Two yellow cards, a 2-2 draw and a touchline that lost sight of who the game is for. This is Day 2113 of my daily run streak, and today I am writing about my worst experience as a grassroots football referee.

I help run my oldest son's under 15s team. This is my tenth year with the group, since they were under sixes. Over the decade I have coached, run the line and refereed plenty of games, because a small club needs whoever is available. Today the boys played a local rival. Many of the players go to school together, so a little extra spice comes with the fixture. Add the age group. Fifteen-year-old boys have men's frames and boys' brains. They are not yet in full control of their emotions. I expected a lively game. I got more than that.

Half of the opposition squad are lovely lads. I know many of them through my son's friendship groups. The other half had been brought in from further afield, and some of those players had not been taught respect for an official. From the early minutes, nearly every decision drew a complaint. A couple of their coaches were decent people. Others fed the mood from the touchline. Some parents joined in. Players, coaches and parents together created a toxic environment, and several of our boys looked intimidated by it.

My approach as a referee is simple. I let the game run, I try not to influence the result, and I put the health and safety of the children first. I review myself harshly after every match. Looking back on this one, I believe the fouls were even for both sides. I spent a lot of the game talking players down before the temperature rose. I do not show cards often. Today I showed two yellows. The first was a clear yellow. The second deserved a red, but I judged that a yellow still marked the offence without letting the match boil over. That was a judgement call, and I made it on the day with a pitch full of children in front of me.

The worst moment came in added time. Our team had just equalised, about a minute and a half from the end. I was checking on an injured opposition player when one of his teammates went looking for a fight with one of ours. He was seeing red mist. I booked him and he came off. At the final whistle he made a beeline for the same boy, and his own coach had to bring him to the ground to stop him. Then his parents came over to voice their fury at me, after a game I had kept under control for the full length. Nobody was hurt. Some of their players would not shake my hand. I shook everyone else's.

For balance, I thought the away side were arguably the better team. A 2-2 draw was fair. Probably the best result for both groups of boys, who will share school corridors on Monday morning without a winner to gloat.

The lesson for me is about perspective. Children's football is about getting outside, staying fit, being part of a team and playing a competitive game with full effort. Alongside that, the boys are learning to be classy in victory and defeat, to respect officials and opponents, and to respect themselves. Adults set the standard for all of this. When the people on the touchline treat a under 15s league match as a cup final, the children copy them. The players who would not shake my hand did not arrive at that choice alone.

My second lesson is about discipline when no one agrees with me. A referee makes a call, and one team is always unhappy. I accept the consequences of my decisions and I review them honestly. Then I turn up again. A daily run works the same way. Nobody applauds at 6am on a cold morning. The streak simply asks me to do the same thing, in the same way, whatever the conditions. Today is run number 2113. I have covered 16,246.89km so far, which leaves 23,828.11km of the 40,075km lap of the world. I run barefoot-style, one day at a time, and I film each run so more people see the mission.

The mission itself is a £1M target for children's causes, with Great Ormond Street and BBC Children in Need among them. Standing on a football pitch watching adults forget the point of the game made me think about why I run. Children's health and wellbeing come first. Everything else is secondary.

I referee again next week. I will bring the same approach: fair decisions, a calm voice, and a handshake for everyone who offers one.

If you coach, assist or referee children's football, I would like to hear how you handle a touchline like this one. Leave a comment, and if you want to support the mission, subscribe, share and follow the daily run.

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/whRrYP_QuXE