Posted 06 May 2012 - 03:07 PM
It really pains me to have to post this. Celtic Harps were absolutely robbed yesterday by an irresponsible referee.
I don't usually make a poor refereeing decision the focus of my game analysis. Bad decisions happen. They are part of the game. Sometimes, we have to deal with lazy referees, and I do vent about referees that don't work hard.
What happened yesterday was shameful. We were beating Platinum 1-0 with five minutes to go in the game. The center ref reversed the call of the asst. ref and gave Platinum a throw in next to the penalty area. When the ball was put in play, he blows his whistle and runs to the spot. It was unbelievable. No one protested and called for a penalty. None of their parents on the touchline called for anything. When he blew the whistle, it was a shock to everybody that a foul had even occurred. One of their forward backed into one of my backs. My girl put her hands up to brace against it. That girl was not in a threatening position and the goal was not being attacked. The forward did not ask for a call. It was not a foul.
It was so blatantly wrong. It was as if he wanted to make the call so that he could be the center of attention; so that he could be the story of the game. It was ugly.
The girl makes her kick. Shortly afterwards, one of my girls gets tackled in the penalty area. From the side. It sure looked like a foul to me, and if this guy had any common sense or a sense of fairness, he would've given us the chance to win. Nothing. Next minute, the sweeper has her arm out in an unnatural position and clearly handles the ball on a shot in the area. Nothing. It was absolutely disgusting.
We gave up a late goal in the first overtime. Our girls swarmed the penalty area but could not deliver the equalizer. But it never should've come to that.
We had a fundraiser last night at Dale Brothers Brewery. Let me tell you, we were all gutted. We all felt violated, and the beer didn't sooth the pain. I still feel hazy, and not from my hangover. My girls should be getting their final instructions right now as we should be minutes away from the State Cup final with a chance to go to Denver.
Right after the game, my assistant's daughter walked up to the ref and called him an asshole. Red card. Rancho United's daughter then went up and started blasting away at him, dropping F bombs and had to be restrained by a teammate. I don't condone that kind of behavior from my girls, but let me tell you--it was entirely justified and neither girl will be disciplined. The referee's behavior at the 75th minute was more unseemly than anything the girls did after the game.
Afterwards, Rancho United had to go with the refs to sign the game card and deal with the red cards. He calmly spoke to the ref and told him something like, "You and I both know that there was no foul." Etc. He told him that what he did was unforgivable and unjustifiable. He was basically telling him to look into his soul and determine why he did what he did, as he ruined a perfectly good and clean game and ruined a perfectly wonderful opportunity for the girls to experience a final and a chance to represent the region. And if this is his character, and he is going to continue reffing, he needs to consider his intentions. And I don't think this talk was out of bounds. Something had to be said. Seriously, the only way that call could've been made was so that he could be the center of attention. Then, he got stubborn and defiant and didn't make obvious calls because he was going to get his way so that he wouldn't appear to be wavering from his decision and making this right. I can not in any way imagine why things happened the way they did unless this is why. It was so unfair.
So, our run was ended in an unjust way. If you've been reading, you know that when my girls lose to a better team, or lose because of poor play, or whatever, I say so. I'm honest about it. My girls didn't play the perfect game. They didn't finish off the game as best they could, they didn't create enough chances and missed a couple of good chances, and our forwards don't consistently hold possession well enough. Fine. We were going to work on those things anyway. But, they did enough to win. And overall, our soccer was more beautiful.
We will have to move on. I have to move on. But I really don't think I will ever be able to bury this.