Basically a red card for spectators. Not sure why it is black.
Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
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Re: Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
#32Basically a red card for spectators. Not sure why it is black.
Did you read the article? The card stops play and can be used to end the match if abuse continues.
Re: Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
#33> The black card being brandished will be the final part of a three-step process. In the first instance, the referee will temporarily suspend the match and ask coaches to speak directly to its team’s supporters and parents, while an announcement will also be communicated to supporters should a public address system be available. > Should the behaviour continue, the referee will suspend the match for 10 minutes and se…
If it's anything like the UK then it's likely the games are played in a public space like a park, so it might not be possible to eject the parent.
I remember a parent being "ejected" when I was younger. Technically, they didn't "have to leave", but social pressure is enough for them to recognize they should leave the situation.
* All of the parents already know who the abusive parent is
* The first warning was the coach talking to the "entire group" (at a natural stopping point). The group dialed it back (there will always be some controversial calls), but that one parent didn't get the message.
* Finally, the game stopped suddenly (ball was in play, but in a neutral position) and they we're directly addressed by the ref.
This caught the abusers attention. This was an abnormal event. They were being addressed directly. Whether they realized they were the problem, they certainly recognized the social pressure. They recognized how embarrassing it was (sadly, they probably didn't realize how embarrassing it was for their kid) and decided to take the ref's suggestion to cool down.
Re: Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
If it's anything like the UK then it's likely the games are played in a public space like a park, so it might not be possible to eject the parent.
I don't buy it. You can kick someone out of a park for not following the rules of the park. The refs just need to be empowered.
You don't need any real legal basis. We're talking about kids sporting events. Social pressure is often enough.
You don't want to be the reason your kids team lost. You don't want your kid getting kicked of their team for your behavior.
Re: Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
#35Result is a permanent cancellation? Does that mean the match is nullified or the winner at the time wins? Either way, one team could draw a strategic black card. Seems like cancellation of the match is not the correct outcome. What about penalizing the harassing team? A red card result for the team (down a player for the next game). This seems like an odd way to handle abusive behavior from parents. Abandoning the current game may be good if parents are behaving that way, but there needs to be a serious consequence for the parent's team too. Otherwise it will just be another tool.
Re: Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the US, only the youngest games have teenage refs (U10 and younger). And even then, it is only common in the lower competitive tiers. Competitive travel/select league games generally have adult refs (national and regional leagues). The money is pretty decent for two hours of work (and you can work games back to back to back).
Your comment implies the youth refs are the exception, but the VAST majority of play are at these lower competitive levels, and it is FAR more common to have youth or inexperienced refs than otherwise.
I’m saying that when you get to have games involving kids older than 10, that having teenage refs is more uncommon.
In my area, there are a number of leagues. Only one has a large number of teenagers in the ref pool and they only are center refs for the youngest players. For the more competitive leagues, you almost never have a ref crew made up of only teenagers. Here, young refs are generally protected by having older refs as part of the crew. There is a whole system behind referee scheduling that most people don’t know about.
(Also, this about soccer in the US, I have no idea how other sports schedule their officials)
Re: Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
#37I wonder how would this work in terms of fairness to the team that's likely to win. If a match is abandoned, what does it mean for progressing in a tournament, etc. Could there be a perverse incentive to cause a black card to abort a lost game? I'm sure this has all been thought through, but the article doesn't seem to say anything about it.
I would assume it’s treated as if the team of the offending parent has abandoned the match.
This makes more sense. Automatic loss for the offending parent.
Re: Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
#38Result is a permanent cancellation? Does that mean the match is nullified or the winner at the time wins? Either way, one team could draw a strategic black card. Seems like cancellation of the match is not the correct outcome. What about penalizing the harassing team? A red card result for the team (down a player for the next game). This seems like an odd way to handle abusive behavior from parents. Abandoning the cu…
For other kinds of match cancellations with an offending party (example: having too many players sent off), the offending party automatically loses.
I expect it to be the same here, with the referee deciding who the offending party is.
Re: Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
#39> The black card being brandished will be the final part of a three-step process. In the first instance, the referee will temporarily suspend the match and ask coaches to speak directly to its team’s supporters and parents, while an announcement will also be communicated to supporters should a public address system be available. > Should the behaviour continue, the referee will suspend the match for 10 minutes and se…
> Why is the remedy not simply ejecting the offenders?
Because if the situation is so heated up to warrant an abort, you'd need security staff or even riot police to yeet the offenders.
And no, I'm not joking. Private security staff ain't gonna break up a mob of 40 people bashing each others' heads in [1], and when it's 70 people involved [2], you gotta pray that they've KO'd each other out because even riot cops won't break up a fight club that large.
[1] https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/heilbronn/m...
[2] https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/erlangen-massenschlaege...
Re: Romania soccer introduces black card to 'combat abusive behaviour' from parents
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would assume it’s treated as if the team of the offending parent has abandoned the match.
This makes more sense. Automatic loss for the offending parent.
In which case, abusive parents can use the rule to retaliate against their children. Never define a rule that gives bad actors power to dictate policy. (Note: this criticism doesn't seem to apply to the actual rule.)