In reply to: The shortage is a real problem posted by wcnitz
if the game is out of control and they think someone is going to get hurt. Part of the problem is that these refs don't take control of the game, even if they aren't making great calls.
One thing I will say about the ref I complained about last weekend is that he didn't lost control of the game. He just made terrible calls.
And to be clear, I think it is appropriate for parents to have a quick outburst when they think there is a fairly significant bad call, but it should be a quick comment and should be left at that.
Nothing you say to a ref is going to do anything except make you feel better and probably piss off the ref. And you might cause an otherwise good ref to conclude it isn't worth it and stop. There is already a shortage of refs for soccer.
The younger the referee, the more the yelling is going to increase their anxiety and make their judgement worse.
Coaches and parents berate referees, the younger ones tend to quit because of it. Enter less experienced referee, cycle repeats.
When a 20 year grade 6 referee gets screamed at by coaches who have been coaching for 1/4 of that time, in a local league match, why should the 16 year old keep working when he's going to be treated even worse?
The most respectful people involved are the players themselves. That really says a lot.
All others involved in the process are secondary in terms of importance. I focus on that when I hear chirping from people that don't matter. it's also why I focus on youth matches and try to do most of my center work in the u12-u16 age range.