Are we testosterone fuelled monsters and a danger to each other?

Interesting post on the Illawarra Football Supporters forum about referees in IAFA competitions and their tolerance of rough play.

The person who started the thread:

"I went to a p.league game on sunday for the first time in a while and was very impressed by refereeing in both games. In particular, how they did not tolerate even the hint of a late challenge. A foul was given for anything that was a touch late or mistimed, and cards for really mistimed or cynical challenges. The result: good games where the ball was knocked around and the game flowed.

"Got me thinking about a few things. The refs in these games were protecting the players really well in not allowing any contact where the ankles etc were even accidently hit - this has to be a good thing for the players health. Why is it in our iafa leagues that so much contact is allowed?

"Players are in the twilight of their 'careers' and just want to go out for a kick - but every week you hear about games where people turn up to kick the crap out of each other to the point just short of having the cops called. And this is from guys with wives, kids who are often an injury away from calling it quits.

"Possible answers? Okay, the first obvious answer is the quality of refs, but i think there is more to it. I would argue that there is a difference of mindset. The mindset of iafa games is that 'contact is okay as long as you are going for the ball' - if you really mistime it or hurt the other player then maybe a foul will be given.
"I think the starting point should be - 'you should not make contact with other players' - contact is deemed not to be a foul when the challenge is 50-50 and you make contact with the ball FIRST, you are shoulder to shoulder in challenging for possession etc. So even though our quality of reffing will inevitably be lower (just as our play is), if we had a mindset of - protect the health safety of players by first assuming contact is not okay, then even if the reffing is not that good and there is a number of bad calls, at least players will have their ankles intact. And if the ref's promote the mindset of not allowing contact, eventually the players will adjust their play and the game will flow. Who knows, maybe people won't turn up to try and kill each other either.
"Anyway does anyone else care? Just nearly at the point of calling it a day whilst the body is mostly intact due to the general hacking that is tolerated in our league."


A referee responded:

"So far I have not seen a ref make a bad tackle.
The mindset is not that refs let players kick each other because it is amateur league. The players have to expect contact and the refs can only react to events. Some parts of refereeing are pro-active, but as far as late tackles go refs are reactive.

"The onus is on the players not to make bad tackles, so if you feel "there is a problem with late tackles take it up with the IAFA and stop blaming referees. You can say that referees are not to standard, but neither are the players.

"You have one official at a game trying to control the players, the crowd and do most of the AR's job. How about some teams take a bit of the load of the referees by actually presenting the referee with the team sheet(filled in properly) and money before the game and have 2 AR's who know what they are doing. How about doing the interchange properly from the halfway line during a break in play after getting the okay from the referee.

"And why not treat the referees with respect, there is no way refs make as many mistakes as players do.

"If teams want better officials they will need to pay more, this will include paying for 2 AR's and a 4th official. Premier league refs also have coaching and training sessions, and get directives on which types of play to keep their eye on.

"Last of all, if a ref makes a bad or wrong decision, laugh it off, you are supposed to be having fun."


The intial poster responds:
"I'm not trying to bag the quality of refereeing, i'm just trying to promote discussion for ways of improving the league. Generally most people are here for a social kick, but i think for a social comp which has absolutely no meaning, there is far too much physicality and thuggery.

" As you say, the ref's role is somewhat reactive, but often the reaction comes 60mins into a game at a point where tempers have already reached boiling point. My argument was that if we try to eliminate the contact that is just seen to be 'part of the league' then there would be less aggro and less injuries and better football. If the perception of what contact is allowable was changed across the league, then regardless of the quality of refereeing, the game would improve. I do realise that there is an element of circularity in this arguement: it takes quality refereeing to change the perception etc

And finally, another responds

"Too many of us forget to leave the tostesterone off the field. Yes it is a contact sport, but it is supposed to be a legal contact sport. If we get bumped, or pushed and the other guy apologises we generally get on with the game.

"If we get hit and there's no apology, we think "bastard I'll get him" and generally want to take things into our own hands. It's part of our "male" make up. I'll hold my hand up and say I have lost my rag over the years, but by the same token I've also apologised a lot for mistimed challenges.

"I have played many a good game where contact was hardly needed or even used. We played the ball and both teams enjoy those games. Dont get me wrong, you dont need take the contact out of the game, but let's make sure it's legal or at least show the guy when it was unintentional. We should be past the stage of trying to prove ourself on the field by kicking the crap out of players we don't like."

I'd be interested to hear from the newcomers if the game is more or less physical than they were expecting.