Question Number: 31117

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 12/16/2016

RE: School Under 11

Sam Clews of Peterborough , United Kingdom asks...

1) A player has made a run into the box. The keeper is the last man and rushes out, diving at the striker's feet. The striker tries to lob/chip the keeper, over hits it and it goes over the crossbar. The keeper's dive for the ball is too late and clatters into the striker (after the striker has got his shot away). So, my question is foul or no foul, penalty or no penalty?

2) I work in a primary school. My students all play football and frequently use arms to barge each other when challenging for the ball. So, could you please tell me what the line/laws are when it comes to barging? E.g. Is it shoulder only? A lot of them lean in, leading with the elbow, so it is the elbow that makes contact first. What is the law/guidance in regards to this please?

Thanks,

Sam Clews

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Sam
1. Always a difficult one. If the ball is in play and the player is fouled by the goalkeeper it is a penalty kick. What can change that decision is that the ball can be out of play at the time of the foul, the forwards momentum has carried the player into the goalkeeper etc in which case it is not a foul.

2. Players may legally charge an opponent provided the ball is within playing distance and the arms and hands are not used and it is not careless or reckless. So that means that a player can use a shoulder to an opponents shoulder to ease the opponent off the ball. What is not allowed is the use of an arm which is a push or that the opponent is shouldered in the chest or back or in an overly aggressive manner. If I read your descption which says that players barge the opponent with the use of an arm then that is illegal and a foul. There is no question about the use of the elbow which is a no no and that must be prevented. Any player leading with a hard elbow into an opponent is being reckless which is at least a caution and if excessive force is used it is a red card.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Sam,
(1)
Tough one, although it can be a fine line as to whether the ball is out into touch as to the timing of the tackle, it does seem as if late defenders, be it the keeper or not, often get a free pass at a last second whack if the ball just happens to go wide or over the goal. It seems easier to bear if YOU score . But a bruise and some pain at the expense of a miss appears to be accepted as a punishment for not scoring! As if they are more upset at the fact they missed then the late arriving clatter. Not often but on a few occasions I have carded the defender/keeper for the tackle itself as misconduct only even though I was awarding a goal kick.
(2)
This is a matter of degree! How much foul play can be ignored to keep play moving by the referee or tolerated as acceptable by the participants involved where they will not get overly upset?
Leading with the elbow is ALWAYS a bad idea, you make head contact and you might ride the red sleigh of send off. More acceptable is the forearm push as in a warding off motion as they jostle but if there is too much force or an intersection of right angles most often that becomes a charging foul .

Like any fair challenge, a fair charge, must still respect the bounds of safety in how much force is used . I can ram an opponent's shoulder to shoulder but still be classified as a hold or charging foul if I am coming in sideways ,as you go forward or we are facing each other and I spin you off the ball with my front of shoulder leading into your front of shoulder. Generally a FAIR charge requires running side by side, leaning in and easing the opponent off the ball as opposed to knocking him down. It is quite difficult to fair charge an opponent if there is significant difference in height. Taller players lean onto the top of the shoulder pushing down, smaller player almost have to jump at and up to get shoulder contact. Once players are IN close contact you get the fist grabbing shirt bunching, where the guy trying to pull from behind is counter balanced by the grab holding him back. Only with time and experience can you hope to grasp the nuances of what those in your charge are willing to play under. Seek to be close to play , to see get good angles, consult the ARs.
Cheers and Merry Christmas

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Sam,
1. There are a couple of issues here. Firstly, did the contact between the players occur before or after the ball went over the crossbar? It's not entirely clear from your description. If the ball was already out of play, a penalty cannot be awarded but there could still be the possibility of disciplinary action against the keeper if the referee considers the challenge to be reckless or involving excessive force.

Assuming the ball was still in play when the players collided, it might or might not be a foul depending on the circumstances. It is a legitimate tactic, fully expected and allowed, for a keeper to come out (even to rush, if you like) towards a player who is through on goal. It is known as narrowing the angle, is taught by all goalkeeping coaches and used by pretty much all goalkeepers. Now, since the striker is moving towards goal and the keeper is in many cases trying to get as close as possible before the shot is struck, this means there is a fairly reasonable chance that some kind of physical contact between the players might occur.

The referee has to decide if the keeper (or the striker, for that matter) has been careless, reckless or used excessive force in the incident in question. In some cases, this might be seen simply as a ''coming together'' of the two players, with no fault on either side. Alternatively, the referee could decide that one or other player (more often the keeper in this scenario, admittedly) has committed a foul. It's very difficult to say without actually seeing the incident.

I have to say though, that I often see cases where (in my opinion) the keeper has acted at a minimum, carelessly but there seems to be an expectation that if the player gets the shot away first, the subsequent collision is excusable. Although as a former goalkeeper I have a lot of sympathy for keepers in general, I think they sometimes get away with what in almost any other circumstances would be seen as a foul.

2. The law doesn't actually give a lot of clear guidance in this regard. It simply says that it is an offence to push an opponent in a way that is careless, reckless manner or uses excessive force. There is no actual mention of shoulders, elbows etc nor any detailed description of mechanics. So it's something that is (once again) left up to the judgement of the referee. For me, what kind or level of pushing constitutes an offence is one of those things that you can say is difficult to describe but with time and experience it becomes something that ''you know it when you see it.''