There may be times during games when spectators or coaches are yelling at the referees. A Level 3 referee offered this advice at a coaching clinic:
Spectators
- Go to their coach and calmly explain to them that the spectator's behaviour is bothering you and ask them to deal with the spectator.
- If this behaviour continues, repeat, and let the coach know that you may need to leave if this continues.
- If this behaviour still persists, go to the coach again, hand them the ball and leave.
Coaches
- Go to the coach and explain that their behaviour is bothering you and ask them to stop.
- If this behaviour persists, go to the coach of the other team, explain the situation, hand them the ball and leave. In (not unheard of) extreme cases, you may need to ask the other coach to escort you to safety.
Should either of these situations happen, get a description of the offender, and their team and report this to the head referee.
Whatever you do, don't threaten or argue with the coach. This is especially important for youth referees.
