Sniping parents
Michael scored a great goal at soccer today. He made a break from inside his own half, beat three opponents in a solo run and nailed it high into the net.
Michael is a defensive midfielder who doesn’t score many goals, so I was very pleased for him. He’s an unselfish player who sets up others to score, which made it thrilling for him to show his skills and finishing ability.
Except the goal was disallowed.
The linesman, who looked about 13 years old, waved his flag. The referee, who might have been 16 years old, awarded the offside.
As I have stated previously, I’m no expert on soccer, but it was obvious to everyone at the ground that Michael was not offside. I think the linesman was flagging that Michael’s teammate, who followed his run, got into an offside position, but the referee should have known this was not a free kick.
Michael’s coach suggested as much to the referee and told him that he was allowed to overrule the linesman. The referee just shrugged and said it was the linesman’s call.
I was disappointed for Michael, but not angry because the officials were just kids.
What made me angry was the carry-on by the parents of the kids on the other team. A group of them were sitting near me and they were upset with Michael’s coach for criticising the referee. They said he was taking things too seriously and was out of order.
I had no problem with the coach’s behavior. He didn’t go onto the field. He didn’t abuse the referee. He didn’t criticise the linesman. He simply let the referee know that he had the authority to overrule the linesman.
The father of the linesman came over to the group of parents after the game, simmering with anger. He said to the other team’s coach, the parents and the referee that Michael’s coach should be reported to the league for dissent or whatever. They were seething and irrational.
Maybe the fact their team lost 7-1 made them hostile, but I really think they missed the point. Michael’s coach wasn’t attacking the linesman; he was sticking up for his player and seeking a fair outcome by asking the referee to exercise his authority.
It’s easy for parents of the kids on the losing team to say that the goal didn’t matter and the coach shouldn’t have remonstrated. Spare a thought though for the boy who scored the best goal of his life.
That boy was my son and I’m proud of him.
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