Integrity Over Ego: Why I Took a Goal Off the Board

Integrity Over Ego: Why I Took a Goal Off the Board

From REFS NEED LOVE TOO by David Gerson

April 23, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

David Gerson shares a personal story about a procedural mistake he made during a high school soccer playoff game and the difficult decision to admit and correct it.

Send us Fan Mail A playoff match can feel perfect for 50 minutes and then unravel in 10 seconds. That’s what happened to me in Georgia, and I’m not proud of it. I’m sharing the full, raw story of a high school postseason game where I made a procedural mistake on a restart, saw the consequences hit the scoreboard, and then had to make the hardest choice a referee can make in public: admit it and fix it. We talk through the whole arc, from pregame prep and crew dynamics to why comms can help w...

People in this episode

Host: David Gerson

Topics covered

  • refereeing
  • sports integrity
  • high school soccer
  • decision making
  • game management

Keywords

  • referee
  • soccer
  • playoff match
  • procedural mistake
  • integrity

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Georgia

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