Question Number: 31

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct

RE: Any

Paul of Orangevale, CA USA asks...

I am confused about the wording of Law 12 (Fouls and Misconduct) where it says a A direct free kick is awarded for kicking or attempting to kick an opponent in a careless, reckless or using excessive force manner. Well I ref under 10 girls and they are constantly kicking in a careless way. Should I be calling this a foul when a girl goes to kick at the ball and completly misses and kicks another player (seams careless)?

Answer provided by Referee glenn

The short answer is that you could indeed call that a foul. U-10's represent an age group in which alot of things need to be considered. They are beginning to become alot more aggressive in their play, they are becoming faster, but they are also still awkward. When I have ref'd U-10's I get more reaction from coaches and fans no matter what. ..Try to get a feel for the respective teams abilities early on by watching how they play. Some U-10's are better coached than others...As a frame of reference, try to remember that if the play is careless, it usually warrants a whistle and the DFK to the other team. If it is reckless, it probably requires a yellow card and heaven forbid at U-10 level this is the case but if it constitutes excessive force, red...In all cases though, the kicking or attempting to kick foul does reward the other team with a DFK.

Answer provided by Referee Victor Matheson

I agree. Nobody likes to be kicked in the shins even if the opponent was really trying to kick the ball instead. You don't need to call every little touch, but if the mis-kick is hard enough to hurt, definitely call the foul.