Question Number: 31135

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 12/28/2016

RE: Rec Adult

russell of Sydney, Australia asks...

Am watching the Spurs v southampton game right now, and Mike Dean has awarded a penalty to Spurs for a shirt pull.

We know that a foul that begins out side the box and continues into the box is a penalty.

This incident raises the question about how far out as while there was bit of a pull, it was not continuous and there were a number of paces taken (at a running speed) after the pull.

The defender was also shown red.

Mike Dean is a respected, strong and willing referee, however, these two connected decisions seem harsh.

thoughts welcomed.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Russell
This looked like a number of fouls to me. The first tug on the Tottenham player Delle Alli was well outside the penalty area and as it did not do enough to stop the player, play was correctly allowed to continue. As the attacker was about to shoot the Southampton player Nathan Redmond sort of threw himself / fell towards the attacker making contact on the Spurs player Alli just as the player was getting his shot away. As that happened inside the penalty area the correct decision was a penalty kick. As Redmond did not make a genuine effort to play the ball the only possible decision was a dismissal for denying a goal scoring opportunity. So for me Referee Mike a Dean got the call correct under the new interpretation of Law 12.
I believe that the fuss was around the fact that the contact appeared innocuous with it looking like the Southampton player falling into the Spurs player. That is still a foul as it is a careless challenge on an opponent. At the highest level player attempt to make such challenges look accidental or a coming together. The Southampton player had no chance of playing the ball yet he still made contact on the Spurs player with the desired effect of making him miss his shot.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Russell,
Mike made the decision with complete understanding the defender only played the player never the ball in the lead up to the created collision. Do not have to wipe a guy off the field to cause him to miss. Little nudges are as unfair as a sweep the legs maneuver if they prevent the opportunity. Always a PK easy red card decision!
Cheers