Question Number: 24556

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 2/4/2011

RE: Select Indoor Adult

Ron of Hagerstown, MD USA asks...

Regarding Hand Checking. When is the use of hands/arms a foul when the player gains an advantage using them.
I understand the body shielding of the ball from a defender, but if a player turns to move with the ball and uses his arm to 'brace' for perceived coming contact...
Well if both players have 'engaged' the use of hands/arms and are 'hand checking' each other it seems to be not called.
But if one player (the Defender) is with arms at side and the player with the ball uses arm, extends arm and 'creates' seperation and otherwise gains an advantage by 'using his arms'
Should that be called?

As a player I try to tell others to 'keep their hands down' but I hear more often then not, 'it's a part of the game'
Which sours me a bit as I don't think using your hands should be (using your hands/arm for positioning, shielding...or when its obvious one player is gaining an advantage by using such behavior)
So, I am here seeing if it is 'a part of the game'
Thanks

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Ron
First off it is not part of the game. Shielding the ball is permitted as long as the ball is kept within playing distance and the player does not hold off the opponent with his arms or body. If the ball is within playing distance, the player may be fairly charged by an opponent.
So if a player blatantly sticks his arm into the body of an opponent who is trying to play the ball that is being shielded, that is an offence and it should be called.
Where it gets grey is that players tolerate a level of arm shielding where the arm is barely noticed by the opponent. That is rarely called and has little influence in the game with little complaint from the players.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

As age and skill level increases, players constantly challenge each other for space. It is acute on the smaller enclosed areas used for indoor soccer. As a result, there is much more contact permitted as the referee reads what the players generally will accept as normal play. Referees are called to ignore trifling infringements of the laws. Constant whistling would disrupt the enjoyment of the match.

Your question illustrates a problem on which referees struggle as they seek to determine what is a trifling offense. What to do when one or two players really don't like physical contact, but the other players generally tolerate it. Some referees simply establish their own minimum threshold and never adjust it. There is a story that when Pele first arrived in the US, he would get perturbed that referees would call some severe fouls committed by opponents AGAINST him. He was so used to such fouls that he had learned to turn them to his advantage. He didn't want the referee to stop play.

IMO, referees should adjust the flow of the match (deciding what can be ignored as trifling) to what the players in this match will tolerate on this day. There are usually warning signs that players want the match called tighter. The wise referee heeds them.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

This is NOT basketball! Hand checking is in and of itself illegal. That said, at higher levels of play, the players tolerate this and other illegal tactics like grabbing each others jerseys. The referee has to decide what the players will tolerate and call the game accordingly.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 24576