Select Group and FIFA Referee Martin Atkinson was in charge of a recent Premier League match between Chelsea FC and West Ham United FC. During the match, the referee dealt with a lot of dissent, particularly from Chelsea midfielder Jon Obi Mikel (#12).
Atkinson takes his usual calm and cool approach to dealing with Mikel when he pulls him aside for a chat about his behavior.
I call this case study to your attention for two reasons: first, is the calm, finger-on-lips rebuke to Mikel. This is a classic case of trying to change behavior by modeling the behavior you want (as opposed to trying to talk over the player). Second, Atkinson warns Mikel against further dissent, and then deals with it as promised when Mikel engages in dissent again a few minutes later.
The key learning points are:
- Remain calm and composed when dealing with dissenting players
- If you warn a player with the universal “no more” signal, be prepared to follow through
For the screen shots, I took some liberties with the dialog. Hopefully you find it amusing without it detracting from the main points.
In The Opinion Of The Referee 
13 responses to “Case Study: shhhhh, we're using our inside voices. . .”
funny pictures !
It reminds me that a good referee, needs only be professional and follow through on what we say.
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Great Case Study itootr!
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Harris Rasheed liked this on Facebook.
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is that how you would have dealt with Engelmann?
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I like it.
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John, I’m not familiar with the situation you’re referring to. Have a link?
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William E Mostellar Sr. liked this on Facebook.
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Miguel Santoyo liked this on Facebook.
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Robert Reath liked this on Facebook.
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Oh there’s a surprise Mikel mouthing off at the ref… Seems to be his best talent! Well done Atko!!
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