You don't alway recognize the "Moment of Truth"
It's very common for referees to have a "moment of truth" during a game - where the choice you make determines how well you'll be able to control it from that point on. I thought I recognized where that was for me last night, but I realized today, I was wrong. The good news is I think I did the right thing, in either case.In some ways, it was surreal, I, a lowly grade 8 centering an adult game with two ARs, both of which at least three grades better than I. On one hand, absolutely bizarre, on the other, I'm glad I was able to pick their brains during halftime and after the game. The first half was relatevely uneventful - white out-muscleing blue but nothing dirty, and only a few things that needed a whistle. Midway through the second half, I issue a caution for a late challenge on white. Then five minutes later, and this has been the story of my summer thus far, an attacker (white) and goalkeer (blue) collide on a 50-50 ball; no foul, just both going in hard, and both getting shaken up. As an aside, one of the ARs, remember that they both do far higher-level games than I, recommended I blow the whistle for a foul regardless - why? The keeper had the ball, but isn't moving - don't caution the attacker, but do make a show of talking to him, so the other team knows that the situation is in hand (I also used the opportunity to tell the attacker than blue was going to be pissed at him, and it's his job to keep his head).
I thought that the keeper/attacker collision was the moment of truth - blue wanted another card, but clearly none was warranted. What I realized that the moment of truth was the yellow card five minutes earlier.
When a game is slow, and there's not a lot of fouls going on, it's easy to let something cardable go, as a fluke, as an aberration, and see if you can't go on without the card. Sometimes it works, sometimes it bites you in the butt, sometimes it's neither, but you later wish you carded and asserted your athority (I've had all three - in about equal parts - but it's always really tempting to go cardless and hope for #1). I choose to card, because the challenge was late and there was no chance at the ball at all. That was the moment that kept all hell from breaking loose at the keeper/attacker collision, and allowed me to keep emotions from escalating.
Now if it was always that straightforward.