I was expecting to write a nice piece on tonight's championship match between Little Sasquatch and Bruno at the Corvallis Sports park. But instead I find myself compelled to scold the Park and the game's referees.
Hold on. Its not what you think.
Bruno's regular keeper was out of town so Bruno could either place a field player in the net or arrange for a keeper that was actually competent to play. The repercussion of bringing on a new keeper for the championship would be a forfeit. Players must have played in a previous match with a team to be eligible to play in the in the final. A fair rule in my opinion. Bruno arranged for an ineligible keeper to play, deciding that a competitive match would be more valuable for both sides.
Little Sasquatch couldn't have cared less about the ineligible goalkeeper to their credit. Both teams played at full throttle without any concern for the technical forfeit. After two hard fought and combative halves the score was tied at 5-5.
Little Sasquatch wanted to determine a winner in overtime. Bruno wanted to determine a winner in overtime. The people upstairs that came to watch the game wanted a winner to be determined in overtime.
The referees decided that the game was over. Thats right...like kissing your sister.
What a bad decision. How little effort it would have taken to make both teams...or should I say the Park's customers happy. I suppose referees may have wanted to hurry home to catch the finale of So You Think You Can Dance. Oi-yoi-yoi.
As the Corvallis Sports Park's customer facing representatives, those two referees failed. Who did they make happy? Whose interests did they serve?
While I'm ranting I'm going to point out that one of the referees completely failed to properly dress himself to officiate. The guilty referee wore ankle socks and his referee shirt carelessly hung out of his shorts like he was just in a fight. If you dress like a clown you can expect to be treated like a clown. If you want to be treated like a soccer official dress like one. All this referee was missing was a clown nose and big red shoes.
Hopefully somebody involved with CSP who cares reads this. The solution in my opinion is for CSP to emphasize to the referees that they are the business' primary customer service agents, how important that responsibility is to the business, and empower the referees to fulfil that role.
What do you think? Share your comments with us.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Posted by Loyan |
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Labels: Corvallis, Corvallis Sports Park, indoor, soccer
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9 comments
I agree. I was completely gased with only one sub, but wanted to keep going. Both teams played well and took the game seriously. I also heard the refs make a couple comments about how we should all calm down (during game) because bruno forfeited the game, and it doesn't mean anything. Like you say, it is more about what the customers wanted and not refs taking a game off. We are all very competative, but for most of us it comes down to enjoying a game of great soccer not a title.
Well, in general Bruno does need to calm down. But its sad that the refs didn't treat the contest like a championship match. Everyone else did. They did a good job of getting in the way of a fun game.
Thanks for the feedback regarding the officiating last night for the forfeit championship match. I'm sorry that you and others may have been disappointed that the tie was not played out; however, Bruno did concede the game before starting, so we already had a winner. Perhaps the tie was anticlimatic. The ref sees the tie as a balanced result, possibly indicative of maintaining a fair game. After calling 35+ fouls in 48 minutes(Bruno=28), we feel a sense of accomplishment. Why ruin the mystery of who the real champions may be, when we can leave it as "to be continued..."? If Bruno wanted a winner, I'm surprised a rostered player couldn't step up to GK instead of having to forfeit by inviting JC.
As far as calling us clowns in our attire goes, I want to thank you for your criticism. You are right, no doubt. Professionalism is something that every new referee learns over time.
One last thing: its hard enough to do the job, especially with the characters that were in the arena last night. Do you need to be degrading to us electronicly as well? Sorry to miss your expectation (as usual), but we're trying as hard as we can to provide that excellence in customer service.
We are easy targets, blogger. Take your best shot.
Scott
Scott, thank you for your comment. I applaud you for becoming engaged rather than simply turning a blind eye.
I think we could both agree that both teams wanted to continue the game in OT and if needed PKs. Ending the game may have served the officals (employees) sense of fairness or drama. Here it is in a nutshell:
Ending the game did not serve the interests of the players (customers).
I do not intend to use this blog as a forum to degrade anyone. I offer over a hundred posts as evidence of that. Im not taking shots at anyone.
I think the issue of referees viewing themselves as service employees to be very relevant and important at CSP. This event offered a good chance to address that issue.
Im very glad we agree on the importance of proper attire. Failing to to be properly dressed for work is excusable only if you work at Stars!
Darn! If the Sasquach gk had not been so lucky in almost heading the ball into his own net with 2 seconds to go, most of this would not even be an issue!
Seriously, though. I think all of us want to play to the end every chance we get, and when I was relaxing upstairs after the game, I even said that I would have wanted to continue if given the opportunity. But quite frankly, when the game ended I didn't even think about additional playing time since it was a frofiet. Bruno forfieted two games with us this season, and I actually don't really care. This is summer league, which is more of a kick-back time anyway. I have to admit, that having JC in the goal made the game a lot more exciting. Great saves, and hustle, but the bottom line is that not playing extra time was the correct choice, estpecially with other teams waiting to play. Part of the consequence of a forfiet.
That was one fun game, and I look forward to playing Bruno for a real championship in 8 weeks, if we are fortunate enough to have that opportunity.
As far as the reffing goes, it was obvious that Bruno dominated the calls, and that really surprised me! Seriously now, I agree that consistant ref attire is important and I'll have to agree with that comment. At the same time, I have reffed a few games in the park, and we can go on for some time discussing the decision of using an unexperienced ref for a championship game, but at the same time, I am thankful that we had two refs and ones that are willing to put thier necks on the line so we can "play".
David
My thoughts:
1. Loyan is trying to wear several hats: player, blogger, 'voice of concern' for CSP (or whatever). This blog entry was not a productive way to address concerns with the Park or with the Referees - it was a way to (in Loyan's words) 'make fight' so that there is some drama on the blog. Drama = posts...
2. While it would have been fun to play overtime, and both groups would have been interested, I never expected it. The referees are told by the Park to keep games on time, and adding extra-time for a game that was already decided isn't their call. What about the customers that came to play or watch the next game? As a player, I'm biased toward the idea of 'giving' an extra 10 minutes, but I see the referees side. I'm neutral on this one;
3. Referees need to be dressed properly - and it shouldn't be open for interpretation based on personal tastes. Getting paid? Get full kit. But the problem I have with the blog entry is that Ali isn't a clown, and saying that he was only missing a red nose and floppy shoes is BS. Ali is a very good player, and seems to have a very cool head - two HUGE requirements to being an excellent referee. This entry isn't helpful, this is hurtful, and it turns what could be an excellent discussion into a pissing match at best;
4. Scott's reponse: Looks good since he takes a professional attitude in responding to getting shelled. To wit; a)the refs aren't trying to get home for TV, they are trying to get through all the games that night, and it isn't clear that they get to make the call about extending the evening, b) Bruno 'made the call' anyway, by choosing forfeit over line-up change, and that isn't the referees fault, c) Scott makes a good point - the referees actually made next season's game between the two teams better - because they didn't let Sasquatch beat Bruno in overtime without their normal goalkeeper (coulda happened), but neither did they hand it outright to the team that forfeited (Bruno). I didn't think of that before I read it - but then, I wasn't bitching;
5) Electronic criticism is the order of the day (right or wrong), but making things personal isn't right - no matter the medium;
6) Loyan is right about referees being 'service employees'. This is not to have negative connotations - most successful businesspeople consider themselves to be such with regard to their clients. Referees are there to facilitate a good experience for the clients - which is predicated on fair play, safety, and good sportsmanship.
7. The referees shouldn't be trying for a "balanced result" - the game itself should give the result. 28 fouls to 7 only reinforces in my mind what I was feeling that night, which is that the referees were deferential to one team. Even a 2-to-1 foul ratio is extraordinary in most games. On the other hand, I would like to think that neither Ali nor Scott was carrying a grudge into a match. That being said, I think that any referee that finds themselves upset by comments during a game should consider the following: 1) it is natural for players to express displeasure when things don't go their way - such expressions aren't typically personal, and should be largely disgregarded like you would disregard a dog barking madly when you walk past 'his' fence, 2) if you have a personal dislike of a player or players, you should take yourself out of the game, and 3) 99% of refereeing is common sense; if one player gets an unfair advantage over another, it is a foul. It can be communicated/administrated to the players by way of the Golden Rule; just tell a player who is bitching about the call that they wouldn't want someone doing 'that' to them, and 4) having a 'normal' relationship with players is possible, and is based on the same premises as any good relationship - communication being the first and best tool. Apologize if you miss a call. Say you couldn't see it if you couldn't. Say things like, "I'm doing my best", or, "I'm not perfect, and neither are you, but let's keep playing!"
I'm of the opinion that everyone could do better on this issue - players, referees, and CSP management. Bruno is improving, and can do better yet - which we are committed to achieving. This blog entry hurts the team because one member of the team isn't thinking about the fact that while he wishes there could be a 'perfect' separation or compartmentalization of complaints, there is no such thing in the real world. People have feelings, and getting poked in front of hundreds of readers is one thing, but getting told that you stunk it up because you don't care (when it is clear that they do), for the sake of running home to watch a lame tv show, looks like tabloid journalism - good for ratings, but in utter disregard for the people who are involved.
Thank you for your thoughts Jeff. It is obvious that you thought about them carefully and I think they deserve a response by me.
1. I feel that my hat for this post reads “CUSTOMER”. I have the invoices and receipts to prove it. Blogs have proven to be a very powerful customer tool for change. In particular, blogs allow businesses to engage customers in a very public way, something I think is very positive. I applauded Scott for becoming engaged and I meant it. It took courage and a willingness to become involved in a solution.
2. Jeff, you may have forgotten that the game was scheduled to allow for overtime more than 8 weeks earlier. The existing schedule and infrastructure existed to support OT already existed…or it didn’t, which would have been shortsighted planning by CSP. I am assuming the scheduling was done with this in mind.
3. If the’ pissing match’ centers around who can dress more appropriately, I will take my chances. Seriously, I do not think the referee in question is a clown. I do think he was dressed like a clown however.
4. If the referees cannot ‘make the call’ then they should be empowered to do so. I mentioned that in my post. The referee’s should influence a draw for the next four seasons so that the championship in the fifth season is REALLY, REALLY exciting. Silly. Both teams wanted to play OT. They didn’t get it. What’s the cost of providing OT? Are we breaking the bank?
5. I have not addressed anyone personally that has not previously identified themselves. My post addresses CSP and it agents regarding a professional relationship. I would hope that my criticism would be viewed as welcomed feedback from a longtime client.
6. I consider facilitating fair play, safety and good sportsmanship to be the baseline. I think you would agree it is just the starting point Jeff. What would be above and beyond?
Jeff, how do you feel about Consumer Reports or Ralph Nader. I’m confident Nader has ‘poked’a great many people in front of far more people than my blog reaches. On that day it was not clear to me that the referees cared as much as they could have. Thus the nature of my post.
OK, now this is getting silly. It's just a game, people. One that is not exactly on the world stage.
Let's have some fun now!
Dave Cudo
Cudos to Cudo! However, I do believe that Loyan has a point on several issues. I too grow tired of the attitude that refereeing is such a difficult job. I really feel that there are games in which the ratio of calls is very lop sided. Jeff does a very fine job of painting a picture a player's reactions to some calls. I know that it is frustrating to be the constant target for ridicule from fans, but that does come with the job. It shouldn't become a reason to take it out on either team playing. Players should maintain a level of respect for refs but refs shouldn't be so offended when a player is upset with their call. Like Jeff says: "you aren't perfect." you are going to make poor calls and it is going to upset players. That being said, we as players still need to maintain respect and be aware that our comments aren't of a personal nature.
Overall I am usually pleased with the job that most of our referees do, but there really are going to be times when they blow it and shouldn't become defensive when a player vents.
Lee
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