With more players on the field than fans in the stands. It’s crazy.

Are you serious? Like is that a legitimate statement? Are you 100% saying that with two soccer balls on the field it does not affect players whatsoever? Have you played sports before? Surely this is sarcasm

@@erichighsmith As a Regional Assessor w/ 22 yrs of HS & USSF experience .....GREAT explanation of the situation and call!!!

@@alexcardenas1795 Thank you, Alex!

@@liammcgowen6530 Not sure why my previous reply to you has disappeared, but in any case, other comments have made clear that the Laws specifically say play is only to be stopped if the ball is interfering with play.

@@liammcgowen6530 you do not know the Laws. The outside agent, in this case the ball, must interfere with play. So the above commenter is correct. The video does not show us “where” the second ball was on the pitch so we have no way of interpreting this situation. But the Coach on the pitch confronting match official = automatic Red. The parent on sideline continuously cursing = automatic send off. The officials were weak.

Thanks Bob..

it was a cold night!! LOL

yes, high school admins have now seen the video

These are the moments I wish we (refs) could stop the game and get out the laws of the game and read it to them..

I am really enjoying reading your book.

@@toeto-tube3904 Thanks so much .. others can find it at www.teensoccerreferee.com

@@MrTonysoyyo they could read them till they were blue in the face. The simple fact is that the average person has no idea how to interpret the rules and have no clue what game management is. They think they know the rules because they watch the EPL or other pro league and that is how they do it.

it was a cold night

yes, there has been a big discussion, locally about that. This is one of the top referees in the area, this was the last 2 minutes of a "hot" game and this coach had not been a problem before in the match. Many of us feel that either red or yellow is supported, based on the wide discretion given the referee in this situation and the facts of the game that the referee was aware of at that moment.

@@BenGlass yes, I know the center referee very well

@@BenGlassplease direct the official to law 12.3 under Team Officials and Sending-off: “entering the field of play to: • confront a match official (including at half-time and full-time)” This is always a red card, there is no discretion permitted under the LoTG here.

this was a NFHS game, but I do think the answer is the same, at least under the rules today @@snowsnoot

My son once had a Coach that said that the players job was to work hard so the referee did not have to make close decisions.

we do know they had a new coaching staff the next season

@@BenGlass Good. Hopefully those coaches blame losses on the team for not playing good enough instead of the officials who are doing their job correctly

Return greetings from Minnesota. 99% of USA Americans (look it up) don't know the infield fly rule so I'm skeptical of your claim. . I referred 240 hockey games last season and parents and coaches have lost their minds. Glad you're over our nations' 18th century dustup. Thank you for Churchill holding off the Nazis alone for so long and thanks for Maggie too.

@@mattmiller4301 Heh heh, another sceptic 🙂 "Umpire's finger to the sky - infield fly!" To prevent a sneaky fielder "accidentally" missing an easy catch and thus forcing base runners to advance thereby giving a chance of a more advantageous OUT or even a double play. When TV here in the UK were allowed to broadcast 24 hours back in the mid to late 1980's, some TV channels struggled to fill the schedule and would buy whatever they could get. Consequently sports fans like myself were treated to sports from the US for several years, eg College football, MLB, etc. Setting the VCR to record from 4am to 6am became a ritual. I think the 1984 Orange Bowl (Miami - Nebraska) was the highlight of that happy time, best game I ever watched. Whilst on a vacation to IL & WI, I did briefly visit MN. For about 45 mins so very brief! Crossed the river from La Crosse WI to see some serious civil engineering at Lock & Dam #7 on the Mississippi.

Yes, but those wonderful UK adult citizens who are so superior to the rest of the world and know the laws still subject the referees to dogs abuse. I won't even mention boozing and smoking on the sidelines and the loud, boorish behavior.

@@Bill67604 I cant argue with you Bill, it's sadly true. That's why I wouldn't dream of officiating "soccer" here in the UK. Much prefer being on the gridiron and officiating "American Football". When it started being played in the UK in the mid 1980's, our officiating organisation decided we wouldnt take the soccer levels of abuse. We had lively early years with lots of ejections, then the players & coaches got the message. I think I've only thrown one guy out of a game this century!

the problem is that even if the parents read the laws of the game cover to cover, most of them lack the ability to interpret those laws and have no clue what game management is. They think because they watch the EPL they know all the rules while failing to understand that youth rules are different as well as high school under NFHS is another rule book.

Brotha get a life please. You spend your free time commenting on a kids high school sport. Please find some fun in life

@@sammywinslow658 Said the guy who’s trolling in replies😂 Are you a WSHS parent or player? Do you hate youth sports so much that you fish through KZfaq to make comments like this?Before you tell others to get a life, brotha, perhaps you should remove the plank from your own eye.

@@sammywinslow658 first, thanks for commenting. I do have fun and I do have a life. First as a player (including a national championship at the U19 level, then college scholarship at a D -1 school for soccer), then a coach of many youth teams over the years. When I was your age (your profile says you are 16) I started refereeing, so I've got almost 50 years of that experience under my belt. In addition to still refereeing, I mentor young referees and have written a book just for teenagers who want to be able to referee but have to deal with the abusive nonsense that far too often goes on during games. Oh, and I've started and run two businesses. So, there you go. A life. There are a bunch of us out here who really like the game. We've gotten a lot from it and now we are out to protect it so that guys like you can continue to play it. Think the game will still go on if referees continue to quit in record numbers because of the abuse? Think again. We are protecting it for you - from adults like those shown in the video who are trying to destroy it with their verbal abuse. Again, thanks for watching. I assume you are a player. My friends and I would invite you to join us, either now or when your playing days are over, as a referee. As I've said in other comments, the kids/players in this game were not the problem.

Any update on the admins response?

@@kevindesai3176 nothing public that we have heard... apparently none of the other spring sports coaches at W. Springfield were even aware of the incident/video...so no mass messaging...from what we have heard and seen

we agree... way too easily affected by referee decisions...they let it ruin their night... interestingly, as far as we have been able to determine, the school issued no discipline from the events of this game... we find that amazing.

@@BenGlass I don't find that amazing at all. Unfortunately the trend is for school admins to not support their teachers on discipline in the classroom, why would they support the referees who are an independent 3rd party? It is sad that they don't as we could fix a majority of the issues in schools today of they would grow a spine and enforce discipline. The best time I had as an official (ice hockey & soccer) was during covid. There were no parents there to cause issues. The kids played to have fun and the coaches coached with no pressure. The moment the parents returned so did the tension...

You are exactly right. This is very challenging game in large part because of the parents. Do you know how this happens? One parent starts chipping and then the others join in. Didn’t help that the coach ran on the field and that the assistant coach ran down the line to try to teach the assistant referee something. Neither coach returned next season.

Sometimes!

not sure about the yellow for the player. it would depend upon the temp of the game. While I doubt it was the first foul of the game, it may not have been warranted if the game was low key up to that point. Sometimes a quick "knock it off" does as good of a job. I wasn't there so it is mere supposition.

A referee with background experience in playing can easily read the temperature of the game from the beginning. Especially when players start with high intensity. It is recommended to study the teams and know their stats to have an idea what to expect and how manage the game. You can’t have coaches coming on to the field without the referees permission. That’s a straight red. Also, can’t have parents using abusive language on school property regardless of the poor performance from the referee. It should be taken care of. Idk the result of the game, but I see a lot of issues that could’ve been prevented with a strong pregame talk from the ref with ARs.

The thing is that we have college coaches tell us that sometimes they will not recruit a kid because that kid comes with a parent who is trouble. At these college showcases the coaches are not just watching the players.

hope you are well.. there is still work to be done

search for "two balls on the field" video

Yes, it’s clearer now under direction from the Virginia high school league for 2024 that this is an automatic red card.

Bitchmade

your kid’s sports teams must suck eh?

the kids playing the game were great..

@@BenGlass yep they were.

@@BenGlass my question is why you would break down and post the Nfhs video with your commentary. You very clearly demonstrate these kids were not prepared for this play in order to help justify your call. In doing so you are belittling them which doesn’t seem right to me.

@@Soccer-nm9xh we had a lot of requests for context. The commentary is fair.

Your hairline is embarrassing

It was a challenging evening to say the least. They did not appear to be any post match discipline to the coaches however, neither was on the roster the next year.

we agree, which is why we'll keep posting videos until the behavior changes

@@BenGlass i will be more then happy to have you record a game I'm be centering.

or,I'll be your AR! @@netherking3622

@@BenGlass in order to be an ar you still have to be certified. I would like to see how it is when you record a game i center. hopefull it would be a good game.

starting my 50th year this spring. .. still certified and going strong!@@netherking3622

explain what you think they were right about and explain how using profanity at match officials is OK.. thanks

Actually, those of us who are concerned about the state of youth sports have tried that tactic (talking to the screamers) many times.. to no avail.... we have found that when High School principals and athletic directors view videos like this (taken in a public place, this was no 'hidden video' trick, so nothing creepy there) and then identify and ban from games those who are embarrassing both the school and their children, things change. When high school principals and athletic leagues suspend coaches, things change. Happy to have a discussion with you, "Mr anonymous." Let's do it on video. I'll give you a chance to say anything you want and we can have a rational discussion about behavior at youth and high school sports in general, or this game, in specific.

If you don't want to be recorded acting like an idiot in public, don't act like an idiot in public. Consent has nothing to do with it.

@@BenGlass y would we need to have a rational discussion on behavior when there was nothing irrational stated. U mean your unconsensual recording that will hopefully bring awareness to schools, parents etc but will most likely do more damage to the kids already humiliated. Think of the overall picture before u go posting for one more subscriber.

@@user-fy1tj8sj8f Let me guess: You were the guy on the fence?

@@erichighsmith He joined youtube 1 day after the video was posted....🧐 I agree with your guess.

Soccer is a perfectly acceptable word. “Side judge” is way off.

You’re embarrassing. Grow a pair and stop being a weanie

Hi Liam.. thanks for watching and commenting. I also looked at your highlight video on your KZfaq profile. You are a good player with a future. I'm sure that by now you've seen the second video we posted, the one with the game film of the incident. Yes, there was a second ball on the field but no one was playing with 2 balls...and no defender was paying any attention to that ball. The second ball made no difference on the goal, which was scored because the attackers knew there was no need to wait for a 'second whistle.' The GK was way to his right trying to set up a wall (that never got set up, according to the video) thus leaving the entire goal open. Several defenders have their backs to the kicker. Perhaps the decision would have been different had the blue team played the free kick into the penalty area to another attacker. Then we can have a discussion. But the rules ask: did the outside agent make a difference in what happened on the field. The entire referee team (who, if you noticed, were wearing electronic communication devices) said "no, not this time." As we said somewhere else in one of these comments, the WS players were good about it... it is the spectators (and coaches who run on the field to dispute referee decisions) that referees have a big problem with. Many of us think it is destroying the youth and high school game. There is a huge national shortage of referees. By the way, I don't know if you are a referee or not but I'd ask you to consider becoming one, if not now, then when your competitive playing days are over. The world needs good people like you, who are keen on the game, to stay involved, promote good sportsmanship and promote the game as a whole.

Liam, thank you for editing your comment. As a parent of three students that graduated from WSHS, I am horrified by this incident. You should be concerned about how your coaches and parents our destroying the reputation of our good school and its administrators. Elsewhere on social media, I have seen a mom from Oklahoma (!) trying to organize an email campaign to get Mr. Mukai fired. That is how outraged people are by this incident. The referees were correct in their decision which led to this irresponsible behavior. But before I explain why they were correct, I will tell you my credentials. I have played soccer for over 50 years. I have been a referee for 20 years and have coached for even longer. I’ve been a certified referee instructor and mentor for 13 years. I have refereed everything from little U9‘s all the way up to U.S. Open Cup matches. It is likely that I have been your referee before as I have worked an average of 300 matches every year since moving to Virginia in 2006. I would easily be certified in a court of law as an expert witness on the Laws of the Game. There is nothing in the high school rules that specifically cover the situation in your match, so then we should look to the Laws of the Game for an answer. In the Laws, you will find that play is stopped for an outside agent, the ball in this situation, only when it interferes with play. If you watch the related video that shows what happened, the second fall does not interfere with play. It is at least 30 yards away from where the ball was being set for the direct free kick. You can see in the related video (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aMWVjdSd3p2uc2g.html) that all of your teammates are focused on the side of the field where the ball is and are not looking at the outside agent. Furthermore, a Fairfax player is holding the ball in their hands, which is plainly taking the ball out of play. For an outside agent to be interfering with play, it needs to be in much closer proximity to the ball, if not actually touch it. There is nothing even remotely like that in this situation. Think about what would happen if we followed the rule application as you are arguing for it. People would be throwing second balls onto the field anytime there was a promising attack or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and, by your rule, play would have to be stopped even if the second ball was 100 yards away. That doesn’t make any sense at all. But let’s be clear: Even if the referees were completely wrong, that would not excuse or justify what is shown in this video. This is not getting mad. This is a level of insanity that should *never* happen at a youth sporting event. This type of irresponsible and unreasonable behavior is ruining youth sports and driving away referees to the point where matches can’t happen because there is no referee. In Virginia alone, the number of referees we have is down 50% over the past year. It is incidents like this that make it almost impossible for us to retain and recruit referees. If you are honestly concerned about the quality of refereeing that you experience, you and your teammates should sign up for the next referee class (www.vadcsoccerref.com/become-a-referee). Help us make a difference in the game. We need young players with your experience to become referees for youth soccer to survive. You can make $25-35 an hour in the beginning and set your own hours. Help us ensure that this game that we love can continue.