EDMONTON -  Soccer referee Richard Carman thought he was handing out a sound piece of advice when he recently told a father it "wasn't a smart move" to encourage his son to retaliate against aggressive players by kicking them back even harder.

   What happened after the game last Wednesday in Mississauga, Ont. -- a game involving kids under 15  -- is all too familiar for many referees.

   Carman said the angry father started shouting at him and pursed him into the parking lot as Carman walked to his car.

   "My personal opinion is parents like that are living their dreams through their kids," said Carman, who is vice-president of the 1,000-member Ontario Soccer Referees' Association.

   While he notes that most soccer players are pretty well behaved, he acknowledges that those big dreams seem to be making both parents and players more aggressive.

   He's been assaulted four or five times during his career -- incidents that garnered one or two-year suspensions for the players involved.

   While Canadians are familiar with stories about rink rage on the part of some hockey parents, soccer organizations say they too are having to get creative in clamping down on irate parents and players.

   Jean Gandubert, chief executive of Ontario's 10,000-member Oakville Soccer Club -- one of the largest clubs in the country -- has seen a change in the atmosphere at games in recent years.

   His organization used to see mainly teenagers and adult male players involved in
confrontations with officials, but now they're seeing more incidents involving girls and children as young as nine.

   "It's an issue that touches not only soccer, but pretty much all sports. It's a reflection of where society stands and what it tolerates,"  Gandubert said in a recent interview.

   His experience isn't unique as soccer organizations across the country are all grappling with how to put a lid on on-field assaults, bad language and aggressive parents.

   Figures from Sport Canada show that more children are now playing soccer than ice hockey.

   More than 31 per cent of households with children are involved in soccer, while 23 per cent have kids that play hockey, followed by 18 per cent who play baseball and just less than 15 per cent who play volleyball.

   In 2005, the Canadian Soccer Association estimated there were more than 841,000 registered players in Canada -- nearly two-per-cent higher than in 2004.

   The municipality of Oakville, Ont., recently implemented regulations to crack down on abusive behaviour at its recreation and cultural venues to make them safer.

   The new rules allow the Oakville Soccer Club to ban repeat offenders from any municipal facility, a measure Gandubert said they have implemented with at least two parents.

   A third parent is currently "on probation," he said.

   "It could be abusive language or gestures towards the referees, towards other coaches or other parents," Gandubert said.

   Some clubs in the United States have resorted to banning all parents from games, but he said they haven't had to go that far.

   Instead, the Oakville club has what it calls "shush" week -- a whole week where parents and even coaches have to keep their mouths completely zipped at games.

   "We have to remind the parents that the game is there for the kids, they're entitled to make mistakes and so is the referee. That's part of the game, part of the learning process," Gandubert said.

   Some recent incidents at fields in western Canada have shone a harsh light on the problem.

   The Manitoba Soccer Association is investigating allegations of a near-brawl during a recent provincial championship when a player from a losing team tried to walk off with one of the winning trophies.

   Last year, a student and a teacher-coach were both handed five-year suspensions after a 19-year-old referee received a slight concussion in an alleged attack during a boys varsity playoff game in Winnipeg.

   In Edmonton, assault-related charges have been laid against five teens after a man watching his son's June 5 game was allegedly attacked by players from the opposing team.

   Rocky Moudgill, the executive director of the Manitoba Youth Soccer Association, said his group has designated so-called referee liaisons -- parents wearing armbands who take notes on bad behaviour by players or supporters.

   The information they gather can then be used to lay the groundwork for disciplinary action.
  
The association can also impose a bond of about $200 for a first offence involving bad behaviour among spectators, Moudgill said. But it's a measure that's only been used between 10 and 15 times in the last seven or eight years.

   If a team keeps the lid on its rowdy spectators for a year, the association won't cash the bond -
and in fact has never cashed one because of repeated offences.

   But in June, a group of 17 and 18-year-old boys saw their team disbanded after officials saw them throwing punches at members of the opposing team during two separate games.

   "It is a passionate game. Nobody's trying to take the passion out of it," Moudgill said.

   "But our intention is to make sure it's a positive experience for everybody and that goes down to every participant, every referee, every coach and every parent or spectator that attends one of these matches."

   Hector Vergara, executive director of the Manitoba Soccer Association said he doesn't think the sport is becoming more violent.

   "What's happening now is that soccer is getting more attention in this country and our profile has increased throughout the country in every province, and as such, the media is more aware of what we're doing," he said.
   Bruce Henderson, a director with the Ontario Soccer Association, said players can receive a minimum two-year suspension if they push or threaten a referee.

   Punching, kicking or spitting on a game official can garner a five-year suspension.

   "In 1990, we had about 200 cases. That's about the time they brought these mandatory minimums in and there's been a big decline," he said.

   The number of violent assaults has dropped to about five per year and between 30 and 50 cases where referees are shoved or threatened, Henderson said.

   The referees' association in Ontario has also taken to hitting teams in the pocket book if players or supporters assault officials.

   Referees can refuse to officiate at games involving specific teams unless those teams hire paid security officers to keep order.

   The organization said the measure has been a particularly effective way to get teams and leagues to take responsibility for bad behaviour.