Question Number: 27365

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 4/28/2013

RE: Adult

Sam of York, England asks...

Yesterday, Anthony Taylor gave a drop ball in the Stoke v Norwich game. Bradley Johnson didn't kick it very far, when instructed by the referee to give possession back

In doing so, it created more than a competitive edge to a 'friendly' gesture

What followed was 4-5 Stoke players hounding Johnson, and a small melee

My one question that leads to 2-3 others, is simply, by the laws of the game, why was Bradley Johnson booked for kicking the ball.........in a drop ball?

Subsequent questions are, by the letter of the law, why were 4-5 Stoke players let off from abusing Johnson, when that's a direct offence by all of them?

I get really annoyed when referee's use interpretation to back up their decisions, and then when something happens that isn't interpretion (like abuse) is ignored, and a yellow card is shown to a player for kicking the ball in a drop ball

Where in the laws of the game does it state that a drop ball has to be controlled by the referee? Surely this needs to be carefully avoided, otherwise a referee is having a say in the out come of a game?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Sam
What you have highlighted is the growing trend for these 'Fair Play' scenarios, when they are not initiated by players when expected to or when they are not restarted as expected, to cause match control problems. That is all contrary to the ethos of Fair Play and the whole basis behind same. Why bother with Fair Play if it is going to cause all this ill feeling and rancour?
Another recent example was in the Liverpool V Chelsea game when an injury situation was 'ignored' by Liverpool players who continued to play which then caused Chelsea players to go apoplectic with Carragher and Luiz having a right go at each other. Another one was the goal that Shakhtar Donetsk striker Luiz Adriano scored uncontested in the Champions League which was allowed but subsequently got him suspended for one game for his unsporting behaviour.
Now referees have to manage these situation carefully and concern themselves with match control issues. They will try to deal with them with the least intervention as possible.
In the scenario you refer to it looked to me like Bradley Johnston made some sort of 'agreement' with the Stoke players that he would play the ball back to the goalkeeper. That instruction would not come from the referee whose only role is to understand what is happening and to drop the ball. As a result the dropped ball was uncontested by the two Stoke players who were close to the ball. Johnston then decided to try to play in his team mate for a goal scoring chance. The referee Anthony Taylor may have decided I suspect that Johnston by his words had verbally distracted his opponents at a restart into not contesting for the ball which would happen normally. That according to the Laws of the Game is unsporting behaviour which is a cautionable offence. Play was restarted with an indirect free kick to Stoke from where the 'offence' took place after Johnston was cautioned.
The referee could take action against any of the Stoke players that got involved in the confrontation if he felt that any were unsporting and contrary to the Laws. Again I suspect that the referee decided that as Johnston's actions caused the ructions plus none of the Stoke players did anything untoward other than confront the player he decided not to take further action. You may have seen Referee Bobby Madley dismiss Marc Antoine Fortune for pushing a Southampton player in the face during a similar type confrontation. That is violent conduct under PL guidelines
In the Norwich v Stoke game both captains and teams accepted the referee's explanation and play resumed.