An Abandoned Football Match I Experienced

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To start with, what is an abandoned football match? This refers to any game, not just football that does not end the normal way. Games get abandoned because of various reasons like bad weather condition, fight or chaos during the game etc. Many times, we have heard of matches that got abandoned because of some factors but days ago, I actually participated in an abandoned game.

It is usually not pleasing to have a game being abandoned because everything would have turned out to be a waste of time, energy and resources. One common reason games are usually being abandoned is due to conflict on the pitch, could be because of a rough tackle, poor officiating or an unprofessional act by a player. Other than the weather factor, all other factors that causes the abandonment of a game can be controlled and avoided.

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So, as a player, coach or an official, we should always be professional in all our actions during the game. Players should be well-mannered during action; they should learn to always respect the decision of the referee. The referee and other officials should try not to be biased in their decisions during the game as this could affect the outcome of the match. When all these are in place then games would be fun and smooth running till the final whistle is being blown.

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So, we had this novelty football match with a church football team just recently. The game started quite well and everyone was enjoying himself. But there was a mistake the home team made, they brought in their coach to officiate the game. The opponent team didn't sit fine with it but they had to play after all. Now, and what was the disadvantage of this decision?

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The opponent team perceived every aspect of the officiating to be biased. Although, the referee made some decisions that appeared biased, he wasn't biased entirely. During the first half, the home team committed two offences (handball) that should have been a penalty but the referee waved it off with reasons best known to him. This brought a little uproar from the opponent team but there was a calmness later on.

However, before the end of the first half, the opponent team scored a goal to have a lead on th scoreline. Coming into the second half, the game went well not until the injury time when the home team mounted pressure to equalize the goal. They happened to win several corners but this last one seemed to cause a bit of a problem.

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The ball was being crossed into the box and in the process, it did hit one of the defender's shoulder unintentionally. Immediately, the referee blew the whistle to give the home team a spot kick. And that's how the chaos began; there were lots of shoutings and arguments. One of the players even took the ball out of the pitch and a fight almost ensued. Because of these happenings, the game was being abandoned as players left the pitch unofficially and there was no final whistle.

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My take on the issue...

• Never use a referee that knows the both teams in action. This will help solve the issue of being biased or being perceived biased while officiating.
• players should learn to be professional at all times. Rude attitudes and displays are uncalled for during a match.
• no matter the decision, players should learn to respect the referee and his decision. The referee always has the final say.