Question Number: 30757

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 9/13/2016

RE: Adult

Richard of Dublin, Ireland asks...

Hi, can you please clarify reckless play and if goalkeeper can do such within the box? Cause heard that the situation below should not be considered as a foul, even though goalkeeper went by my opinion recklessly with his studs up. Was referee right to let it go? Thanks, Richard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYV6qnEQfZ4

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Richard
Reckless is when a player acts with disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, an opponent and must be cautioned.
My own personal opinion is that it was a penalty due to the tackle being made in a careless / reckless challenge which if considered reckless was certainly a caution. If the referee had gone with red I would not have much issue with that either.
Having said that in real time and without action replay, slow motion etc I can see why it was not given. I suspect that in real time and from the referees angle of view it looked like the goalkeeper played the ball and the follow through caught Rooney. The raised boot studs showing would not have presented as such in the same way as the video does. Replays and slow mo has a way of exaggerating fouls making them look worse than they actually are. Referees do not have the benefit of looking at it in the way that we see it on TV.
By the way there was also another penalty not given with a foul on Otamendi in the second half when Bailly came through the back of the player in the goal area. Observing it in the same manner using video and slow mo etc it was also a foul and certainly a caution. On the field it was not seen in the same way due to angle of view, speed at which it happened etc
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3068e79edf33ce2d357ef71070f03a6368e45543/0_1_2500_1499/master/2500.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=75859b066c7d8957fd2f06e9d68dc135

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Richard,
A keeper can certainly be found guilty of a reckless challenge in or outside the PA and if it IS adjudged as such, it must be cautioned. I should note, that getting to the ball first is NOT a guarantee the challenge is NOT reckless, as we consider the force, timing, how the tackle is performed and the danger involved by the player against his opponent.
Foul recognition is difficult even when we understand the meaning of reckless and the criteria we judge it by. We still must have an angle of view that permits us to see the challenge in its entirety.
Rooney was caught with studs on a two footed lunge and most certainly the keeper could be cautioned and a PK awarded but this was evident by the slow motion and angle of view we had thanks to technology . As my colleague REf McHugh points out MAN U received equal treatment. Both were fouls in my opinion
Cheers