"A good CR never let's this happen"
 

In a tournament this weekend I had a veteran ref tell a younger ref that "a good CR never let's a game end in a tie". We were talking about ties in a tournament and what to do if the game ended in a tie. I was frankly amazed at this but others sitting around the tent nodded in agreement.

In my opinion, you call what you see, not what you want to happen and to make a call for or against a team in a tournament just because he doesn't want to do an OT game is wrong.

Am I naive?

Yes, it's a standard joke. :)

But one only other officials should hear! :o

Yes, It is only a joke. Sunday I was assessing a crew working the u15 D2 State Final. Regulation ended in a tie. I joked with the crew that one of them had to fail the assessment since it was a tie. They voted and I was told it was the 4th officials fault and thats who was "taking one for the team".

Our association received a formal complaint about an official who made a similar joke. After a game was won by a late PK goal, he kidded his partner that he had to call it because his wife had dinner ready. The coach overheard the joke and wrote a complaint.

Yeh, I kind of thought it was a joke but he was telling this to a youth referee which, I thought, was wrong. That's something that, not realizing it is a joke, they can take to heart. The kid, as it turns out, had a tie game later in the day and the guy made the same comment to him. I understand it is a standard joke but, please, don't say it to youth refs. It's a dangerous joke to have overheard because it plays right into the insecurity of coaches and parents when it comes to officials.

As stated earlier, a standing joke among referees in all sports... kind of like the "tuck your whistle in your shirt before you go to the bathroom." Don't takeit seriously!

Hmmmm, actually you should take this one seriously. ;)

I overheard one ref tell the ref of my daughter's game that very thing and I thought it was a joke. She plays U-8 and they don't keep score!