Shameful New Mexico University Soccer Player Elizabeth Lambert

As a former referee, here is how I would have called the infractions as shown on the video, I am assuming the fouls are in chronological order:



1) 0:04 Trip on a breakaway: Red Card, Serious Foul Play for Denying an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity. On a foul like this I can tell the referees are not confident.

2) 0:06 Punch in the Back: Both players would have gotten yellows from me, even though by the book she would have gotten a red. Both players were equally culpable. After this incident, I would bring both captains together and explain that if you even look at a player wrong you are going to get called for a foul. Also, I would really clamp down (i.e., cards) for any unsporting activity like off- the-ball contact,

3) 0:10 Hair Pull: Straight Red for Violent Conduct. If this wasn't seen, then it is bad mechanics by the crew.

4) 0:20 I would not have called a foul, as she backed away from the kick, until she held/obstructed after the ball got away. I did not see the who build up, but depending how the the player in white got to the ball, she could have been called for dangerous play. But given the previous incidents, I would have probably stopped the play and called something to start to get control of the game display authority.

5) 0:22 Slide Tackle from Behind: This would have been a straight red for violent conduct. This was a very deliberate attempt not only to injury, but to end someone's career. The PCL is very subceptible to injury in a tackle like this, and she had absolutely no shot at the ball. If I was the coach of her team, she would have been off the field a long time ago, but after a tackle like this she would never play for me again that year. If I was a league administrator, I would take the following sanctions:
* Player does not play again for the rest of the year
* The program is somehow punished
* The referees do not referee until a period deemed appropriate. They really blew a lot of calls and failed to make sure the game resembled soccer, was fair, and protect the players.

6) 0:25 Tripping: On its own this would have been a Yellow card for Persistant Infringmentment. In the context of the rest of the game, however, this type of egregious foul would be a red card.

7) 0:29 Clubbing After the Ball is Clear: Red for violent Conduct. This is a case where you are taking liberties with a player in a defenseless position.

Four of these incidents were worthy of a red card on their own, and three of these were simply violent actions against a defenseless opponent. The player should not play again.

I think what has not been discussed enough was that the referees did not do their job at all. There are three referees on the field. This was simply a case where the referees did not do their job. If you don't have the confidence to stand behind a red card in these situations, you are not qualified to refereeing and U8 game, much less DI college.

I would love to see a game report.