Soccer Nova Scotia is raising a yellow card about the abuse of referees.
The organization's executive director recently wrote an open letter explaining that, already this summer season, referees have been yelled at, pushed, threatened and a senior referee has expressed he will no longer officiate due to the verbal abuse during and after a game.
“I urge you to consider how you engage with referees. They are not asking for preferential treatment, but simply treat them respectfully and as humans,” said Brad Lawlor, the executive director of Soccer Nova Scotia, in the letter.
Lawlor explained the organization has 336 active referees and about half are in their first or second-year.
A modified season last year meant no tournaments and a limited number of games.
“We're almost triple the complaints we're dealing with on a weekend basis,” Lawlor said.
No insults were hurled at referees Michael Jones or Ben Pineau Saturday morning. But Jones heard plenty last week.
He wouldn’t repeat it.
“You don't want me to say that,” he said.
And recently, Soccer Nova Scotia said one referee was physically abused.
“In the past two weeks that has happened where hands were put on a referee,” said Lawlor. “That is extreme and that is not something that commonly happens. The verbal abuse one is one that we’ve seen escalate to a point it’s not normal.”
Across the country, and here, referees are leaving the game as the abuse piles on.
“You're getting a lot of 15, 16, 17-year-olds reffing games, and you're having adults insulting them. That is not acceptable,” said Carman King, Soccer Nova Scotia’s referee development officer.
Pineau says he was targeted more as a teen.
“The parents definitely kind of jump at you a bit more. If you mess up anything they're right behind you, they're going to be right on your back,” said Pineau.
Jessie Burgins, the director of Soccer Operations for Suburban FC, acknowledges the abuse that’s happening and doesn’t condone it, but also points out game calls can be inconsistent.
His solution is to work with referees and for his club to develop their own.
“I'm calling on all the clubs, if you have people in your club who are soccer people, who know the game, get involved in it, get involved in the game, become a referee,” said Burgins.
Jones has a message for anyone who wants to complain about calls being made.
“Anyone you want to take the referee shirt and the whistle, come on in and see what you get,” Jones said.
