing)
- Head Injuries
- Player removed and does not return to game
- Ambulance called
- Blood visible
- If in doubt – report it
- Other Significant Events – Needs Supplemental Report – not complete listing just some common items)
- Game delayed/terminated due to weather, i.e. thunderstorm
- Game delayed/terminated for unplayable conditions including goals not anchored
- Game delayed/terminated due to spectator interference
- Game delayed/terminated due to coach behavior issues including dismissal of coach(s)
- Team(s) not showing up for the game
- Referee Abuse and/or Assault by Coach/Player/Spectator
A copy of the report must be sent to the State Referee Administrator ( sra@nhreferee.org) and league contact. Contact the Referee Assignor involved for the League contact. Note filling out a form via an assigning platform and submitting DOES NOT fulfill this requirement as the SRA and Leagues do not receive a copy of the form you submit to assignors. To fulfill this requirement you may forward a copy of the form you submit or complete another form and send separately.
These reports are needed to deal with injury claims and deal with disciplinary issues both at league and State Association level. Without these reports issues cannot be dealt with properly including coaches who verbally abuse or assault referees.
REFEREE ABUSE/ASSAULT
If you feel you have been verbally abused or worse assaulted by a coach or player, we need you to report it. If we are unaware of the situation, then we cannot deal with the offender. Complete the referee report discussed above and include all details, including specific language or actions that were offensive, insulting or abusive. This means spell out the words involved. Help the leagues and state association weed out the extremely small number of people that show disrespect to referees and the game of soccer.
If you are watching a game, whether waiting to officiate the next game or there as a spectator, and you observe abuse and/or assault towards a referee then please report it via an email. Need game details, date, location, etc., and what you observed. Do not get involved in the situation however having another report helps disciplinary boards deal with the situation.
OTHER
If you are at a game as a spectator or coach, you are not acting as a member of the referee program. As such do not approach referees and give them feedback on what you observed even if you are a Referee Mentor or Referee Coach. In the role of a spectator or coach you are by definition not impartial and thus cannot offer impartial observations. If you do approach the referees to give them “advice/feedback” in these type of situations, you will be in violation of US Soccer Referee Code of Conduct and subject to disciplinary action(s) up to and including dismissal from the Federation in all roles (referee, coach, etc.).
I have been informed already this season of these situations occurring. If I am informed of any new situations where a coach, who happens to be a licensed referee, approaches referees and berates them on their performance, etc. there will be ramifications. This simply cannot occur as we lose too many referees due to abuse of uniformed individuals. Referees should know better and act accordingly.
Let the Referee Mentors and Referee Coaches help the referees. We cannot be at every game however we do get out and see what we can. If you have concerns about specific game and referee decisions, then please contact us ( referee@nhreferee.org) with the details.
Get out there and help soccer grow in NH and beyond. If you would like an observation reach out and we will do our best to have a Mentor or Coach come and observe and give feedback. If you have a bad situation and want to discuss, email us and we will try to help you understand. The game needs referees to ensure a safe playing environment and the State Referee Committee is here to help you grow as a referee.
Regards,
Mark Sadler
NH State Referee Administrator
sra@nhreferee.org