Question Number: 26063

Law 18 - Common Sense 3/12/2012

RE: Grade 1 Adult

Liam Mc Guirk of Dublin, State Ireland asks...

In the recent man utd v ath bilbao game the ref awarded a free to athletico because a utd players boot had come away from his foot and he played the ball, according to the laws of the game and i quote, (a player who looses his footwear accidentally and immediately plays the ball and/or scores a goal, there is no infringement and the goal is awarded because he lost his footwear by accident)the decision led to a third goal for athletico which turned out to be the winning goal, i would like to ask the panel their view of this decision.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Liam
Continuing to play without a boot in the presence of opponents could constitute playing in a dangerous manner (to the player himself). The Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees which you have quoted allow for the immediate playing of the ball or scoring a goal.
Now in the Evra situation the player got involved in play by looking for the ball without a shoe when he should have replaced it. It was not as if he was in possession of the ball and then played the ball away or scored a goal.
Personally I thought it was a harsh IDFK. However as we all know professional players are briefed in detail to what is acceptable and what is not. The referee on the night Mr Meyer was pretty adamant that it was the correct decision and he can be seen explaining his decision to the United players. Would it make a difference to the decision if players were instructed in the player briefings that if they loses a shoe they are entitled to play the ball away or score a goal instantly but that they are not allowed to get involved in active play without a boot?
Perhaps in another game the referee would simply ignore it and allow play to continue. At our level an IDFK would be unlikely.