Question Number: 27490

Law 5 - The Referee 5/28/2013

RE: Tournament Under 11

Jack Wayne of Ottawa, Ontario Canada asks...

I only call hand balls that are deliberate or impact the play of the game, I do not call hand balls just because the ball hits a players hand there must be intent. I guess ball on hand is ok, hand on ball is not ok.

Is this ok?

Also I allow a little but pushing and grabbing and contact it is part of playing the! how strict should one be on contact in the sport?

Most of the kids are kicking each other, and tripping over everyone, the ball and themselves, I only call when it oes beyond my threshold of OKness.

Is that ok?

Thanks

Jack

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Jack,

First off I just want to pick up on something you said - you said you call 'handballs' that 'impact the play of the game'. Does this mean you'll penalise an accidental handling that's advantageous to the player accidentally handling it?

If so, then this is incorrect. Most people may well expect it to be given, but by the laws the handling must be deliberate. 'Accidental but advantageous' is not an offence.

For instance, I once had a situation in a crowded penalty area where the ball was kicked and it struck an attacker's arm. The arm was directly down by his side (natural position) and he had no chance to react to avoid the contact, so it was completely accidental. The ball then dropped to his feet and he scored. While many referees would have penalised the attacker given the fact the ball landed at his feet, that would be incorrect. If the handling is accidental, then whatever happens afterwards is irrelevant.

As for how strict you should be on pushing/pulling, this is difficult and you need to have a feel for the grade to judge what's acceptable. I've refereed at U/11 tournaments with quite a bit of pushing and pulling, but all teams were doing it a little so it seemed to be accepted for this level. In that case, I have to look for instances that are impacting play or are more blatant than normal. Bear in mind the referee sets the standard early in the match - you don't want to be blowing for a foul every 30 seconds, but you don't want to try and change your tolerance level after realising you've let too much go.

On the other hand I've also refereed games at this age where I've had almost no tolerance for pushing/grabbing.

Don't let the players dictate the game too much though; if they're pushing and grabbing then they've been coached to do it but they may not be mature enough to recognise it's just 'part of the game' when an opponent does it (as opposed to watching a high level match where it's constant).

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jack
This is what UEFA has to say on deliberate handling
'' Although football is a game in which players constantly move their arms
and hands as a natural part of their movement, it is recommended that in
deciding if a player is handling the ball deliberately, it is essential to
consider the following points:
# Was it a hand to ball situation or ball to hand?
# Are the player's hands or arm in a "natural" position?
# Should the player take the consequences of having his hand or arms lifted high?
# Does the player try to avoid the ball striking his hand?
# Is the player able to avoid the ball striking his hand?
# Does he use his hand or arm to intentionally touch the ball?''
Note there is no mention on impact on play. It is either deliberate or it is not.
As regards the game itself it is a contact sport and player make contact all the time. However once the contact elevates to deliberate pushing and grabbing I would not allow this at underage. I find that once one gets into 'degrees' of a push or a hold then that can very very difficult to be consistent on. Yes one can deem a foul that has no impact whatsoever on the game to be ignored as 'trifling' but once it impacts on play it needs to be dealt with.
The same would go for kicking and tripping. Once a player is careless and trips or kicks an opponent that is a foul. Again there will be times when there is incidental contact that has no impact then that is trifling. Once though it impacts on play such as a player being tripped to the ground or kicked casuing him to be hurt then that is a foul and it should be penalised.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Well, you need to only call deliberately handling the ball and forget about 'impact the play of the game'. If the handling is not deliberate, do not call it. Period.

Only you know what your threshold is