Quebec minor soccer association to equip referees with body cameras

A youth soccer association in Quebec's Eastern Townships is planning to equip referees with body cameras in a bid to prevent them from being abused on the field.

Martin Tremblay, president of the Minor Soccer Association of Windsor, said the abuse is turning refs away and their safety — including that of his own daughter — fuelled the decision to start using cameras for the upcoming season.

"When parents know they're being filmed, they may have a positive attitude towards them, perhaps to calm them down," he said in an interview on Monday.

Tremblay said in recent years, he's been having a hard time retaining refs, a lot of whom are between the ages of 14 and 17. The abuse doesn't just come from parents on the sidelines.

"Last year, we even had a coach who verbally attacked one of our referees for most of a game, and when she left the field she told us it was over. The referee was gone," he said.

Last year, the Ontario Soccer Association launched a pilot project in 11 districts across the province to start handing out body cameras to referees, similar to the ones used by some police forces, to document physical or mental abuse they face during their job. A report on the project's effectiveness is due this year.

Other leagues are expressing interest in the pilot project.

"Being 14, 15 — teenage years — it's difficult to take that kind of abuse," said Ernesto Iannuccilli, a referee with the Dorval Soccer Association.

"Something needs to be done in order to recruit new referees as well as retain the ones we have. It's really a challenge, I agree, with this trial, if it's going to dissuade people from behaving badly."

Last spring, an altercation caught on camera on a Montreal soccer field reignited the debate over whether body cameras are needed. Witnesses said at the time that the coach of a Lakeshore female soccer team hurled insults at the referee, in front of dozens of teenage players and their parents. The Lakeshore Soccer Club coach was expelled from the game and later suspended.

Soccer Lac St-Louis has sensitivity campaigns to remind people to respect the rules. General manager Robert D'Alesio said he hopes his association won't have to resort to body cams.

"We're really focused on good reporting, allowing our referees to be able to report these incidents, feel comfortable reporting them and then it's up to us to track the data and really pinpoint the problematic people or members that are causing these issues," he said.

"Oftentimes, you'll see that the percentage is very, very small and it's repeat offenders."

The Lakeshore Soccer Club isn't planning on introducing body cameras, but their director of refereeing said she supports what the Minor Soccer Association of Windsor is doing.

"I think having the body cam means having that proof. Hopefully, it works in prevention because then people will see, 'Oh, if you do this thing, that's not OK — if you verbally abuse the refs — there will be consequences,'" said Chloe Parsons.

Chloe Parsons is the director of refereeing at the Lakeshore Soccer Club. (CTV News)

The club focuses on training, she explained, including pairing up new referees with mentors when they're just starting out. Parsons would also like to see more awareness campaigns brought back to encourage respectful behaviour on both sides of the field.

"Letting parents, fans, coaches, spectators know what it's like to be a referee and to really sensitize them to the fact that, 'Oh, this person is on the field. They're not a robot. They're someone's kid, they're someone's sibling, they're also a kid who plays soccer," she said.

"It could very well be your daughter or son who does the same job one day and would you want adults yelling at them?"