'Let The Officials Officiate': Soccer Referee Shortage In Oklahoma Stems From Spectator Abuse, Ref Says

Soccer officials around the state were tired of the way they were being treated and called it quits, causing a shortage of officials for soccer games.

On the weekend you can usually find several kids on the soccer fields working on their skills, but there may be one thing that's harder to find.

"Just takes that one instance and referees don't come back," said Jonathan McDermott who works for the Oklahoma State Referee Committee.

He said during his 13 years, the state's number of referees diminished by nearly 50%.

"Right as we came back from COVID, we currently have a massive shortage across the state for a multitude of reasons," McDermott said.

Some local referees said it wasn't what happened on the field that drove referees away, it was what happened on the sidelines.

"People go out there and they're losing their mind, like they're becoming emotionally unavailable at the moment of the game and so what's transpiring and what's happening is you're running off officials," said local referee Brian Barlow.

Barlow has been a soccer referee for 14 years. He said the shortage was caused by parents and spectators.

"Let the coaches coach, let the players play, and let the officials officiate," he said.

McDermott said even he thought about throwing in the towel. "I've had my moments where I've thought about giving up on it too just because you get driven to the edge and you can't take it anymore," he said.

Without enough referees to cover every game, the ones they did have had to put in extra time. Barlow said just imagine if the refs acted like the parents.

"What does that look like if the official is out there officiating the game and little Sammy misses a wide-open goal, nobody's in there and the official's like, 'Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? Sammy? You missed a shot? Oh my gosh, unbelievable. Worst little 8-year-old soccer player I have ever seen. Terrible," he said.

McDermott said there were only 1,000 referees registered so far, but the committee hoped to have 1,450 for the season.