I do not think that referee abuse is anything new, it has been around since the beginning of time. However, what has been happening lately is that is instead of being tolerated, it is getting reported and dealt with by the referees and the respective LAU Disciplinary Chairs, which is a GOOD thing!

To answer your question on how we "get in front of the issue":
1) Do NOT tolerate it. At the first instance of abuse from a player, stop the game and deal with the player with a warning and/or a card. Make sure his captain and coach are part of the conversation.

2) Report the incident in detail on your game report. ALSO, advise me via email. I will make sure that the Met NY Disciplinary Chairman (Mike Freker) and the club/player(s) involved know that we are aware of the incident and have asked the Met NY DC to act on it. Anyone who knows me knows I WILL follow up on it.

3) As stated in the recent email that was sent on this, you can and should card a player, but you cannot card a coach or spectator. What you CAN do is stop the game, and instruct those folks to stop the silliness. If it continues, stop the game again and tell them to leave the playing enclosure. In both cases, advise the captain (and coach if the person in question is a player on the sideline or spectator) of your actions and that the game will not continue until they shape up or are gone.

Make sure to report the incident in your game report to the society. Even if there is no card issued, I will still make the Disc Chair is aware of the incident and he may decide to take action anyway.

Everyone who has refereed has different tolerance levels for this sort of nonsense. The bottom line is no one's enjoyment of the game should be compromised by these dimwits and the above steps should be your guide in how to deal with it.

I will be sending a copy of this to the Met Union Website Manager, Chris Page, who will post it on the site, so all the clubs know about it and cannot plead ignorance.

I for one don't like the trend. I think we need to get put in front of this one. Any ideas how?
XXXX

 Subject:        Minimum Requirements for Clubs

Hello Again:

While we are on the subject of minimum field requirements, here are a few more items that the club (and the referee) should be addressing when confirming the match.  None of this stuff is new, and I am certain I have addressed it before, but for the sake of the newer admins (esp the colleges) here goes…..

• Clubs should contact the scheduled ref no later than Tuesday Noon.  If you have mid week games, contact must be made at least 72 hours in advance.   If you do not hear back the ref, contact TA Fitzpatrick (tafits@aol.com) and copy me.  Late night calls to my house (after 9:30PM) will get my son cussing you out in Korean or my wife (in English).   We don't take rugby calls after 9:30.   Email is fine.
   

  Failure to contact the ref may result in the loss of that ref for that weekend.  Failure of a club to contact the scheduled ref on three occasions will be noted in the master schedule and that club will lose any referee privileges until they learn how to contact their referees .
   

• When contacting the referee, make sure you exchange cell phone numbers (99.9% of you have 'em).   This way if the ref gets stuck in traffic or something comes up on the club end, you can contact each other ASAP.  With the cell phone age, there is no excuse for non communication.
   
• Referees should arrive early enough to check the field, check the boots and meet with both teams.  Any field issues the ref deems as unsatisfactory must be dealt with then.
   
• Make sure the refs gets his/her expenses BEFORE the game.   No one is going to think a "fix" is in.  Also, sometimes clubs forget to settle up after the game and sometimes the ref forgets to ask.   Also make sure the ref gets a place to change/shower (if available) and has directions to the party.
   
• . REFEREE FEEDBACK - If you have a comment or issue with a referee, there is a comment form you can fill out.  I have attached a copy and will see if we can put it on our website.
  
  IF YOU ARE A HIGH SCHOOL - Send the form to Lex Maccubbin, who will send it to me.