Question Number: 30647

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 8/3/2016

RE: Competitive Under 15

Mike of Lebanon, CT USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 30640

I had a situation of two players jumping up for a ball, only in this case one was the keeper. Ball coming in on a high lob, attacker in PA with back to goal watching ball coming in, keeper comes over attacker's back with one hand on shoulder and while jumping swats ball away. I call foul and a PK. Coach goes bananas, so much so I dismissed him. This was indoor game and I was told afterwards my services were no longer needed at that facility(the coach was from a club that rents out about 90% of the facility during the winter). 5 years later I still rerun the play; I think I was correct, but does the keeper get more leeway on such a case?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Mike,
we often review our calls, trying to get a grip if what we thought we saw or did was correct or incorrect or required our intervention. From the outset, the fact a referee can be cast aside so easily by a club for a disputed call is disconcerting to say the least. Banana coaches who flip out do a disservice t the players. league and soccer in general no matte if the referee was or was not correct. Better ways to get a referee some help or mentoring than a mid game scream fest. Keeper or out player , SAFETY & FAIR PLAY are NOT different. Keeper punching out the ball with one stiff arm or fist is certainly a regular sight in clearing his area when reaching over top a body of players. The keeper's arm on the opponent's shoulder, was it CLEARLY a grasp of jersey or a DEFINATE down ward pushing preventing the attacker from getting off the ground? The fact the keeper did not ram a knee into his back, one might consider the arm as a separation more of a distance gauge rather than a foul. Often if there is a foul, keepers go through the player rather than over top but even then, I have seen some strange decisions. The German keeper punching out the Argentinian striker last world cup comes to mind! Your match Your decision Your reputation a referee with integrity calls what he sees whether or not others see it differently. Look at the USA elections this year if you wish to compare a match in chaos. Coaches like Trump, even if they actually might be correct in their view are always wrong to REACT by going ballistic.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Mike
At the outset let me assure you that you are better off not being involved in such a facility. Any facility that reacts in such a manner is no supporter of refereeing or fair play. Should anything untoward happen in such a facility I can assure you that a referee would not get the required support.
Now as to the call as described you were 100% correct in your decision. A player including the goalkeeper that uses his arm to leverage off the back of an opponent has committed a foul and as it was inside the penalty area it was a penalty. The coach who has gone bananas has behaved in an irresponsible manner and you were entitled to remove him from the game. That also sends out a message to young players that such behaviour is unacceptable and it will and does result in censure.
Now you ask the question as to whether a goalkeeper should get more leeway. Referee Dawson mentions the incident involved Neuer the German goalkeepers challenge on Higuain. It may point to the propensity of referees at all levels to be more generous with goalkeepers in both receiving and making contact.
Im sure referees at time rerun decisions that if they had the chance again might do something different. We do not have that opportunity so we make the call and one that when we are 100% of and confident of at the tine that is all that matters.
In that respect I am also reminded of an incident involving Referee Esse Baharmast, the only U.S. referee at the 1998 World Cup, who was criticized when he awarded a penalty kick to Norway in the 89th minute of a deadlocked game against Brazil. Television replays initially failed to show the foul, and the response to the decision was brutal. Only when Norwegian television turned up a different angle the next day was Baharmast exonerated and in fact praised for his call which showed a clear foul. Now without the video proof Referee Baharmast gave what he saw and he was satisfied that he was 100 % correct. In many ways that is all that matters.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

I would agree with my colleagues here that firstly, you are probably better off no longer being involved with this facility and secondly that so long as you are happy in your own mind that you called it as you saw it, that is all you can do. You should not torment yourself over the fact that others saw it differently, no matter how vocal they were about it or the eventual consequences (which once again, may actually be the silver lining to the cloud).

Goalkeepers should not get more (or less) leeway than any other player in this kind of situation although as the other refs have mentioned, it does sometimes appear to be the case.