Both my boys love football. They play every Sunday from September through to May and train every Wednesday. Over the years I have watched in rain, shine, snow and frost. I have been excited, bored, proud and annoyed, but I have always been there. Unfortunately the worst bit about watching my boys play football ... is the presence of other parents.
Despite the F.A's Respect campaign there are still large numbers of parents who watch children's football and are absolutely obnoxious.
For me, there are games where I am just relieved when the final whistle blows and we have escaped without any major arguments. The awful thing is that the aggression of the parents spills into the play of their children. Almost without fail the teams who play aggressively and dirtily are those whose parents stand on the touchline screaming at the referee and questioning every decision made.
Yesterday the referee at my son's match had to warn one of the opposition parents to be quiet or he would ask him to leave. There was no sheepish apology from an over excited dad - just a stream of "I paid me money dint I? I can say what I like!!"
One of their players, on a one on one with our goal keeper, decided that as he couldn't win the ball fairly (our goalie had picked up the ball already) he would punch the boy on the shoulder as he ran past. Our goalie went down. Luckily he hung onto the ball so no advantage was gained, but the boy was not warned, not yellow carded, not taken off by his coach. In fact the adults on his side seemed to find his actions highly amusing.
It just makes me sad that the value of sportsmanship is lost in these situations. It is all about testosterone and anger. The desire to win at any cost is all that counts and goals are met with shrieking and growling. The decisions of line judges are questioned and referees are intimidated by middle aged men who should know better.
I don't know why this is, but I know that I hate it. Personally I applaud good play from either side and expect my son to shake hands with the opposition when the match is finished. I expect fair play from both children and parents. I understand that referees and linesmen make mistakes and it is ... just a game.
The fact is that parents' attitudes impact on their children and if aggression on the part of adults is seen as acceptable then that aggression spreads to their boys. Swearing and late tackling seem to be accepted too. Both my boys had considered training as referees to earn a bit of money at the weekends, but I'm not sure if I really want them to have to undergo the abuse shouted from both the touchlines and on the pitch itself. One week the opposition parents were all drinking alcohol on the touchline as they screamed and shouted - outrageous.
We once had a man whose son played for our team and he was one of the most revolting people I have ever met. He was a bully - as mean to his own son as he was to everyone else. The rest of us as parents stood away from him and I found myself apologising for his behaviour to the opposition one day. He would scream at his son to "Break their legs!!!! Take him out!!!" He was, after calling a mother from another team "Scum!!", ejected from our club. And yet he is now to be seen "supporting" his son as he plays for another team.
I think that this is more than a "football" thing. It is an issue of education, social skills and expectations.
Not everybody who watches kids' football is a Neanderthal. The parents of my sons' teams are nice, decent people who applaud good play from either side and support each other as well as their children as we huddle in the rain through the winter months. But the message of Respect is not getting through to all of the people and it is those people who ruin football. They are rude, disrespectful and generally obnoxious and, sadly, no amount of campaigning will change them. I will continue to be grateful at the end of each match when we have made it through safely again. And that really is outrageous.
Despite the F.A's Respect campaign there are still large numbers of parents who watch children's football and are absolutely obnoxious.
For me, there are games where I am just relieved when the final whistle blows and we have escaped without any major arguments. The awful thing is that the aggression of the parents spills into the play of their children. Almost without fail the teams who play aggressively and dirtily are those whose parents stand on the touchline screaming at the referee and questioning every decision made.
Yesterday the referee at my son's match had to warn one of the opposition parents to be quiet or he would ask him to leave. There was no sheepish apology from an over excited dad - just a stream of "I paid me money dint I? I can say what I like!!"
One of their players, on a one on one with our goal keeper, decided that as he couldn't win the ball fairly (our goalie had picked up the ball already) he would punch the boy on the shoulder as he ran past. Our goalie went down. Luckily he hung onto the ball so no advantage was gained, but the boy was not warned, not yellow carded, not taken off by his coach. In fact the adults on his side seemed to find his actions highly amusing.
It just makes me sad that the value of sportsmanship is lost in these situations. It is all about testosterone and anger. The desire to win at any cost is all that counts and goals are met with shrieking and growling. The decisions of line judges are questioned and referees are intimidated by middle aged men who should know better.
I don't know why this is, but I know that I hate it. Personally I applaud good play from either side and expect my son to shake hands with the opposition when the match is finished. I expect fair play from both children and parents. I understand that referees and linesmen make mistakes and it is ... just a game.
The fact is that parents' attitudes impact on their children and if aggression on the part of adults is seen as acceptable then that aggression spreads to their boys. Swearing and late tackling seem to be accepted too. Both my boys had considered training as referees to earn a bit of money at the weekends, but I'm not sure if I really want them to have to undergo the abuse shouted from both the touchlines and on the pitch itself. One week the opposition parents were all drinking alcohol on the touchline as they screamed and shouted - outrageous.
We once had a man whose son played for our team and he was one of the most revolting people I have ever met. He was a bully - as mean to his own son as he was to everyone else. The rest of us as parents stood away from him and I found myself apologising for his behaviour to the opposition one day. He would scream at his son to "Break their legs!!!! Take him out!!!" He was, after calling a mother from another team "Scum!!", ejected from our club. And yet he is now to be seen "supporting" his son as he plays for another team.
I think that this is more than a "football" thing. It is an issue of education, social skills and expectations.
Not everybody who watches kids' football is a Neanderthal. The parents of my sons' teams are nice, decent people who applaud good play from either side and support each other as well as their children as we huddle in the rain through the winter months. But the message of Respect is not getting through to all of the people and it is those people who ruin football. They are rude, disrespectful and generally obnoxious and, sadly, no amount of campaigning will change them. I will continue to be grateful at the end of each match when we have made it through safely again. And that really is outrageous.
