Hecklers

[LaxRef]

So, do any of you have any good lines to deal with idiot spectator hecklers who are clueless about the rules (like the ones who scream about you missing the loose-ball push when you saw it, called the play-on, watched the offended team pick up the ball, and called "White ball" and pointed to indicate that the play-on was over)?

I usually ignore them as best I can, but when one guy got on my nerves last night, I turned to him and said, "Sir, we're always looking for new officials. Please talk to me after the game and I'll give you the phone number of our assignor." It seemed to shut him up pretty well.

[michaeldwilson]

Isn't the home team responsible for its spectators? That's a harsh penalty, but a warning might keep things in order.

Mike

[LaxRef]

Originally posted by michaeldwilson
Isn't the home team responsible for its spectators? That's a harsh penalty, but a warning might keep things in order.

Well, this is something you can use, but only as a last resort. Typically this gets invoked when the fans are being outright abusive: taunting the other team's players, using profanity, and so on. The thing that always worries me is that if you start giving USC fouls to the home team then some away team fan is going to get the idea of abusing his own team to get penalties on the other team.

I'm more talking about the people trying to call the game for you when they don't knwo what the heck they're talking about.

[michaeldwilson]

I see. Yeah, I haven't experienced that in Wisconsin. I think most fans really don't know the rules here yet.

Yelling "learn the rules before you speak" or something along those lines?

The coaches have questioned some of my calls. I tell them not to question calls at the beginning of the game (they have 4 minutes at halftime). I don't mind that much, unless they really don't know what they are taling about. E.g. -- "That's not interference with the goalie because one foot is out of the crease!" Stuff like that.

Mike

[LaxRef]

Originally posted by michaeldwilson
The coaches have questioned some of my calls. I tell them not to question calls at the beginning of the game (they have 4 minutes at halftime). I don't mind that much, unless they really don't know what they are taling about. E.g. -- "That's not interference with the goalie because one foot is out of the crease!" Stuff like that.

I agree. I had to give an unsportsmanlike a few weeks ago because the coach was *screaming* about how no one was doing a 10-second count on the clearing team when the ball was between the defensive clearing line and midfield (where, of course, there's no count unless they brought the ball across midfield and then brought it back). If he'd been right about the rule, I'd have let it go, but he wasn't. . . .

[Snake~eyes]

How are you talking to the fans? Aren't they up in the stands?

Anyways talking to the fans isn't the greatest idea but I do it sometimes at the youth level where ther ar eno stands. By the way, never penalize a team because of their fans. Talk to game administration if you must. Well you'll always have to deal with hecklers, I've seen them when I've watched games and been a spectator and they're all pretty ignorant. None of them know the rules, they just like to yell. It's sad that sportsmanship is degrading. :(

One time I called a playon for push by B, then A pushes. Blow whistle to stop play call the original push and some idiot behind me says "Then why is B on their back?" blah.

[LaxRef]

Originally posted by Snake~eyes
How are you talking to the fans? Aren't they up in the stands?

Anyways talking to the fans isn't the greatest idea but I do it sometimes at the youth level where ther ar eno stands. By the way, never penalize a team because of their fans. Talk to game administration if you must. Well you'll always have to deal with hecklers, I've seen them when I've watched games and been a spectator and they're all pretty ignorant. None of them know the rules, they just like to yell. It's sad that sportsmanship is degrading.

There aren't really stands for most of the high school games I'm doing, and even a lot of the college games don't have stands (one college game, the field was on a hill from the far left corner to the near right corner, and when you were defending one goal you got to run downhill with the wind at your back and the sun in the opposing goalie's eyes when you were on offense).

I think the correct procedure is to warn the home coach to get the fans under control--then penalize if the abuse continues--in extreme cases. Some cases where I'd consider it:

Fans have whistles or horns.

Fans using profanity, racial slurs, etc., towards opposing team or officials.

Fans threatening players or officials.

Fans getting too close to field of play.

Fans throwing things onto the field.

I've only once seen any of these occur (a fan essentially taunting the opposing coach; this was in a rare situation where there were permanent stands located behind the team benches).

[Snake~eyes]

OKay well that makes more sense. Again talk to game management when you get a chance. Usually there is an administrator who takes care of that crap before we even have to ask for it to be done. :)

[TheKOB]

We at USC are lucky (?) enough to have such fans at our games, although, for some reason, they come out in limited numbers unless it is a night game on a weekend....I suspect that alcohol might be a contributing factor....

At any rate, we've never had a penalty for it...it hasn't gotten bad enough for us to be warned about it in the 6+ years I've been here with the exception of 2 times. The best way, rather than to even respond to the fans, is to warn the coach or captains that they may get a penalty because of the fan's actions...that worked for us.