Dealing With Bad Refs (The Right Way)
The best way to deal with bad refereeing in soccer is not to deal with it.
As a player, your focus should be playing. Defending, attacking, making tackles, and communicating with your teammates should be your focus.
Naturally, you’ll get refs that won’t make the right calls. They’ll miss calls. They’ll ignore offsides.
Like you, they’ll make mistakes.
If a ref makes a call you don’t agree with, just let it go. They won’t change a call because you barked at them. Don’t let this type of energy steal you from playing your best.
For any call a referee makes – whether good or bad – here’s what to do…
- Accept It
- Continue Playing Soccer
Pretty simple to do right? Yes!
But, guess what? It’s also easy not to do. It takes practice to accept every call.
At the end of the day, you’ll be a much better player because of it.
Oh, and if you are getting recruited, the coach or scout will love that you don’t complain.
Parents – please take this advice as well.
Written By: Beau Bridges
Beau is the founder of SoccerNovo, dedicated to helping players and parents navigate the youth soccer landscape. As a former youth coach and soccer parent, he shares insights on player development, recruiting, and the ever-evolving soccer scene in the U.S.
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