10 most embarrassing things I have done as a referee

1. I was refereeing an U16 boys match where I whistled for a trip. All of the sudden they all were laughing. Turned out I whistled a guy who tripped over his own feet.

2. In an U19 boys match in the first minute, I whistled for a tactical foul. I went to caution the player and he started yelling at me more than usual. I told him he knew he tripped the guy because he was beat and had he not, he would have definitely have scoring options. He said, "You can't send me off for that!" I looked up and I saw my yellow card turned out to be a red card. I said, "This was a test." Pulled the yellow, "This is for real." Needless to say I had control of the match for the rest of the game.

3. I showed up to a game early and decided I needed to rest my eyes. Next thing you know, the opening whistled wakes me up and my AR1 took the center because I was a no show.

4. During an assessment last year, I pulled a red card for DOGSO, but lost sight of the player who I was supposed to give it to, so I gave it to the wrong player. The other players let me know this. I looked at my AR and he was chickening out to give a caution. I knew that wasn't going to fly. Not with Kennedy standing there waiting to see what I would do next. So I held the player hostage and said, "Well either he goes, or you give me the guy who did it." That seemed to fly for everyone, except the coach who thought I was harsh. Kennedy in his usual demeanor said, "Fuck him, you made the right decision. However, how did you get the right player?" I told him how I held the team hostage and I never seen an old man wince with pain and delight at the same time.

5. Showing up late (this was my teen years) to a game because I overslept. The coordinator gave me a wake up call for the next month.

6. My very first assessment in the middle I sent off the wrong player, but managed to correct it before the game restarted with the help of the team (Do you see a pattern here?). I passed and got an excellent feedback to boost my ego, but it ended with you might want to use the same format game sheet so you don't misread your book.

7. In AZ I did a reverse diagonal because the field was so muddy that on the normal AR spot, they would have lost their footing. As a result, you tend to lose yourself on the field. When I did, I got in the way of a player taking a shot, before I was able to move, it glanced off my foot which fooled the keeper and it went in the goal. Only one defender caught on, looked at me, and just patted me in the back in a don't sweat it kind of way. Fortunately it didn't affect the outcome of the game.

8. Did an AR on a CPSA match where I went to take position and turned out I took position on the edge of the penalty area vs. the touch line. The center referee let me know this and players gave me grief for most of the game.

9. Got in the way of a player running full on, and he knocked me several feet. Game was a bit boring anyway, so I provided a little entertainment to the spectators.

10. And finally and most recent grade 5 upgrade, I was prepping for the game, reach down to tie my boots and turned out I noticed a string hanging out. When I reached for it is when I noticed that I had a hold in my short at the crotch area. Trying not to show my anxiety I looked through my bag for an extra pair. Didn't pack one. So I tried not to show my anxiety. When I was told I reeked in experience my thought was you have no idea. I told my assistants after the assessor left.

Wow I actually reached 10. I'm sure there are others, but those were the highlights of my not so great moments in sports.