When we were strapping young youth soccer players, our coaches would tell us not to argue with the ref. They were adamant about this: no arguing with the ref, under any cicumstances. No matter how bad the call was, no matter how wronged we thought we had been, we were not allowed to argue with the ref.
Now, we know why. Our coaches probably thought they were teaching us about sportsmanship or something, but they were really teaching us not to get shot, which, we think, is at least as valuable if, not more.
It turns out that when you argue too much with the ref, he goes back to his locker room and returns with a gun and threatens you with it, or at least that's what happened in this particular instance in Brazil. The ref had had enough of the players trying to bully him so he pulled out his gun, R. Kelly style.
So, kids, don't argue with the ref. It's bad sportsmanship. And he might shoot you.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
