I'm not the ref actually......

One of the most bizarre football matches I've seen in 10+ years of junior football. Two lovely teams of eager 13 year olds but a very odd referee. Giving a goal that was so clearly not over the line that neither team could quite believe it, ignoring his own linesman's judgement, giving 5 penalties then randomly disallowing one, booking 5 of our players (we never have players booked, we coach them to respect the ref and play fair). Players confused to be given throw-ins that clearly should have been awarded to the other team. Finally all the boys rallied and when it was clear that a combination of exceptionally strange refereeing decisions meant we had no chance of winning they started smiling and laughing as if they all knew this would be a match to remember, just not for the quality of the footballing.

So, here's my beginners guide to refereeing.... to remind us of this strange footballing experience.

And every cloud for a Cup Match lost has that silver lining of an unexpectedly free Sunday afternoon :-)