First post here. Had an incident at a game today that kind of annoyed me, was wondering if you guys could clarify some rules for me.
I've played for a few years here in the US. Had a semi-friendly scrimmage today, I was playing with a team of very inexperienced guys versus a very well developed University team. Lots of new guys, so it gets a little bit chippy. I wasn't innocent of the mistakes -- slipped up and made a high tackle (it wasn't hard by any means, just light contact) earlier in the game, got rightly called, but other than that I didn't have any calls against me or play particularly chippy.
Later in the game I had a much larger guy barreling towards me. Tried the usual, low tackle and so on, but got hit hard by another player who was supporting the ball carrier (at least that's what I think happened). Either way I got hit, and with the ruck forming under me ended up falling headfirst with my feet going up in the air for a second. I wasn't illegally flipped or anything, just got beaten, it happens.
The referee stopped the game, pulled me and the captain aside and told me that "We're not even going to pretend that didn't just happen. You had your feet high at another player's head level, and could have kicked him in the face. If this was a real match I'd red card you and report you." Now at this point, I'll admit I lost my cool a little, and told him in a pretty respectful way that I was flipped and wasn't intentionally trying to kick anyone (shouldn't have talked back, I know, but he caught me totally by surprise). There were no calls for a penalty from the other team, they didn't even think there had been anything wrong.
After the game I politely asked the referee to clarify his call (wouldn't have done that in a normal game, but this was a scrimmage). He told me that it's irrelevant what I tried to do, if my feet go high it's a red. I asked him what I was supposed to do, he told me that it was my responsibility to control my feet. I left it at that, thanked him and left, no point in arguing as it was over and done.
My question is, was the referee correct? Now I understand that it is my job to prevent injury to other players, and that intentionally kicking an opponent is a red card, but I've never heard anyone say that it's a red if your feet go high and don't actually make contact with anyone. I personally think he was wrong, I don't see how I'm supposed to somehow tuck my feet in if I just got hit. Would appreciate if anyone could clarify.
Cheers
I've played for a few years here in the US. Had a semi-friendly scrimmage today, I was playing with a team of very inexperienced guys versus a very well developed University team. Lots of new guys, so it gets a little bit chippy. I wasn't innocent of the mistakes -- slipped up and made a high tackle (it wasn't hard by any means, just light contact) earlier in the game, got rightly called, but other than that I didn't have any calls against me or play particularly chippy.
Later in the game I had a much larger guy barreling towards me. Tried the usual, low tackle and so on, but got hit hard by another player who was supporting the ball carrier (at least that's what I think happened). Either way I got hit, and with the ruck forming under me ended up falling headfirst with my feet going up in the air for a second. I wasn't illegally flipped or anything, just got beaten, it happens.
The referee stopped the game, pulled me and the captain aside and told me that "We're not even going to pretend that didn't just happen. You had your feet high at another player's head level, and could have kicked him in the face. If this was a real match I'd red card you and report you." Now at this point, I'll admit I lost my cool a little, and told him in a pretty respectful way that I was flipped and wasn't intentionally trying to kick anyone (shouldn't have talked back, I know, but he caught me totally by surprise). There were no calls for a penalty from the other team, they didn't even think there had been anything wrong.
After the game I politely asked the referee to clarify his call (wouldn't have done that in a normal game, but this was a scrimmage). He told me that it's irrelevant what I tried to do, if my feet go high it's a red. I asked him what I was supposed to do, he told me that it was my responsibility to control my feet. I left it at that, thanked him and left, no point in arguing as it was over and done.
My question is, was the referee correct? Now I understand that it is my job to prevent injury to other players, and that intentionally kicking an opponent is a red card, but I've never heard anyone say that it's a red if your feet go high and don't actually make contact with anyone. I personally think he was wrong, I don't see how I'm supposed to somehow tuck my feet in if I just got hit. Would appreciate if anyone could clarify.
Cheers