Question Number: 21384

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/19/2009

RE: All Other

Franco of Bloomington, Midwest USA asks...

I was at a premier youth soccer match, U15 girls. Two girls were going for a ball on the touchline. I will say a blue girl got to it first and cleared it. The green girl, that got there late, gave the blue girl a hard two handed shove in the back for no apparent reason. Even the parents of the green team thought it was extreme and deserved something.

Ball went out. The ref blew the whistle. He pulled out a yellow card and then pulled out a red card. Many of the parents of the green girl thought that this was wrong, too extreme, but that also the mechanics of what the ref did was wrong. They thought a yellow card was justified and that even if it was a red, then the yellow should not have been displayed at all, but a straight red.

So was the call correct and also was the mechanics of it correct?

Franco

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

One can only assume the green player already had a caution, and thus the event you describe was the second caution. This would require the display of the yellow, and then the red for 2nd caution.

If this was not what occurred, then I have no idea what the referee was up to.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

The card mechanics are indicating the player was cautioned previously in the match and that it was a second caution hence the red card follows.
If there were in fact TWO seperate cautions for misconduct within that time frame then the yellow card should be shown once and then shown again and then the red card.
Or the player was cautioned shown the yellow card.
Then immediately followed up with a send off remark or gesture and thus the red card was pulled for NEW misconduct.
There are only so many variables and only the referee in the match can comment on why!
Cheers