Question Number: 23727

Law 5 - The Referee 8/1/2010

RE: USSF Level 8...Competitive Games Under 13

Steve Goldberg of Cupertino, Ca USA asks...

My question relates to the consistency of calling fouls inside and outside the penalty box.

I just completed a tournament for U12 girls and refereed the championship game. Although I think the score is inconsequential, Red was ahead 3-0 halfway through the first half. Black attacked and deep in the box to the right of the goal I saw a red player elbow a black player with the result being the black player fell down. I called a foul and black scored on the ensuing PK...Score now 3-1. Early in the second half, black was attacking again, in the box, and a red player knocked down the back player with the ball. The play was away from the center of goal but was solidly within the penalty area. I blew the whistle again and, fortunately or unfortunately, the PK was stopped by the keeper. Score still 3-1. Black scored a clean goal late in the game bringing the final score to 3-2. Red won the championship.

My question is as follows: I know I made the right calls for fouls in both cases; I would have made the same call anywhere else on the field. However...In the World Cup and in professional soccer we see that the standard for fouls is MUCH higher in the box. I have traditionally made the cutoff roughly when a player goes down in the box. In other words, I'm a bit softer on elbows, pushing, grabbing, etc. when play is in the box and the play is not central to a scoring opportunity. In both of these cases an offensive player was taken down during an attack in the box. I felt that my hands were tied and had to blow the whistle for the PK.

Comments after the game were centered around 'gee ref...you almost gave the game away'....and 'let them play in the box'.

Any advice for me? I know this is a very difficult and subtle part of the game.

Thank you.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Goldberg
Throughout the world referees tend to have a slightly higher threshold for foul inside the penalty area than inside but it tends to be on 'minor' fouls. They also look to be 100% correct before making the call. From what you describe on both fouls you were absolutely 100% correct to award the penalty kicks and I would ignore any comments made by the players.
At the highest level slow motion action replays present a view that the referee and assistant does not have. The referee if he seen some of the incidents would have awarded either a penalty or a free kick to the defence. So I would not take any learning points from watching a TV game. If the referee sees a blatant foul inside the penalty area he should make the call as you did on both incidents.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

I've heard variations on this. One was from a referee posting on another site: 'I call fouls *outside* the PA the same way I call them *inside* it.' And another: 'To call a foul you have to be sure. To call a PK you have to be d____d sure.'

As far as 'giving the game away' or 'deciding the game' by calling a PK, it is the players' actions that have forced the decision. The referee is only confirming it. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

From your descriptions, both incidents sound like solid fouls and should have been called. You might even have considered a caution for the elbowing - although at U12 you can often control behavior without the use of cards.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

One way to begin is to ask: 'Is it a doubtful infringment. How sure am I?'

Outside the penalty area, my standard is I'm 'pretty sure' it was a foul. Inside the penalty area, however, my standard is I KNOW that was a foul. For me, what is 'doubtful' does not change with age or skill.

A related question concerns 'Is it trifling?' Did the infringement make any difference in the match - either by giving the offender an advantage or putting the opponent in a disadvantage?

There often is contact that does not affect play and is properly disregarded. What is trifling will greatly change by age and skill?
Things that make no difference to the players or to the game can and should be ignored.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Well Steve since you are a USSF referee, you are supposed to abide by USSF policy decisions. So this is simple. You were trained to call fouls the same anywhere on the field. There is a hesitancy among referees to award penalty kicks. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it but it doesn't make it right.

I like to believe I call things everywhere on the field the same but I don't know for sure.

Regardless, the following from the official USSF Q&A site absolutely instructs you to call a foul a foul wherever it occurs:
The Laws of the Game have not changed in this regard for over one hundred years. There is no such thing as a "soft penalty." If a direct free kick foul, in other words a "penal" foul, is committed on the field, it should be treated exactly the same in the penalty area as it would be at midfield. There is no "either / or," there is only the correct call.

You will find a similar question and answer on the website now, dated December 17. The answer states:

"We always encourage referees to use their discretion in making any call, based on the factors that went into making the decision in the first place. However, too many referees blur the lines between the various fouls, particularly the clear difference between playing dangerously and committing a direct-free-kick foul. In most cases this is done because the referee doesn't want to appear too harsh or, much worse, because the referee is afraid to call a foul a foul. How many referees have you seen who say that the same foul they would have called a direct-free-kick foul at midfield is not a penalty-kick-foul when committed in the penalty area? They then chicken out and call it dangerous play, depriving the offended team of a fully justified penalty kick.

"You have to make the decision and stick with it. The offense in this case is not simply against the Laws of the Game, but against the whole tradition and spirit of the game."

Why is it so difficult for referees to understand that a penalty kick does not have to be "earned"? it is sufficient that a penal foul is committed in the penalty area against the attacking team.