Question Number: 27506

Law 5 - The Referee 6/5/2013

RE: Rec Adult

martino watson of cayman brac, cayman islands asks...

In a recent game i was refereeing, an attacking player won the ball off the defender and sprinted towards the defenders goal. The defender followed closely on the right side of the attacker but then switched back to the left clipping the heels of the attacker!I applied the 'ADVANTAGE RULE' for the attacking player who i felt in my opinion was still in possession of the ball and still on his feet and the ball was within playing distance of the attacking player. for some reason the attacking player decided to forget about scoring the goal(he was about 25yds from goal),and began to chase the defender, then jump into the air and almost kicked the defender in his head! I blew my whistle immediately and showed the RED CARD, and sent off the attacking player for violent conduct. I restarted play with an indirect free kick to the defending team!
Did i take the correct steps for that incident and was the restart correct? NOTE: I would have eventually called back the foul on the defender for clipping the attacker's heel if there wasn't any advantage gain!!!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Martino
Your decision was correct to send off the attacker for violent conduct. However the restart is a direct free kick for striking an opponent not indirect.
Playing advantage can cause problems at times. Obviously the attacking player was not concerned about advantage but took exception to his heel being clipped by the defender. I'm interested in the mechanics here. Was the attacker aware that advantage was being played with the loud 'advantage' shout? Had there been any inkling that the attacker would take exception to the contact such as previous 'history' in the game. Could the defender's 'clip' be seen as tactical as sometimes the crossover contact is certainly at the pro level. The moment the attacker gave up the ball was it possible to 'intervene' before the attacker's violent conduct?
The reason I ask these questions is that 'advantage' is not always about attacking position or possession of the ball. Clearly other factors such as the mood of the game, mood of the fouled player, previous unpleasantness between the players, potential for retaliation, growing frustration, scoreline etc all have a bearing on the playing of advantage. That is not to say that if play had been stopped and a free kick awarded plus perhaps disciplinary action for say USB, persistent fouling, tactical foul etc that the VC would not have happened.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Did you give the advantage signal and yell 'advantage'? I wonder if the attacker felt he was clipped and you ignored it. It's important when playing advantage outside the penalty area that the referee makes sure everyone knows he saw the foul and has played advantage. If not, players will often take matters into their own hands.

Your restart is incorrect. Yes it was Violent Conduct but also one of the 10 direct free kick fouls (Kicking or attempting to kick an opponent, or striking or attempting to strike an opponent, your choice.).
Restart should have been a direct free kick.

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