I guess this idea is okay just once, but if they decide to keep this no cheering, no clapping, no nothing policy all the time, it's going a little too far. But with that said,
Angry parents really are a problem. Same goes for coaches, and to a lesser extent, players. I referee soccer games and they just never shut up.
Of all the games I've refed, I bet the number of complaints vs the number of compliments outnumbers it by ten to one.
The moms are the worst too: (in a nasal, whiny voice that grates on the ear) "HEY REF!!! Are you blind? My son just got pushed by that player! Where's the whistle?!"
In my experience, Burnaby teams are the worst. Parents, coaches, players, they all whine.
My friend refed a game once, and he was doing the lines, and some huge guy slowly walks up to him, visibly upset, and says in a low voice, "That was NOT a goal..." Friend asks if he needs to call the ref over, and the guy says "No, but I'll be watching you..."
And the huge guy actually followed him around after the game in his car...
Some people...
The good thing is though, there's a shortage of referees (at least in soccer) so I can get away with things like mouthing off to parents, and inviting kids to repeat what they said to me under their breath - usually something like "that call was shit!" This is always a fun one, since if they do mouth off, I can give them a yellow or red card.
I love my job!!!