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The ugly face of kids' football
Laura Thistlethwaite6/ 3/2008
ABUSE hurled at the referee of a kids’ football semi-final has led to complaints to the league.
But the coach of the team at the centre of the storm, Ian Jenkinson, claimed that poor refereeing prompted his verbal outburst. He said: "I admit I did shout at him because he wasn’t doing his job."
There were shocking scenes at the end of the 11-year-olds’ match as parents had to prevent the Benchill boys from confronting the South Manchester youngsters at Chorlton Park on Sunday morning. Benchill had lost the match 3-2 after extra-time.
A parent, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "I’ve never seen anything like it. These are only little kids.
"Their coach was abusing the ref, swearing at him, confronting him on the pitch, questioning every decision. It was very intimidating. And the boys were soon copying him.
"They were shouting at the ref and telling him he was rubbish and didn’t know the rules. One little boy who must have been about three feet tall screamed at the ref ‘this is a man’s game’."
A report of the game was filed by the Timperley and District Junior League referee. The £20-a-game official hired by the league has said he will never officiate another game involving the Benchill team again. The league’s vice chairman, Ron Jamieson, said: "We were made aware of the situation when the referee filled in a match card stating he would never go near a match with Benchill again.
"I wouldn’t say this happened often, but it seems to be the younger the team is the worse it is. Adults are to blame for not setting the right example, if they get abusive, the kids will too."
Benchill Celtic manager Ian Jenkinson admitted he had lost his temper.
He said: "Basically, one of our lads had to go to hospital because he got a whack on the head from one of the South Manchester lads. So that got everyone’s tempers up, because parents just want to look after their children.
"It was poor reffing, so tempers were going and blood pressure was rising. We lost 3-2, and a couple of the lads went over to speak to the other team at the end, but I brought them back."
Mr Jenkinson, who has been manager for three years, has previously been reprimanded and fined £60 by the county Football Association.
He added: "People do take it too seriously. I admit I did shout at him because he wasn’t doing his job, but people give us a hard time because we’re from Benchill.
"I don’t think the lads copy my actions by saying stuff to the referee. I always say to them to let the adults do the arguing and they should just concentrate on the game. But they know when they’re being cheated by the ref, and if they get carried away then they can get fined."
Sharon Osborne, South Manchester club secretary, said: "The referee is putting in a formal complaint, he was really worried.
"My son plays in the U12s team and the week before we had to take him off the pitch because he was getting kicked from pillar to post.
"Everybody saw what happened, the Benchill kids came running on to the pitch at the end and parents watching the U13s game on a different pitch came over because they were worried."
If the referee’s complaints are reported to the FA, any guilty party will face disciplinary sanctions and possible suspension from the league.
The FA is currently running a "Respect" initiative to prevent verbal abuse in football matches. It was recently reported that more than 100 referees have quit football in Manchester in the last 18 months because they were fed up of abuse from players, spectators and managers.
Most recent 2 of 2 user comments
The coaches there teach rugby and respect ...respect for the laws of the game, the referee and the opponents.
They are also taught to accept defeat, bitter though it may be...and one of the first things they are taught is to make a tunnel at the end of the game to shake hands with the opponents.
Obviously, based on the article, the incident was an insult to the neutral referee....so have the League got the guts to make a stand? Or are thy going to brush it under the carpet and let Benchill carry on down their path to self destruction?
Watch this space....I think the Reporter should follow this issue up to report what actually happens.
8/03/2008 at 19:01
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