Question Number: 31298

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 2/26/2017

RE: Recreation Adult

R Houslin of LUTON, Bedfordshire asks...

If a referee books a player for dissent how do you restart the game?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI ,
it will depend, if the game has already been stopped to award a certain restart and the dissent occurs before this restart begins the restart remains the same. The mouthy player simply is shown the yellow card. The restart is either retaken if it occurs as the referee was going to award the card or delayed until after the card is shown.
Now if the play is active on the FOP and we stop play, SOLELY to show obtuse players a yellow card for their nagging over something they do not like we restart with an INDFK.
I think it unwise to do so if the opposition had an advantage and opportunity to score but we would certainly stop play if the dissenting team had the ball.
The INDFK restart occurs from where the ball is subject to the special circumstances of the goal area .
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
If the game is stopped to card the player the restart is an indirect free kick from where the offence took place that is the location of the dissent. An example would be where the referee does not say award a foul and a player from the team dissents the no decision.
If play has already stopped then the restart does not change. An example would be where a foul is awarded and a player dissents the decision then the restart is still the foul for the free kick.
In many dissent situations the use of advantage has to considered. Stopping play to award an IDFK may not be the best decision particularly when it benefits the offending team.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

If the ball is in play, and play is stopped to caution a player for dissent, play is restarted with an indirect free kick to the opposition from where the dissent occurred.

Now, there's one possibly confusing element. This season there was a rewrite in the laws - and as part of that, the laws appears to state that such an offence would be a direct free kick (so, a penalty kick if in a defender's own penalty area) - in fact, the laws were contradictory on this.

Later, IFAB clarified in another document that dissent is still only a yellow card, but I wouldn't be surprised if some referees are incorrectly awarding a direct kick for this as a result of the initial confusion.