Almost Everything I Hate About Football in One Game
Discussion
As an Arsenal fan I've become accustomed to taking the rough with the smooth. I find that lowering my expectations eases the frustration of disappointments. It's just a game of football; I still have a life to live, bills to pay etc. Whatever happens with my boyhood team, I can always look forward to my son's games on a Sunday. However, yesterday was one of the worst games I've been to in all the years I've been involved both as a parent and as a manager. It made me hate football. But, my son loves his participation (and is playing for a decent club at a decent level) so I'm tethered to it regardless.
Yesterday, his team, Barnet FC traveled to West London to contend a semifinal in the Middlesex County Youth Cup. A showcase team by the name of Conquest Reds the final hurdle to a place in the final at Rectory Park, the home of Middlesex County FA.
In my experience of running a team and getting to the semifinal (Herts County Cup) just three seasons ago, the organisers allocate touchline officials as the referee's assistants and also issue clear guidelines on the pitch layout, permissible size etc. They don't like games to be postponed due to the weather, so where possible, they prefer that you have a pitch that will not prevent the fixture from being called off. The final is to be played on 4G astro.
Conquest - the home team - insisted that the game was played at their place, only, it was on a rented pitch at the Cranford Community College which, if you know it, is like a smaller version of Hackney Marshes. Given the weather leading up to the fixture, all the (grass) pitches were cut-up and greasy. There were no bins anywhere near any of those pitches so players discard their empty bottles and general refuse willy-nilly on the touchline. Most of the games being played on our arrival were adult/senior games and there was a distinct and unavoidable smell of herbal tobacco around the place. We reminded ourselves that this was grassroots football and that as the visiting team, we cannot dictate where the game is played just because our boys play on a great pitch at The Hive. Incidentally, the Head of Youth Development did try and get the fixture reversed on the basis that the weather would not threaten if played at ours, but the Conquest manager was adamant that the game was played in Cranford. We duly turned up and couldn't help but feel that there was a reason behind his insistence.
The (FA) matchday guidelines state that the pitch (surface) should be in a playable condition and a list of measurements are provided about the minimum size, as well as where the respect line (required) should be put up, along with two two metre wide runways for the linesmen. On the day there weren't even corner flags, never mind the 'lino runways'.
Something else we noticed, the home team's shirts were not displaying shirt numbers. They were wearing an all blue kit, but three of their players were in (all) green. We (as parents) chatted about this between us and gritted our teeth in frustration. What else could we have done?
The pitch was not available until 15 minutes before kickoff. The reason for this was because it was being used in a senior match. They're not great pitches on a good day, and after many wet days leading up to it and a 90-minute game churning it up minutes before kickoff, the pitch was in quite a bad state.
From the kickoff, you could see that the home team was all about win at all costs. The tackles were flying in, high, late; shirt pulling, elbows, you name it. After ten minutes we were edgy feeling that these antics were an injury waiting to happen. To be fair to the referee, he showed one of their players a yellow card. By the end of the half, two of their players were on yellows. In the second half, another yellow, then a second yellow to an already cautioned player meant that he was red carded. Then all hell broke loose. Their parents (men) verbally abused our mums/wives (some very industrial language in response to them urging the referee to act on the dangerous tackles). Then, a player (happened to be my son) was punched off the ball as he raced back to clear the ball. Another red card issued. At this point I felt enough was enough and the referee should have ended the match for all the reasons stated previously. But there were only minutes remaining and he probably wanted to end it and go home.
On the final whistle, their players (all of them) started shouting 'eff' your mum to our players and showing some of the dads the Gareth Hunt coffee beans gesture. A real s
t show and I just wanted to take my son away not just from the match but from football altogether, forever.
The game was lost 1-0 and as much as we can talk to our boys about taking defeat gracefully and chalking it up to experience, how do you wipe your mouth and move on from a team of hooligans who kicked, punched and broke the rules to victory?
Our lads were great in their conduct and in response to the violence. But this is what is so hateful about football. I witnessed this as a parent in a teenage cup game (decent level of footy) but look at the pro game, most fans are just as bad if not worse, not to mention many of the players. I played rugby for club, county and college. We never had any of this; far from it, and it's hard to stand by and witness all this sthousery while you support your son and try and teach him the rights from wrongs of team sport.
A disgraceful show from Conquest and a hard loss to take for the Barnet boys.
Was hoping for a degree of catharsis after this rant but I'm not over it yet I don't think.
Yesterday, his team, Barnet FC traveled to West London to contend a semifinal in the Middlesex County Youth Cup. A showcase team by the name of Conquest Reds the final hurdle to a place in the final at Rectory Park, the home of Middlesex County FA.
In my experience of running a team and getting to the semifinal (Herts County Cup) just three seasons ago, the organisers allocate touchline officials as the referee's assistants and also issue clear guidelines on the pitch layout, permissible size etc. They don't like games to be postponed due to the weather, so where possible, they prefer that you have a pitch that will not prevent the fixture from being called off. The final is to be played on 4G astro.
Conquest - the home team - insisted that the game was played at their place, only, it was on a rented pitch at the Cranford Community College which, if you know it, is like a smaller version of Hackney Marshes. Given the weather leading up to the fixture, all the (grass) pitches were cut-up and greasy. There were no bins anywhere near any of those pitches so players discard their empty bottles and general refuse willy-nilly on the touchline. Most of the games being played on our arrival were adult/senior games and there was a distinct and unavoidable smell of herbal tobacco around the place. We reminded ourselves that this was grassroots football and that as the visiting team, we cannot dictate where the game is played just because our boys play on a great pitch at The Hive. Incidentally, the Head of Youth Development did try and get the fixture reversed on the basis that the weather would not threaten if played at ours, but the Conquest manager was adamant that the game was played in Cranford. We duly turned up and couldn't help but feel that there was a reason behind his insistence.
The (FA) matchday guidelines state that the pitch (surface) should be in a playable condition and a list of measurements are provided about the minimum size, as well as where the respect line (required) should be put up, along with two two metre wide runways for the linesmen. On the day there weren't even corner flags, never mind the 'lino runways'.
Something else we noticed, the home team's shirts were not displaying shirt numbers. They were wearing an all blue kit, but three of their players were in (all) green. We (as parents) chatted about this between us and gritted our teeth in frustration. What else could we have done?
The pitch was not available until 15 minutes before kickoff. The reason for this was because it was being used in a senior match. They're not great pitches on a good day, and after many wet days leading up to it and a 90-minute game churning it up minutes before kickoff, the pitch was in quite a bad state.
From the kickoff, you could see that the home team was all about win at all costs. The tackles were flying in, high, late; shirt pulling, elbows, you name it. After ten minutes we were edgy feeling that these antics were an injury waiting to happen. To be fair to the referee, he showed one of their players a yellow card. By the end of the half, two of their players were on yellows. In the second half, another yellow, then a second yellow to an already cautioned player meant that he was red carded. Then all hell broke loose. Their parents (men) verbally abused our mums/wives (some very industrial language in response to them urging the referee to act on the dangerous tackles). Then, a player (happened to be my son) was punched off the ball as he raced back to clear the ball. Another red card issued. At this point I felt enough was enough and the referee should have ended the match for all the reasons stated previously. But there were only minutes remaining and he probably wanted to end it and go home.
On the final whistle, their players (all of them) started shouting 'eff' your mum to our players and showing some of the dads the Gareth Hunt coffee beans gesture. A real s
t show and I just wanted to take my son away not just from the match but from football altogether, forever. The game was lost 1-0 and as much as we can talk to our boys about taking defeat gracefully and chalking it up to experience, how do you wipe your mouth and move on from a team of hooligans who kicked, punched and broke the rules to victory?
Our lads were great in their conduct and in response to the violence. But this is what is so hateful about football. I witnessed this as a parent in a teenage cup game (decent level of footy) but look at the pro game, most fans are just as bad if not worse, not to mention many of the players. I played rugby for club, county and college. We never had any of this; far from it, and it's hard to stand by and witness all this s
thousery while you support your son and try and teach him the rights from wrongs of team sport. A disgraceful show from Conquest and a hard loss to take for the Barnet boys.
Was hoping for a degree of catharsis after this rant but I'm not over it yet I don't think.
Edited by Glassman on Monday 24th February 20:22
I feel your pain OP. Some of the games I've taken my son to and the behaviour of the opposing team has been disgusting.
One game the ref didn't turn up so a coach from the other team reffed. They were losing but being a cup game, he simply kept the game going until his team won.
My son was playing in a game where there was a lad on another team being encouraged by his this thick as fk dad to 'use your studs' and go in with both feet.
I Heard later that in another game this same kid hacked another player down and stamped on his arm breaking it.
One game the ref didn't turn up so a coach from the other team reffed. They were losing but being a cup game, he simply kept the game going until his team won.
My son was playing in a game where there was a lad on another team being encouraged by his this thick as f
k dad to 'use your studs' and go in with both feet. I Heard later that in another game this same kid hacked another player down and stamped on his arm breaking it.
My son had something similiar although he was the ref. There was also a county FA official there as one of the teams was known to be trouble. Two of their previous matches were abandoned due to the behaviour.
Anyway my son managed to referees the match and finish it. Two reds and five yellows. He was called a c**t and “we hope you crash on the way home” by parents.
He put in a full report and had to appear at a hearing etc. The team were chucked out of the league (these were U13s!!)
At the end of the day the County FA should be dealing with it.
Anyway my son managed to referees the match and finish it. Two reds and five yellows. He was called a c**t and “we hope you crash on the way home” by parents.
He put in a full report and had to appear at a hearing etc. The team were chucked out of the league (these were U13s!!)
At the end of the day the County FA should be dealing with it.
This sort of stuff is where team spirit comes into play.
Win together, lose together, rise above sthousery and emerge as better people.
It`s not just football, a couple of years ago my cricket clubs junior section were st on by a rival club who played their first team in a second team fixture that decided the league title in their favour.
Whilst there wasn`t quite the level of thugishness listed above, it wasn`t pleasant.
Win together, lose together, rise above s
thousery and emerge as better people. It`s not just football, a couple of years ago my cricket clubs junior section were s
t on by a rival club who played their first team in a second team fixture that decided the league title in their favour.Whilst there wasn`t quite the level of thugishness listed above, it wasn`t pleasant.
I [posted the below on another football thread 9 years ago.
Both my sons refereed from age 14. My youngest (now 18) still does it every sunday, usually 2 games at u/15 or u/16. My oldest (20) stopped at 18. So basically I've had 6 yrs of watching this st unfold.
I wish I'd kept a diary and written a book, but yesterday was a pretty average 2 match affair, both under 15s (as at 1 sep so a mix of 14/15 yr olds). So yesterday we had:
2 parents called my son a cheat. (not that he'd made an error, but was a cheat.) Yeah, he received £40K in a brown envelope off one of the teams pre kick off. That's the going rate to favour a team in a west London u/15's div 3 match.
1 parent called him an idiot, because any fool knows you can't be offside from a free kick.
Biggest uproar came at a sending off. Kid was booked for telling the ref he was fking useless. (could've got a straight red but my son gave him a talking to and a yellow.) Later on the same kid was fouled, not badly, and when on the ground he kicked the kid that had fouled him. So got a 2nd yellow (could also have been a straight red).
This caused uproar because quite rightly the team who were now down to 10 men got the free kick when the game restarted. Half the parents said he couldn't send off a man and then restart the game with a free kick to the team who had lost a man! A more sensible head explained that the ref was right, and a mum then threatened to punch this blokes face in, because he was a "know it all". Various parents pushing and shoving, thankfully it dissipated before a fight broke out.
Then at the end of the game the coach of the team down to 10 men spoke to my son. For a crazy moment I thought he might be apologising for the conduct of his player, but in fact he was asking why no one from the other team was sent off. (err, because they never told the ref he was fking useless and then kicked out at an opponent) tt!
That's a pretty typical Sunday. On the bright side, £58 for 2 games which is better than getting up at 5am all week to do a paper round, and a few hours exercise in the fresh air. (he never actually received the £40K in the brown envelope, I made that bit up.)
Both my sons refereed from age 14. My youngest (now 18) still does it every sunday, usually 2 games at u/15 or u/16. My oldest (20) stopped at 18. So basically I've had 6 yrs of watching this s
t unfold.I wish I'd kept a diary and written a book, but yesterday was a pretty average 2 match affair, both under 15s (as at 1 sep so a mix of 14/15 yr olds). So yesterday we had:
2 parents called my son a cheat. (not that he'd made an error, but was a cheat.) Yeah, he received £40K in a brown envelope off one of the teams pre kick off. That's the going rate to favour a team in a west London u/15's div 3 match.
1 parent called him an idiot, because any fool knows you can't be offside from a free kick.
Biggest uproar came at a sending off. Kid was booked for telling the ref he was f
king useless. (could've got a straight red but my son gave him a talking to and a yellow.) Later on the same kid was fouled, not badly, and when on the ground he kicked the kid that had fouled him. So got a 2nd yellow (could also have been a straight red).This caused uproar because quite rightly the team who were now down to 10 men got the free kick when the game restarted. Half the parents said he couldn't send off a man and then restart the game with a free kick to the team who had lost a man! A more sensible head explained that the ref was right, and a mum then threatened to punch this blokes face in, because he was a "know it all
". Various parents pushing and shoving, thankfully it dissipated before a fight broke out.Then at the end of the game the coach of the team down to 10 men spoke to my son. For a crazy moment I thought he might be apologising for the conduct of his player, but in fact he was asking why no one from the other team was sent off. (err, because they never told the ref he was f
king useless and then kicked out at an opponent) tt!That's a pretty typical Sunday. On the bright side, £58 for 2 games which is better than getting up at 5am all week to do a paper round, and a few hours exercise in the fresh air. (he never actually received the £40K in the brown envelope, I made that bit up.)
Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Monday 24th February 20:18
heisthegaffer said:
I feel your pain OP. Some of the games I've taken my son to and the behaviour of the opposing team has been disgusting.
One game the ref didn't turn up so a coach from the other team reffed. They were losing but being a cup game, he simply kept the game going until his team won.
My son was playing in a game where there was a lad on another team being encouraged by his this thick as fk dad to 'use your studs' and go in with both feet.
I Heard later that in another game this same kid hacked another player down and stamped on his arm breaking it.
A game on the pitch next to us (divided by about two metres of grass) was between Wealdstone and someone else. The players couldn't have been any older than 13 from what it looked like. The manager for the other team was screaming, and shouting at his players, then at the referee throughout the game. Almost as if he was competing against him, the Wealdstone manager started giving it some verbal about refereeing decisions. before we knew it, the two managers had to be separated. Meanwhile the players on the pitch looked shell shocked. But within that group, the another generation of hooligan managers is learning whilst on the job. One game the ref didn't turn up so a coach from the other team reffed. They were losing but being a cup game, he simply kept the game going until his team won.
My son was playing in a game where there was a lad on another team being encouraged by his this thick as f
k dad to 'use your studs' and go in with both feet. I Heard later that in another game this same kid hacked another player down and stamped on his arm breaking it.
My brother is 16 and plays, although the little freak is something like 6'8" so naturally his entire team play with the sole intention of getting the ball off his head from crosses. He was on his 3rd headed goal in the space of 10 minutes recently and one of the parents from the other team kept shouting and swearing at him and insulting him, so my brother then made the most of it and spent the rest of the game whenever his team scored knee sliding in front of this bloke, shushing him, and at one point when trying to clear the ball accidentally/on purpose managed to get the guy square in the chest with it.
Toxicity meets toxicity
There's often fights on the side-lines with parents and managers needing to be separated. All for a kids game
Toxicity meets toxicity
There's often fights on the side-lines with parents and managers needing to be separated. All for a kids game I've three boys who all play, so yes i've experienced similar. Middle boy plays at a particularly decent level, and has had the above, plus playing in european tournaments where passports are presented beforehand, however he's still a 12 year old playing against kids bigger than me.
Worst was last september, where a late, malicious two footed tackle saw my eldest taken to hopital via air ambulance with a compund fracture of tib & fib. Police got involved in that one also...
Unfortunetly, football is one of the most popular sports in the UK, and participation see's teams mix with all walsk of life. I'm still convinced the positives outweight the negatives though.
Worst was last september, where a late, malicious two footed tackle saw my eldest taken to hopital via air ambulance with a compund fracture of tib & fib. Police got involved in that one also...
Unfortunetly, football is one of the most popular sports in the UK, and participation see's teams mix with all walsk of life. I'm still convinced the positives outweight the negatives though.
You lot need to stop playing football, and start playing field hockey.
I've played hockey for decades, and now umpire.
On Saturday, I gave a player a card, for tutting, and shaking his head over a decision I had made. Coach afterwards came and apologised for his players conduct.
Very high standards of player behaviour, umpires very intolerant of poor behaviour, and a red card results in a 6 month ban from the game. (things have to be pretty bad for a red mind).
And of course, hockey makes football look slow, dull and pedestrian.
I've played hockey for decades, and now umpire.
On Saturday, I gave a player a card, for tutting, and shaking his head over a decision I had made. Coach afterwards came and apologised for his players conduct.
Very high standards of player behaviour, umpires very intolerant of poor behaviour, and a red card results in a 6 month ban from the game. (things have to be pretty bad for a red mind).
And of course, hockey makes football look slow, dull and pedestrian.
I share your pain OP. I could retell a very similar story from the weekend (I coach U15s) but it'd just turn into a massive rant about how the standard of refereeing at grassroots level varies game to game from absolutely brilliant to "have you ever even watched a game of football?". The complete lack of protection some of those referees offer to players and how, when you get a referee who is even on first name terms with the players, that there will definitely be an element of bias involved (which is what we saw at the weekend when we there should have been at least 1 sending off, multiple yellows, there were threats of physical violence and time wasting - 1 yellow shown all game in the end from the ref who shook hands with the opposition, not us, and then disappeared into the home team changing room....).
I don't get why football has allowed itself to descend to this sort of level, where keen players and grassroots officials are so put off by the level of behaviour that they consider abandoning the game.
My kids are quite sporty, between them representing the county/region in four different sports, and there is never any poor behaviour by the players or parents. One of the sports is water polo, which gets pretty physical (to put it mildly) but even with that there is rarely anything malicious.
Is it just the powerful/rich/overpaid players in the premier leagues have had too much influence on referees, which has gradually trickled down the levels so that even under 11s think they can get a better result by abusing the officials and get away with it? Or is it that every parent thinks their kid is the next Ronaldo and every other child s just getting in their way?
My kids are quite sporty, between them representing the county/region in four different sports, and there is never any poor behaviour by the players or parents. One of the sports is water polo, which gets pretty physical (to put it mildly) but even with that there is rarely anything malicious.
Is it just the powerful/rich/overpaid players in the premier leagues have had too much influence on referees, which has gradually trickled down the levels so that even under 11s think they can get a better result by abusing the officials and get away with it? Or is it that every parent thinks their kid is the next Ronaldo and every other child s just getting in their way?
boyse7en said:
I don't get why football has allowed itself to descend to this sort of level, where keen players and grassroots officials are so put off by the level of behaviour that they consider abandoning the game.
It starts at the topWhen young kids see Premier League players giving referees verbal, pushing, shoving, elbows, etc then is it any wonder it's replicated at grass roots?
I completely fail to understand how we can have a professional sport like Rugby, where if you so much as look at the referee after a decision and you'll be disciplined, yet football allows senior players to seemingly do whatever they want. Madness.
bearman68 said:
You lot need to stop playing football, and start playing field hockey.
I've played hockey for decades, and now umpire.
On Saturday, I gave a player a card, for tutting, and shaking his head over a decision I had made. Coach afterwards came and apologised for his players conduct.
Very high standards of player behaviour, umpires very intolerant of poor behaviour, and a red card results in a 6 month ban from the game. (things have to be pretty bad for a red mind).
And of course, hockey makes football look slow, dull and pedestrian.
You’ve got a great point. Whilst my son at 8 is just starting to get into football through the influence of peers, my nephews both play football and hockey and my brother rates them very differently. Football seems to have a mean streak but hockey is all very nice and with mixed gender teams too. I’ve taken mine to a couple of games but they’re not convinced yet. I’d really rather they did!I've played hockey for decades, and now umpire.
On Saturday, I gave a player a card, for tutting, and shaking his head over a decision I had made. Coach afterwards came and apologised for his players conduct.
Very high standards of player behaviour, umpires very intolerant of poor behaviour, and a red card results in a 6 month ban from the game. (things have to be pretty bad for a red mind).
And of course, hockey makes football look slow, dull and pedestrian.
Youth football is horrendous, sadly the higher the standard the worse behaviour seems to be.
I regularly run the line for my lads U14s, and on a weekly basis am accused of being a cheat by coaches and players (I’m definitely not)
At a recent U14 girls game I was watching the linesman fell out with one of the spectators and threatened to “bite his f***ng face off” while the players looked in bemusement wanting to get on with the game.
It doesn’t help that when Premier League managers and players show no respect to officials it gets written off as “passionate” by the ex-pro commentators.
The media also has a constant attack on officials, criticising literally every decision, which has a filter down effect to grassroots. Why anyone would volunteer to ref a game is beyond me.
I regularly run the line for my lads U14s, and on a weekly basis am accused of being a cheat by coaches and players (I’m definitely not)
At a recent U14 girls game I was watching the linesman fell out with one of the spectators and threatened to “bite his f***ng face off” while the players looked in bemusement wanting to get on with the game.
It doesn’t help that when Premier League managers and players show no respect to officials it gets written off as “passionate” by the ex-pro commentators.
The media also has a constant attack on officials, criticising literally every decision, which has a filter down effect to grassroots. Why anyone would volunteer to ref a game is beyond me.
Muzzer79 said:
It starts at the top
There are definitely elements of this. My youngest was an in U11s game last season and the opposition had a lad up front who threw himself to the floor every time a defender went near him. If he'd stayed on his feet he'd probably have scored a couple but in the end he eventually cheated his way to a penalty and subsequently missed it.Then theres the pushy parents. My youngest was picked up by Sheff Utd when he was about 7... we went to about 4 sessions run by them and walked away from it... The setup itself was bad but even worse were the parents who thought because little Jimmy had been picked up at the age of 7 by who were then a premiership club, they were guaranteed to be playing prem football for life.
The team my eldest played for won their U16 league after winning their last game of the season, this was followed by a massive spat between some of the parents and the coaches, which concluded with the team splitting up. It was embarrassing watching grown men unable to celebrate the kids winning without sniping from the sidelines at each other.
OP, can you make a deputation to the organising body. Can/will the referee?
My lad has never had any interesting football or indeed any sport but I watch Prem and EFL matches on TV regularly. (Was never any good and at 71 a bit past it myself).
The "professional" fouls, shirt tugging, bear hugs, play acting just seems to be getting worse, the EFL match last night between the two top teams was like a rugby match at times. Really needs cracking down on by the referee. If it means two or three red cars, so be it. It'll soon stop.
My lad has never had any interesting football or indeed any sport but I watch Prem and EFL matches on TV regularly. (Was never any good and at 71 a bit past it myself).
The "professional" fouls, shirt tugging, bear hugs, play acting just seems to be getting worse, the EFL match last night between the two top teams was like a rugby match at times. Really needs cracking down on by the referee. If it means two or three red cars, so be it. It'll soon stop.
Edited by Skyedriver on Tuesday 25th February 23:12
It's a culture thing though isn't it. It starts at the top, but the top is not the prem, it's the FA, and they need to have a decades long focus on refereeing, and a culture of sportsman like respect.
It didn't get here overnight, and it won't improve overnight.
It's taken ages to clean Rugby up - look what that game was like in the 1970's.
It didn't get here overnight, and it won't improve overnight.
It's taken ages to clean Rugby up - look what that game was like in the 1970's.
I love football, watching and playing (mainly a friendly 6 a side game between mates now).
My experience of playing Sunday league was that about half the sides were full of violent chavs, I'd bet most had criminal records. A few seasons of that was enough for me, just not a pleasant way to spend my time.
My lad is 6 and whilst he hasn't shown interest in playing, I'm completely fine with it because of the various stories I hear like those on this thread. I wouldn't last watching alongside these cretinous oxygen thieves. I'm not a fighter but I'd inevitably end up losing my rag by the sounds of it.
Awful really, should just be a thing that the kids enjoy and the parents should be the ones keeping a lid on it if the kids kick off.
My experience of playing Sunday league was that about half the sides were full of violent chavs, I'd bet most had criminal records. A few seasons of that was enough for me, just not a pleasant way to spend my time.
My lad is 6 and whilst he hasn't shown interest in playing, I'm completely fine with it because of the various stories I hear like those on this thread. I wouldn't last watching alongside these cretinous oxygen thieves. I'm not a fighter but I'd inevitably end up losing my rag by the sounds of it.
Awful really, should just be a thing that the kids enjoy and the parents should be the ones keeping a lid on it if the kids kick off.
DaveyBoyWonder said:
Muzzer79 said:
It starts at the top
There are definitely elements of this. My youngest was an in U11s game last season and the opposition had a lad up front who threw himself to the floor every time a defender went near him. If he'd stayed on his feet he'd probably have scored a couple but in the end he eventually cheated his way to a penalty and subsequently missed it.Then theres the pushy parents. My youngest was picked up by Sheff Utd when he was about 7... we went to about 4 sessions run by them and walked away from it... The setup itself was bad but even worse were the parents who thought because little Jimmy had been picked up at the age of 7 by who were then a premiership club, they were guaranteed to be playing prem football for life.
To see and hear young players (and this is a mixed league) being encouraged to “take him out” or cheering a clearly unfair or dangerous challenge is really disheartening. We also see a lot of gamesmanship such as the little ankle kicks and shirt pulling and diving and mouthing at the ref - it all needs to stop.
I played rugby and football in my teens and it was a night/day difference of feeling on the pitch, my cousins played hockey to Schoolboys level and were under no illusions as to the behaviour requirements. I don’t understand why football can’t be held to the same standards.
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