Question Number: 31040

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 11/21/2016

RE: Competive Under 15

Eli of Seattle, WA King asks...

I was AR on game yesterday and the following happened.

An attacker had a breakaway and was running for a shot on goal. The only defender between him and goal was the keeper. He was outside the penalty area and off to the side, but within shooting range, the keeper is somewhere in the box (not rushing out). The defender running behind the attacker slide-tackles him from behind and the attacker goes down. Obvious DOGSO, no question about that, but what happened next was where I have questions.

Immediately when the foul happened, the center, was more towards the center circle, blew the whistle. Right after the foul, the ball went into the net. How it went in, I did not see AT ALL. I flagged the foul and immediately was looking up field at the center to signal that it was outside the box. I'm rather surprised it did go in given the nature of the foul and where the attacker and GK were at the time. To myself and the center, the defender took out the attacker before he shot. Perhaps the GK stopped on the whistle and the ball deflected in? More likely the ball skittered across goal and another attacker put it in. I have no idea.

So immediately there is a big uproar by the players yelling that we should allow 'advantage' and allow the goal. But the center and I decide that the whistle happened before the goal. Decision is FK from the location of the foul.

Question #1. Should we have allowed the goal if we judged that the GK & defenders were not affected by the whistle? Keep in mind that the goal happened immediately after the foul, so there might not have been time for them to react.

In the uproar after the foul, neither I nor the center get the jersey number of the defender who committed the foul. Keep in mind that the center was immediately surrounded by players so had a hard time seeing. It was my mistake not to get the #, but all I can say I was quite distracted by all the yelling and uproar and the center racing over to talk to me. We decide to leave leave it as a DFK and not eject a defender since we don't know who did the foul.

Question #2. What should we do when we don't know who committed the foul? Yes, obviously we should get the player #, but if we don't, what do we do?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Eli
Once the whistle sounded no further play can be allowed so no matter what the goal could not stand. The restart must be a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on the location of the foul. What it does show is the need for referees to be less eager to stop play with a wait and see approach in such circumstances.
Have a look at this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajg-RFaAfOc
Referee Terge Hauge blows the whistle for the foul by the goalkeeper and an instant later the ball is in the goal. The referee had no choice but to disallow the goal and send off the goalkeeper for a DOGSO. The restart was a DFK which Barcelona missed. The referee later regretted his decision by being too quick to stop play. http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=749541.html?autoplay=true
His thinking he said was foul, red card so his eagerness to call the foul created the problem for him. In fact it took Barcelona until the 81st minute to equalize and then go on to win. So it happens even to the best referees.
In respect of the sending off incident again another learning point. The key here is good concentration and identification of the offender and not to get distracted by what else that is going on at that time. Sometimes just by paying close attention to players in the game up to that point as to positioning, noticeable features such as left footed can help referees to identify the offender. I know that early in my referee career I sometimes struggled with cautions after an advantage. All brought about by not paying enough attention to the offenders details at the time of the foul.
In your situation not much the referee crew can do other than just go with the free kick. The referee could request the assistance of the captain by asking him to bring forward the offending player. Something like *Okay captain get the offending player in here* That might solicit a response of the captain of who he thinks is the offender. He might not have seen the player either. The referee could bring forward the GK as he was certainly there and request him to bring forward the team mate in a similar manner. That might bring a player who owns ups or it might not. All in all it is not a good situation to be in and sometimes we just have to accept a poor outcome.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Eli,
Ok lets think a moment. As AR you are watching the interaction between the breaking attacker and the late arriving 2nd last opponent takes him out from behind. You look up to the CR and get eye contact as he blows for the OBVIOUS foul you can raise your flag in support as well. Indicating the foul so it looks like you are both signalling on the same page. You should be AWARE of who did the foul as it appears the CR was a good distance away. You could also in the eye contact moments indicate it is red card, in your opinion, be it for DOGSO or SFP by tapping the back pocket of your shorts. Repeat to your self the # ?? of the fouling defender and get that locked.

ONCE the whistle has gone play is dead.
There is NO advantage possible!
Where the ball ends up is no longer a matter of concern given the CR is awarding a DFK from the point of the foul and is going to show a red card and send off the defender reducing his team to ten players.

The CR is the one required NOT to blow the whistle IF he wishes to play an advantage or just swallow the whistle for a moment to await the outcome of a shot. Given he did not there is NO legal precedent for awarding a goal. NO GOAL Period!

Perhaps if the CR had been more in tune with what we refer too as situational awareness he could have come to the realization that a delayed whistle might allow for the ball to wind up in the goal and not require sending off for DOGSO but rather show just a yellow card as a caution for a reckless or tactical foul and restart with a kick off. In your description though it DOES give credence to a direct red for an excessive force tackle. WHICH is of greater concern then just a DOGSO.

Now all the officials lost track of WHO did the actual foul? That my good sir can not happen. It was in your own words a CLEAR DOGSO which means the real advantage now is the offended team gets to play a man up as the CR MUST according to the LOTG send off the guilty opposing player. Part of your duty is to NOT to get flustered by all the commotion surrounding argumentative incidents but record the facts of who does what to who and when into your mind to assist the CR in arriving at a just decision.

To simply not send off anyone and by not permitting the goal to count I can well imagine the one team so aggrieved as to be steaming out the ears. The other team laughing quietly at the officials for letting them off the hook. Perhaps you go with just the free kick but looking foolish is already in the mix so be diligent and work to find the culprit
Both ARs and the referee should be able to narrow down the likely culprit but choose the one you all think did the deed and send him off unless there is a honest 'I did it!' from another player. The CR could ask the defending captain for assistance and request the guilty player step forward and while not a neutral party, the opposing player fouled likely is up in the face of the one who cut him down. Look for some clues. If you watch, when a defender KNOWS he is caught, he will try to fade away, head down, not drawing attention. Assuming he is not going nose to nose with the guy he just fouled.

A great case in point was when Esse awarded the PK in favour of Norway for the holding in the 1998 world cup in France. While many Brazilian players were gathered around the referee shaking their fingers saying no no you made a mistake Júnior Baiano was sulking about in the back ground head down, trying to fade away.

Look at it like this! We can claim we referee for love of the game , a small paycheck or for our kids. Yet, refereeing is a JOB and not always an easy one! It has responsibilities and accountability for your choices and decisions. The effort you give on the pitch often mirrors the effort you give to living life. Much like 18 holes in a round of golf can reveal flaws and attributes of ones true character. Those whose safety you are responsible for will respect your position as referee only slightly but the person you are, they will only respect the actual effort you put forth in mind body and soul. To study &understand the LOTG , to apply the LOTG correctly by anticipating and staying with play and to use the LOTG wisely so the match flows within the confines of fair play. You can learn from your mistakes and seek out the corrective solutions but the fact you are self evaluating this match proves you are honest and attempting to become a better official. Next time, FOCUS, get the details nailed, there will always be a wailing and gnashing of teeth in most any controversial decision block it out, stay tuned to what the MATCH requires of you and from you!
Cheers