Question Number: 27173

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 2/13/2013

RE: Rec Adult

Robert Jackson of Winchester, Hampshire England asks...

This question is a follow up to question 27142

Hi and thanks for your replies. It's disappointing that the referees allow cheating in the penalty area whereas for the same offences they would give free kicks outside of it. The laws of the game make no differentiation about where the offences are committed so penalties should be given if free kicks are given for the same offences.

Surely by giving a penalty this form of cheating - which is spoiling the game - would soon put a stop to it. By condoning it you will just encourage it to continue.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The issue for the referee often comes down to certainty. The referee wants to be 100 percent certain before calling a penalty kick. The cost of being wrong is very high. Moreover, diving presents a real problem. Players are actively trying to deceive the referee. No one wants to be lulled into giving the penalty that is not deserved.

For contact in the middle or defensive third, the cost of being wrong is very low and the the cost of letting something go (in terms of retaliation or match management) requires a quicker whistle.

At the highest levels, referees get paid to make tough decisions. None are afraid to make the big call.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Robert
Penalties are big decisions in games and most referees want to be 100% certain before giving them.
In the same way players know that by 'gamesmanship' they perhaps can win a penalty which will be of significant benefit to the team.
I watched the Reading V Stoke game and there was a penalty incident right at the end. Reading were adamant it was a penalty while I was not so sure. Certainly there was contact between the players and the question was whether it was enough to merit a foul. One could be of the opinion that the Reading player made 'a meal of it' which did not help the decision making process.
The difficult ones are those that involve minimal contact and not enough to merit a penalty. Ever try to pull down a 14 stone person to the ground who wants to stay on his feet?

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I'll repeat what I said previously. A large part of the referee's job is to decide how much contact, shirt pulling etc. the players will tolerate. We are given great latitude when it comes to calling fouls. While certainly we want to be 100% certain at higher levels of play, the players themselves do not want 10-15 penalty kicks awarded every game.
You are correct that the LOTG do not differentiate between the penalty area and the rest of the field but those same Laws give the Referee the power to NOT call fouls if he/she deems that to be best for that game that day.