The chairman of the JFA Referees’ Committee, Mark Le Cornu, said that youth football may be facing a referee crisis as ‘vociferous’ and ‘aggressive’ touchline behaviour is putting off young officials.
He added that some coaches ‘seem to think they are coaching in the World Cup final’ rather than an under-14s match.
He said that one young referee was ‘having a crisis of confidence’ after being chastised from the touchline and there was a danger that other referees may turn their back on the game if the bad behaviour continues.
A strongly worded email has now been sent to all club secretaries after concerns were raised that the ‘behaviour and attitude of a number of coaches and parents leaves something to be desired’.
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