A young soccer referee who was slapped in the face by an angry parent wishes the penalties for violence against officials were much harsher.
The 18-year-old linesman at the Nike Cup, a tournament for under-16s in Montreal last fall, was in charge of the chainers, volunteer parents who used a pole to mark the game’s progress.
About a minute before the end of an intense encounter, one of them criticized the work of the referees, saying his son’s team had been “denigrated”.
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The young Lévis officer tried to calm the situation, but the man persisted and verbally abused William.
“He took the sample post and slapped the side of my face,” he said. I never saw it coming At the time, I wanted revenge, but one of my colleagues stopped me. At the end of the game I collapsed, in pain, my cheek was red and I cried.
Although the Football Quebec parent was immediately suspended, William would like tougher sanctions.
“I have no episodes, the scene was not filmed so it is not a priority for the police. But the fact remains. I want him to go to jail to send the message that it’s not done yet. Otherwise, it would be an acceptable consequence to be banned from all sporting events for at least ten years until your child has stopped playing football,” says the person who did not report the attack.
The peculiarity of football is that there can be up to 50 players per team. So the increase in the number of athletes does not necessarily mean that there are more formations or more games. Football Quebec therefore officially does not need any further referees. However, the trend is worrying without being alarming, as is the case with other sports.
waste of time
William admits feeling like he’s wasting time filling out incident reports when someone verbally or physically assaults an official and the offender is only banned for one game.
Though physically fit for the job and possessing iron morals in the face of insults, which he says are “part of the show,” he fully understands that others can be discouraged.
“It’s 100% sure it will put off young referees. “A 14- to 15-year-old official who has potential, if he doesn’t have the character to endure it, he will unfortunately leave,” he says.
William Dallaire is also a hockey referee. We see it here at the Chevrolet Cup, the provincial championships. Photo courtesy of Hockey Québec, Agence Photobanque
Harder in baseball
Of all the sports he’s overseen, like hockey and ringette, William says baseball is the toughest job to referee.
“The strike zone is 98% judgement. With our eyes we watch as the bullets hit at a speed of 70 to 75 miles per hour and we have to try to judge where they hit without video playback! You also have to assess whether there were any obstacles along the way.”
Jacob Gauthier, who directs hockey and baseball, agrees.
“In hockey, an offside is an offside. In baseball, the rules change depending on the caliber. With or without a pitcher, the number of swings, the steals or not, the inside fly, the irregular fake, etc. We therefore ask new referees to learn a new sport in a practical way.
“Also, when you’re playing baseball, you’re three feet away from the spectators, who all think they have a better view of the game,” adds the 22-year-old.
Jacob Gauthier officiates a Quebec Junior Elite Baseball League game. Photo provided by Jacob Gauthier, LBJEQ, Kevin J. Raftery
Depending on the category, the coaches have access to the field and can communicate their thinking to the referee on the field.
“It’s useless because the referee’s decision has already been made and often ends in a sending off,” adds William.
“It was scary”
When he first started, Jacob quickly encountered such a situation during a Mosquito tournament (under 11) in Saint-Constant.
He and his slightly older colleague made a mistake and a coach left the dugout to cheer them on.
Jacob Gauthier and his father Alain are baseball umpires. Photo courtesy of Jacob Gauthier
“He even pushed my partner. I froze, not knowing how to react. The Tournament Director and Referee Supervisor entered the field and dealt with the situation as we were completely overwhelmed against a much bigger adult than us. It was impressive, it was scary.”
This event ended Jacobs Partner’s career. He had no doubts and continued the arbitration proceedings. He even met this coach on a pitch recently after serving a long suspension.
“It was my father, who I referee with, who recognized him. He had completely changed and had a better attitude. I’ve changed too, I’ve gained experience, I’ve created a shell,” Jacob claims.