When to pull your team.

[Jinky]

Under what circumstances is pulling one's team off the field mid-game justified?

The reason I ask is because it has happened twice recently that I know of.

Club Ireland pulled their Div 2 Cat team off the field after the referee had lost control of their game versus Sikh Temple. Lots of threats were being made by the ST players and one Club I player was coldcokced, splitting his eye badly.

In Div 1 Meralomas pulled their team off the field after about 20 minutes of their match versus Sikh Temple had elapsed. During that time they had 3 players sent off and were down 1 - 0. Their coach stated that they did not wish to lose any more players to suspension in a game they were doubtful they could win.

Looking for some opinions here.

 

[cerebral smallsy]

obviously

what circumstances is pulling one's team off the field mid-game justified?

when the ref blows the whistle for halftime.

 

[Bronco]

It would appear whenever you play Sikh Temple

 

[john]

Personally you should never pull your team in my opinion. If you feel that strongly about the effects the referee had on the outcome of the game then protest...............all the way to BC Soccer if neccessary.

Funny that this should come up now though..............heard a report of a low level pro team somewhere in Europe that was so disgusted with a referee's job that the next game they decided to do something about it. What did they do you ask????????????? Well everytime they got possesion of the ball they decided to put into there OWN NET!

Final score.................149-0!

John

 

[Hands of Stone]

The team that pulled its players could face a Penalty

The VMSL league could look into this, and there could be some type of penalty put against the Lomas.
You can't just start pulling your team off the pitch because you are un-happy with the ref or you are getting beat by a large margin.
Only Russian Hockey Teams do that.

Is there a penalty against a team for not showing up to a game. I know they would lose 1-0, and lose the 3 points, but does the league do anything else.

I know you need at least 7 players one each team to start a game, if one team takes enough cards and has less than 7 players on the field, does the ref then stop that match.
It would have to be out of hand for that many cards, but I could easily see it happen in any of our local leagues.

HOS

 

[bandcamp]

believe there is a fine ($200 i heard) for defaulting because you show up to the field with less than 7 players. also believe the game is called if you play with 7 and a red card is issued.

as for the lomas, they default their div 2 game and only play 20 minutes of their div 1 game. hearing a lot of grumbling about the way this chris (vploma - isn't that a joke) guy runs the club.

eagerly awaiting more info from our loma friends - dazza? pls don't send no2, can't make any sense of what he says.

 

[CDK]

Originally posted by john

Funny that this should come up now though..............heard a report of a low level pro team somewhere in Europe that was so disgusted with a referee's job that the next game they decided to do something about it. What did they do you ask????????????? Well everytime they got possesion of the ball they decided to put into there OWN NET!

Final score.................149-0!

John

That wasn't Europe...it was Madagascar.


If your team is in a game where your opposition is hell bent on violence, then either fight back or pull the kids off the pitch. As far as pulling your team for fear of suspensions or an embarrassing score line...loosen the bra straps a bit and finish the game...

 

[Reccos]

No

It can be frustrating and you can feel like pulling your team at times, but unless it is so violent and the referee can't control the situation, you have to finish the game. By this I mean, that the opposition is out to break legs, injure or fight, etc.

There is a fine as pointed out by others.

I believe the requirement is for 7 minimum or game over.

 

[ParkHead]

I don't think you should ever pull a team off the field either. Finish the game and protest after, But chances are if it is that bad the referee will stop it anyway.

 

[number2]

Sorry, but if it gets VIOLENT and the ref can't control the other team (and considering some of our refs in div 2 ) ... Well, I have to work Monday morning to support my wife and children. I'd be outta there and see you at the bar.

 

[bandcamp]

violence wasn't the issue here was it? wasn't it that 1 team didn't like the way the ref was reffing?

 

[kurgan]

Bandcamp,

There were two incidents provided as examples here. The thread is here to promote discussion on the issue, not to be presented as a place to slag Temple, Meralomas, Club I etc...

Kudos to the NS Falcons this weekend who started with 9, got up to 11 and finished the game with 10 after a player got injured with no subs remaining. Their guys were ready to give it a go with 7 players to start if they had had to. The guys who showed were a little pissed at their teammates though...

 

[sensei_hanson]

Pulling your side off the pitch is a pretty horseshit move any way you cut it.

I saw the Lomas-Temple game yesterday. The pumpkins could very well have been justified in their complaints with the officiating, but the walkoff itself didn't help their cause any.

I fail to see what walking off the pitch actually accomplishes. If I'm a referee and I send off three guys, chances are if they actually manage to make it through the match without further incident and put forth a solid effort, I might reconsider one of my earlier decisions and maybe, maybe, I don't report one of the reds? Maybe I give some leeway and get them off the hook a bit when it comes to suspensions or league action. And this doesn't even begin to cover the inevitable "even-up" calls that would have came if the game actually went on. Refs are human, they know they fcuk up on occasion. They also know how to make up for it. And for those who think this type of action never occurs - we do play in a VMSL who's governing body overturned a red card to Jason Jordan of Sportstown last year (or the year before?) based on the claim that the ejection was a poor refereeing decision. Anything can happen.

But when you pull out of a game like that, it basically shows up the official. Walking off the pitch throwing every curse word in the book at the referee probably doesn't do much for your cause when it comes up in front of the league office (read: Kangaroo Court). It probably encourages said referee to do everything in his power to stitch your team even further when it comes to fines/suspensions.

I guess it is easy to sit and think how we all would have handled this with a cool head and time to mull over the decision. To be fair, Lomas were in the heat of the moment just reacted to the situation. Sad thing is that they'll probably have to pay pretty heavy consequences for a move which didn't do them any good.

 

[Keeper]

It doesn't necesarily matter what the reason is. A protest is simply an individual or group's action to voice an opinion on a given issue. As such, there are no stated rules. Protest how you best think to get your point across.

According to a recent post in another thread (also mentioned above) an African team protested a referee's decision by scoring OG after OG. They could've sat down during the rest of the game. Or, they could've left the stadium. The point is that they made their views known in a very "vocal" way -- note: would we have heard about them had they merely finished the game and submitted an offical protest?

They did acted in a manner hoping to get results and direct attention to the matter. So did the Meralomas.

Disagree all you like, but I don't imagine the issue would have nearly the same attention had they merely put their complaint on paper.

Fighting for my right to party,
K.

 

[Gaffa]

Interesting...

Interesting post Sensei and I agree with the majority of it. I'm not a fan of pulling the team unless the ref has lost control and the game is getting violent. As number2 said, we've all got to work on monday. With regard to the Lomas game, its sounds like the ref had lost control of the game. He certainly killed it as a contest. Considering 3 reds had been handed out before half-time, one can only imagine the debacle the game would have ended up in. Make up calls would have infuriated the Temple lads, and rightly so. The Lomas players would already be well and truly pissed off...basically the game could well have turned into a free for all. By pulling his team did the Lomas coach not manage to avoid a potential full-on donnybrook between 2 teams that had no axe to grind in the first place. The more I hear about the game the more the finger gets pointed at poor officiating...

 

[Jinky]

Keeper,

Get your tongue out of Dazza's arse, will ya?

You're making the Muckerloma's out to be the Rosa Parks of the VMSL. They did not leave the field as a protest. Dazza clearly stated,

"There was no way we were going to risk more outrageous reds and suspensions,..."

That sounds like a tactical move, not a protest. I agree with number 2's comments justifying removing one's team over concerns of violence. What the Loma's did was self-serving and unsportsmanlike. If the first two reds were as justified as has been stated then they have no one to blame but themselves. they also have a cheek to complain about the third. A referee can hardly be blamed for issuing a third red card for a late tackle. People complain about refs not taking control of a game but how much colour would the lomas need to see before they get the message?

 

[sensei_hanson]

keeper

Please. You want to give some of the teams in the lower mainland free reign when it comes to methods of protesting referee's decisions?

Why stop at scoring bags of goals on your own net, or walking off the pitch? Why not give the referee a right ol' kicking in the parking lot? It gets the point across and chances are if you hurt him badly enough, he'll think twice about stitching your team next time around. Works for the mafia. They usually bypass the written appeal process as well.

"Protest how you best think to get your point across." - Holy shite man, have you lost it? Have you heard or seen some of the idiotic zealots who pace the sidelines every Sunday? I highly doubt you would encourage any of them to get their point across to the referee by any means necessary. Believe it or not, lots of people out there don't really bode well with the idea of peaceful protest.

As for the incident on the week-end, it is not so much the action I take issue with, but the lack of awareness to the damage it might cause in the long run. It's all fine and dandy to make a big statement when you feel you've been wronged, but in a league known for its shoddy decision-making, I fail to understand why you'd place a team, or an entire club, in this kind of situation. Instead of missing three players for one or two games each, you now have to deal with monetary fines, possible loss of points and a big blackballing by officials and executives for the remainder of the year.

Again, you don't really take all this into consideration when you're steamed and looking to get even. But it's worth considering now, innit?

 

[NO2]

Due to injury I had the pleasure of watching this game from the sidelines. The referee made handed out three reds when he maybe should've given one red and two cautions. I thought our guys were playing very well with nine, but after the third red was given our coach called it. Most of the players wanted to continue, but there was a few who took off thier uniform's and walked off the field. You would think after one questionable red was given a referee would be a bit more lenient in his future calls.

I don't think there was any chance of this game turning ugly, ST seemed to handle it very well. I don't think we should've walked off the field, it shows little class and accomplishes nothing for us.

We got a lot of work to do and have to somehow turn this dismal season around.

I heard the league can take away points. Does anybody know if this is true or not?

No2

 

[Jinky]

It will probably depend on the Referee's report.

Good thing he likes you guys so much. For your sake I hope he isn't on TTP.

 

[number2]

..and one Club I player was coldcokced, splitting his eye badly.

FYi, this is what I was refering to as violent. But I agree it probably stems from bad reffing.

Here's a thought though for those of you who have ever played in the Richmond Summer League. Just think of how many games you could have walked away from based on bad reffing. Think 'Dante'.