Question:
I recently participated in a team of referees during a local town tournament. This is my first year as a referee and have learned that every game and every coach is different.
My question follows on the heals of the “Abusive Coaches” question.
Q: As an AR, what authority do I have if during a game I am hearing abusive comments from the coaches (who are standing behind me at their bench) but are not amplified so the CR can hear them. If the AR can hear them, so can the substitute players sitting on the bench. The commits I was hearing were not PG appropriate.
USSF answer (October 20, 2008):
Included in any pregame (particularly if the team includes inexperienced and/or young assistant referees) should be some guidelines on the extent to which the AR is expected to deal with sideline behavior on their own, when to bring the referee into it, and how this is accomplished.
Without making an elaborate show of it, find a way to bring the referee nearer to you and give him or her a brief and precise summary of what has been going on and ask him/her to act on it. If the referee refuses to act, prepare a match report with your input on it for the benefit of both the competition authority and the state referee authorities.
