A youth team in Huntingdonshire has set a positive example by dealing with disrespect shown towards a 14-year-old referee.
At the end of an U11 match recently, an official from a team in Little Paxton was heard openly criticising the referee for his performance. This criticism was heard by a local Referee Assessor who subsequently submitted a report to the Huntingdonshire FA and the club was charged with misconduct.
Upon receiving the charge, the club chairman and secretary sent a letter of apology to the referee in question and a letter to their club officials, reminding them of their responsibilities and the importance of The FA's Respect programme.
Below are extracts from each letter:
Letter to Club Managers/Coaches:
"I would like to stress to all managers at all age groups that all forms of disrespect cannot be tolerated. This incident is made all the worse, because it was said to a group of 11-year-olds who now have the impression that it is okay to question and disrespect the referee. As managers and coaches you all have a responsibility to teach the youth in your teams to respect officials. If managers on the sidelines are barracking the refs, the players will do the same.
Managers are reminded that you must not publically question the Referee whether he/she is official or just a club manager. We must take full responsibility for our players and your spectators. Any player disrespecting the ref should be taken off. Any parent that shows disrespect to the ref should be asked to go away from the touchline. This also applies to disrespecting the linesman.
Every year the FA loses referees due to touchline incidents and barracking. Without refs there can be no game."
Letter to Referee:
"I was very upset to hear of the charge raised against the colts for bringing the game into disrepute.
As club chairman and a Hunts referee I would like to offer my sincere apology for the action of one of our team management.
It has been made clear to all three [team managers] the seriousness of the situation and they have been told that the club will withdraw support to any manager that brings the game into disrepute or disrespects any referee or other official. All have been re-issued with a copy of the Charter Standard Code of Conduct for managers and players.
Either myself or the Club Secretary will aim to be present at all home games and as many away games as is possible. As a Club we are committed to the 'Respect' initiative, and will do everything possible to install this to our players."
For further information on the Respect programme, please click here.
