Question Number: 30491

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 6/6/2016

RE: (Local league, not affiliated professionally, or w Adult

char rossiter of barstow, CA - California United States asks...

I play in a women's adult league. Besides several exceptions, we follow Fifa rule guidelines. Last week, my player got passed the ball and was in full momentum towards the goal in which the goalie came out and dove for the ball at my player's feet knocking her down. My player never attempted to kick the ball prior and didn't even notice the goalie charging until she had been knocked down. The ref gave her an automatic red card. The goalie was not injured, and in my eyes it was a 50/50. My player had not received any prior warnings before this for foul or reckless play. Was a red card excessive?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Char
Without seeing it it is very difficult to comment. As described by you it would not ordinarily be a dismissal although that is not how the referee saw it.
When competing for the ball players have a duty of care to each other. That means good observation and understanding what is the possible outcome of the manner of the challenge for the ball. If the challenge is reckless then the player is cautioned and if excessive force is used the player is dismissed. Many times it makes no difference whether the actions are deliberate or not. It is the manner of the challenge that matters. A raised foot in such circumstances would be regarding as totally unacceptable. To quote the Laws
** Reckless means that the player has acted with complete disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, his opponent. A player who plays in a reckless manner must be cautioned
Using excessive force means that the player has far exceeded the necessary use of force and is in danger of injuring his opponent. A player who uses excessive force must be sent off.**
Obviously the referee opined that the player used excessive force and that is opinion based. Perhaps another referee might caution for this or see it as a coming together. There is no requirement for the player to be spoken to previously.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Char,
I have no doubt that if we asked the referee what he saw, the description would be very different!
Perhaps their angle of view meant he thought there was something that wasn't there. Perhaps you and your teammate missed something inherently dangerous in the way your teammate challenged the ball.

In the scenario you described, one potential scenario is that the attacker's studs were raised in a manner particularly dangerous to the opposing keeper. Sometimes players leave studs raised as an opponent is challenging in a manner likely to injure an opponent. This may be done deliberately (for example, if an attacker sees the keeper coming in, knows she is going to lose the ball, and raises her foot above the ball with studs facing the keeper). Intention or malice is not a requirement for a red card - serious foul play is endangering the safety of an opponent.

Whether or not the goalkeeper was injured doesn't impact the decision; for a serious challenge a red card can be awarded even without contact. Also, players are not required to be warned before being cautioned or sent off - if the offence crosses the line then it needs to be dealt with, even if it's that player's first foul of the match - first minute or last minute, doesn't matter.

If your teammate fell on top of the keeper then the referee may have thought she was leading in the fall with the elbow - or perhaps even thought she stomped on the keeper at some stage.

These are some of the many ways strikers can earn themselves a red card in scenarios like you describe. Perhaps one of those, or something different is what did happen and you missed it, and maybe your teammate didn't even realise. Perhaps the referee thought they saw something they didn't - sometimes the wrong angle can completely change how something is perceived.

While we're unable to clearly state whether the decision was right or wrong (as I said, the referee's report would no doubt describe the situation differently to yours!), I hope this at least gives you a little insight. By your description, it sounds like a collision with no foul on either part. Any tiny change to the scenario, or any ommitted detail, could potentially change the scenario.