15-year-old assistant soccer referee doesn't get paid after 18-year-old ref makes up a rule about being 30 minutes early, assistant ref gets him fired: ‘Dave was fired for making up rules, and I got paid’

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Apr 30, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

Give someone an ounce of power and they'll be sure to exercise every bit of it every possible chance they get. Take Dave, for example, who had a temporary shadow of power and decided that it was a good idea to make up new rules just so he could make an extra $5…

See, these soccer refs worked in a system where the person who was acting as the head ref marked whether or not the assistant ref was present at the game. The thing is, it's not like that was an official title; who was the assistant ref or center ref was determined purely based on who signed up for each role for that week. Really, it's pretty silly having a system where someone gets to mark whether or not someone else attended their job without any official organizational structure oversight. 

When this 15-year-old was signed up as an assistant ref under Dave, an older 18-year-old center ref, Dave let that authority go straight to his head, and he made up a rule about being 30 minutes early so that he could mark the 15-year-old absent. The 15-year-old decided to use his own rule against him, a move that would eventually see Dave exposed and fired. 

Don't be like Dave.

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  • 01

    "Show up 30 minutes early.” Sure Dave, as long as you do too!"

    I am 15 years old and work as a soccer referee. I will normally arrive 10-15 minutes early to a game, which is plenty of time to check in players from both teams and make sure the field is in proper playing condition. One game I showed up to, as an assistant referee (AR). My center ref, 18 years old, let's call him Dave, told me that all refs have to arrive 30 minutes early to every game. I know this is not true, and stayed silent.
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  • 02
    ME
    via nygi

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 03
    We reffed the game as usual, and returned to where we put our stuff at the end of the game. Dave told me that because I didn't arrive 30 minutes early, he would mark that I didn't show up, basically telling me that I wouldn't get paid for the game we just worked. I complained that this was a rule that he made up. He left the game without saying anything else, figuring that would be all.
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  • 04
    Note: If you referee without any ARS, you get paid like 5$ more. I think this was Dave's plan. When I got home, I made sure to sign up to be center referee at every game where Dave was an AR. Poor Dave showed up to his next game 15 minutes early, which is absolutely unacceptable. I said nothing the whole game, but only marked him absent,
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  • 05
    which means he wouldn't get paid. This went on for a week and half until his paycheck came in, and he was about 120$ off of what his total should've been. (I did make sure every game that Dave was less then 30 minutes early)
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  • 06
    Dave emails one of the main referees (who run everything) to see what the problem was. One of the main referees, let's call him John, told Dave that he wasn't there, so he wouldn't get paid. Dave put two and two together and realized what I did. Emails were sent between Dave, John, and I, until John had the full story. Dave was fired for making up rules, and I got paid for the first game with Dave. Don't take advantage of young people. Take that Dave.
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  • 07
    wraith_majestic · 10h ago Lol screw dave. •
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  • 08
    Vondecoy 9h ago . Is anyone else more upset by the fact it's a Referee? Someone who is meant to be trustworthy.
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  • 09
    NarrowHamster7879 8h ago Good for you man. I remember my first shift behind the bar at my college job from being a waiter at the same restaurant an older lady was working the bar with me and another bartender. The other bartender got off early as scheduled and it was just me and the older lady. Come end of the
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  • 10
    shift she did the splits, they seemed a little high to me but again, first shift behind the bar so I was giving the benefit that maybe I was just confused. Plus what's an extra $20. Well my next shift I was waiting and my manager came up to me kinda guns a blazing but willing to hear me out at least, asking me how much I made bartending the previous shift, and then said "do
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  • 11
    you realize you stole from the bartender who left early?" And I explained exactly what happened and apparently the older lady knew exactly what she was doing, was upset the other bartender got to leave early, and gave us both higher splits of the tip jar than we deserved and tried to pin it on me since I was "the new guy" well if nothing else I learned that day the value of honesty because I got to keep the money I was given, the other bartender got to get the difference from the restaurant, and
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  • 12
    Odd_Marionberry5856 10h ago If Dave was fired for making up rules, I hope you were not fired for applying those same rules.
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  • 13
    No-Leopard-556 · 9h ago I love it when a "Rules for thee but not for me" kind of person gets bit in the a like this.
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