Sunday Football

[Spikey Shrimper]

Does anyone on here play in the Southend Sunday League? I imagine it the same for all the other leagues as well, Sceptre etc. Anyway, just been on their website and found this:-

Latest News / Updates - Tuesday 6th November 2007
Castle Point Borough Council:
Castle Point Borough Council have written to every club that hires a football pitch from them regarding the use of foul language. The contents of the Council's letter is as follows,

"It has been brought to our attention that certain teams are using excessive bad language while playing their football match.
Please remind your players that the football pitches are situated on public open space and swearing will not be tolerated. Teams could lose their pitch facilities without a refund of pitch fees if this offensive behaiour continues.

The League would like to remind all clubs in the League that the use of foul language is not acceptable. Please make your players aware that they must not use foul and abusive language whilst playing matches.



How absolutely preposterous! Yeah ok, swearing is not nice and can be offensive. However, is it possible to get 22 testosterone filled blokes, playing a competitive sport without a hint of a swear word? NO. It will never happen. And to potentially lose your pitch because of it!! What happens if it is the visiting team that is using colourful language? Are they going to listen if you tell them to stop? A ref will have a certain amount of control but will normally only take action if swearing is directed at him (which I agree he should do if players are abusing him).

I honestly can’t see the Council actually taking any action on this and that they are probably just humouring a complaint received from a little old lady who was walking her dog one Sunday morning. Soon Rugby won’t be able to be played in public because it’s too violent.

I think this country is going mad and all I want to do now is swear. Where’s Wayne Rooney when you need him??

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Does anyone on here play in the Southend Sunday League? I imagine it the same for all the other leagues as well, Sceptre etc. Anyway, just been on their website and found this:-

Latest News / Updates - Tuesday 6th November 2007
Castle Point Borough Council:
Castle Point Borough Council have written to every club that hires a football pitch from them regarding the use of foul language. The contents of the Council's letter is as follows,

"It has been brought to our attention that certain teams are using excessive bad language while playing their football match.

What a load of old sh!t B0ll0x W8nk Feck Arrse:D

 

[Bob Cratchitt]

I am waiting for a post to repsond 'Well Rugby players manage it!'

 

[The General]

Im sure this is just the league sending out a little warning to all teams. They all seem to do it at some point of the season just to try and remind them, who's boss!

Kev

 

[number11]

I think it should be possible for 22 men to not swear. My job is far more stressful then playing football, and I get far more abuse at work then playing football, but Im expected to retain my cool. Its all about control, and for too long people playing football have been able to get away with foul and abusive language, despite the laws prohibiting it. If you start sending off Rooney or the like Im pretty sure they would soon learn how to curb their language.

Start clamping down on it and you remove the culture of it, which can only be for the better. I played against someone on Sunday who for 120 minutes (game went to extra time) was chuntering away, calling other players and the ref ****s, telling his players to 'go through him' and 'snap him' etc. If you clamp down on such language morons like him would not play as much as they would be a disciplinary liability to his team. As it happens he missed a penalty in the penalty shoot out and I didnt hear much from him after that.

 

[MK Shrimper]

If you work in a blue-collar industry (as I once did) it's f**king hard to stop peppering your sentences with swears. I now work in an open plan office and (jokingly) told a colleague to "f**k off you fat b@stard" when he asked me if I had any biscuits .... the office went deathly silent :D

 

[mattytheshrimper]

i better keep my mouth shut then. :o

 

[BoyWonder2]

Does anyone on here play in the Southend Sunday League? I imagine it the same for all the other leagues as well, Sceptre etc. Anyway, just been on their website and found this:-

Latest News / Updates - Tuesday 6th November 2007
Castle Point Borough Council:
Castle Point Borough Council have written to every club that hires a football pitch from them regarding the use of foul language. The contents of the Council's letter is as follows,

"It has been brought to our attention that certain teams are using excessive bad language while playing their football match.
Please remind your players that the football pitches are situated on public open space and swearing will not be tolerated. Teams could lose their pitch facilities without a refund of pitch fees if this offensive behaiour continues.

The League would like to remind all clubs in the League that the use of foul language is not acceptable. Please make your players aware that they must not use foul and abusive language whilst playing matches.



How absolutely preposterous! Yeah ok, swearing is not nice and can be offensive. However, is it possible to get 22 testosterone filled blokes, playing a competitive sport without a hint of a swear word? NO. It will never happen. And to potentially lose your pitch because of it!! What happens if it is the visiting team that is using colourful language? Are they going to listen if you tell them to stop? A ref will have a certain amount of control but will normally only take action if swearing is directed at him (which I agree he should do if players are abusing him).

I honestly can’t see the Council actually taking any action on this and that they are probably just humouring a complaint received from a little old lady who was walking her dog one Sunday morning. Soon Rugby won’t be able to be played in public because it’s too violent.

I think this country is going mad and all I want to do now is swear. Where’s Wayne Rooney when you need him??

I play in the Pope and Smith league and have had something similiar at one of the grounds we played at. The first time we played there, 3 men were sent off for foul and abusive language (2 from them, 1 from us).

Second time we played there, no problems at all. Its possible to have a game of football without swearing, so just bit your lip and stop whinging.

 

[Spikey Shrimper]

I think it should be possible for 22 men to not swear. My job is far more stressful then playing football, and I get far more abuse at work then playing football, but Im expected to retain my cool. Its all about control, and for too long people playing football have been able to get away with foul and abusive language, despite the laws prohibiting it. If you start sending off Rooney or the like Im pretty sure they would soon learn how to curb their language.

Start clamping down on it and you remove the culture of it, which can only be for the better. I played against someone on Sunday who for 120 minutes (game went to extra time) was chuntering away, calling other players and the ref ****s, telling his players to 'go through him' and 'snap him' etc. If you clamp down on such language morons like him would not play as much as they would be a disciplinary liability to his team. As it happens he missed a penalty in the penalty shoot out and I didnt hear much from him after that.

I deal with very difficult people in my job and do get the odd bit of abuse but I do not swear or abuse people back in professional situations. If I did that I'll lose my job! Hence why if you abuse opposition players or the ref you should booked or sent off, depending on the severity. This doesn't often happen though because there is not normally a proper league official reffing the game at my level (home sides normally give an injured player of theirs the job!).
However, I don't think playing sunday league football is hardly a professional situation that can be compared to an everyday job.

I play in the Pope and Smith league and have had something similiar at one of the grounds we played at. The first time we played there, 3 men were sent off for foul and abusive language (2 from them, 1 from us).

Second time we played there, no problems at all. Its possible to have a game of football without swearing, so just bit your lip and stop whinging.

I think there is a big difference between swearing and being foul and abusive toward people. When I attempt a Beckham like 50 yard pass that I slice out for a throw-in for the fourth time, I will shout For Fcuk Sake or B0ll0x or what ever comes into my head. Or in the dying seconds in a cup semi final where there is a massive goal mouth scramble and i'm shouting "get the fcuking ball out". Is that wrong? Should I sent off for this and then our team banned from using the pitch? Could it be one of the above scenarios where the original complaint came from? Probably not, but I think swearing is sort of part of the game which will never be irradicated.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

i think the point is abusive language used towards the ref, not for swearing over a mistake etc.

 

[ldnfatso]

If you work in a blue-collar industry (as I once did) it's f**king hard to stop peppering your sentences with swears. I now work in an open plan office and (jokingly) told a colleague to "f**k off you fat b@stard" when he asked me if I had any biscuits .... the office went deathly silent :D

Did you have any biscuits?:confused:

 

[* ORM *]

The biggest problem here is the total unwillingness of top refs to clamp down on swearing at him and ungentlemanly conduct which would cover comments and actions directed at other players and this filters all the way down to teams like ours. 20 years ago if you swore at the ref you'd be walking off the pitch before the card was shown- in the real world it rarely happened because the rules were enforced

 

[BLUEBLOOD]

I ran the line for my team once, and cos i didn't give an offside decision in the oppo's favour one of their lads came over to me and called me a cheating **** ... i waved my flag and the ref sent him off, i told him i didn't mind being called a **** but i was no cheat :D :D

 

[Winkle]

I ran the line for my team once, and cos i didn't give an offside decision in the oppo's favour one of their lads came over to me and called me a cheating **** ... i waved my flag and the ref sent him off, i told him i didn't mind being called a **** but i was no cheat :D :D

I used to manage my lads football side for four years (3 promotions and well ...we wont talk about the 4th season) and also sometimes being the lino. I think possibly over them four seasons I was called every swear word imaginable and most of them by the kids themselves. You will never stop it!

 

[sufcintheprem]

We had a ref last weekend who was like this although not confrontational with it. It helped that it wasn't a tight game (we won 10-2 :D) but it stopped after a while. If refs did it consistently and players actually had any respect for the punishment then it could work.

He did go too far when clamping down on people swearing in frustration I think though.

Best bit of the match was when another of our midfielders politely asked the ref if he could waive the swearing ban for ten seconds so he could call our surprisingly wasteful striker a ****er!

 

[The General]

We had a ref last weekend who was like this although not confrontational with it. It helped that it wasn't a tight game (we won 10-2 :D) but it stopped after a while. If refs did it consistently and players actually had any respect for the punishment then it could work.

He did go too far when clamping down on people swearing in frustration I think though.

Best bit of the match was when another of our midfielders politely asked the ref if he could waive the swearing ban for ten seconds so he could call our surprisingly wasteful striker a ****er!

You did well to hear that from the sidelines!!

:angel:

 

[sufcintheprem]

You did well to hear that from the sidelines!!

:angel:

Two goal hero mate. Must be the service

:) :p

 

[The General]

Two goal hero mate. Must be the service

:) :p

Well at least im sure the oppo appreciated the 2 goals you scored for them!

;)

 

[davewebbsbrain]

If you work in a blue-collar industry (as I once did) it's f**king hard to stop peppering your sentences with swears. I now work in an open plan office and (jokingly) told a colleague to "f**k off you fat b@stard" when he asked me if I had any biscuits .... the office went deathly silent :D

Found the same thing, going from an engineering environment where every other word is Feck, it is really hard to change your mind set when moving to an office environment...

Also found it hard having to wear clean smart clothing each day rather than dirty greasy old overalls you can wear for days!!