Question Number: 31960

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/30/2017

Petr of Prague, Czech Republic Czech Republic asks...

Hello,
I have two DOGSO videos from Bundesliga.

Video 1 (in time 0:00)
http://footyroom.com/matches/79942323/vfb-stuttgart-vs-freiburg/review

Video 2 (in time 0:30)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyrX67crhKM

Please explain the reasons for such decisions. It seems to me that the yellow cards would be enough. (I think that in the second video the goalkeeper could have been at the ball before Robben. At the first video it is unclear what would follow without a handball in my opinion.)

Thanks!!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Petr
As you know in the case of a penalty award a referee can now caution a player that makes a genuine attempt to play the ball in a DOGSO situation. Outside the penalty area the option of a yellow card does not apply when a player denies an opponent a goal scoring opportunity with the award of a free kick.
In the case of the first video it is certainly deliberate handling which is a sending off both inside and outside the penalty area when an opponent has been denied an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
In this instance the referee I suspect opined that without the handling the attacker mat have got possession of the ball. I think it is very questionable that the attacker was denied although the cynical nature of the handling may have swayed the referee. A caution could certainly be justified.
On the second one it is certainly a foul and White makes no attempt to play the ball. Again inside or outside the penalty area this could be a red card once the referee opines that an obvious goal scoring opportunity has been denied with no attempt to play the ball.
Again there is a question mark over whether Robben would have got the ball before the goalkeeper had he not been fouled. I again suspect that the cynical nature of the foul swayed the referee into a dismissal.
It could also be the case that senior group referees in the Bundesliga have been advised to penalise fully cynical fouls in goal scoring situation.
In my game at the weekend I had a situation where a goalkeeper came out and deliberately fouled a break away forward who was headed for the corner of the penalty area. it was somewhat a questionable DOGSO and as it was in the last two minutes I went with yellow. I could have considered it as a red card and made arguments for that. The cynical nature of the foul certainly had me thinking a red card yet I decided that a caution was the *best* decision in the circumstances.
As we know these DOGSO situation are highly subjective and a negative view of no attempt to play the ball may result in less benefit of doubt being given and sway the opinion of the referee.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Petr,
the referee must have decided the blatant handling was to deny the scoring opportunity thus DOGSO .
Perhaps a caution and free kick is not unreasonable but his match his decision his reputation.
The second was video review was possibly SFP rather than DOGSO but again no one would have been all that surprised at a caution yellow .
The only guy who knows why he did what he did is the CR in the match.
Cheers

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 31968