Question Number: 25113

Law 5 - The Referee 6/19/2011

RE: rec Adult

alex of richmond hill, ontario canada asks...

Players have been using their hands and arms on opponents in an over 40 men's game. I shouted on several occasions 'No hands please' in addition to awarding DFK. Then when a defender use his hand to pull an attacker going for the ball in the defender's penalty area, (The attacker did not complain and won the ball but is moving towards the corner and did not appear to have a chance to shoot on goal.)
I blew the whistle and award a PK.

When I asked my fellow referees after the game, there are 2 different opinions. The first one is wait till the attacker fell, or when he stop and appeal for a foul before awarding the PK. The second opinion is to award the PK immediately to enforce the LOTR and stamp out this habit of pulling/pushing.

Please advise on the proper way to handle such situation.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Alex
The following is a quote that used to be in the Laws of the Game but was removed in the great rewrite of 97/98
'' 'The Laws of the Game are intended to provide that games should be played with as little interference as possible, and in this view it is the duty of referees to penalize only deliberate breaches of the Law.
Constant whistling for trifling and doubtful breaches produces bad feeling and loss of temper on the part of the players and spoils the pleasure of spectators.'
(Former International F.A. Board Decision 8 to Law V, now considered an integral element of the 'Spirit of the Game.')''
The referee has to judge what infractions to punish and what to ignore. Some 'fouls' do not even register with an opponent and in many situations I simply ignore those and allow play to continue. Generally though contact in the penalty area will result in penalty calls. I need to be 100% certain that it is a penalty before I call it.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

One of the challenges with amateur adult matches, is that things players accept as 'part of the game' on one day can become things that enrage the players the next day. A good referee notes in the first five minutes the respective age, skill, playing styles, and demeanor of the players and adjusts the tempo of the match to approximate what the players will accept as 'fun.'

No one size fits all. In general, however, if the 'victims' are responding to something as if it is just a natural part of the match, I am less likely to set the bar lower.

One other thought: my experience is that shouting 'hands down!' is more effective than 'no hands!' Try it and see.

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