Question Number: 32083

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 12/7/2017

RE: Competitive Under 19

Salvador Flores of Indianapolis, Indiana United States asks...

1. In a scenario where an attacking player is 1v1 against a defending player and the defender is the only player left besides the goalkeeper. If the attacker dribbles past the defender and the defender tries to take the ball away with a slide tackle and instead of getting the ball the defender trips the attacker who just past the defender. Is that a caution or sent off?
2. If a defender gets the ball and starts to dribble the ball inside his penalty area and the keeper comes up and picks up the ball, is that an infringement of picking up the ball from teammate and would it be called as an indirect free kick? Or is it an indirect free kick if the own teammate passes it directly to the goalkeeper and picks it up?

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Salvador,
1. First of all, the referee must decide whether the criteria are met for this to be a DOGSO offence. To do so, the following must be considered:

''distance between the offence and the goal
general direction of the play
likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball
location and number of defenders''

From your description, while the last criterion is met, the others are not 100% clear. Anyway, assuming the referee decides this was a DOGSO offence and it was outside the penalty area it would be a sending off. If inside the penalty area and since you describe it as an attempt to play the ball, it would be a caution (and a penalty kick).

2. This would depend on whether the referee judges that the ball was deliberately dribbled in such a way that the intent was for the goalkeeper to pick it up - or whether the defender was trying to dribble the ball away and was not aware of the keeper coming to get the ball. It's difficult to tell for certain without seeing the actual incident unfold but I would say that in most such cases it's more likely to be the latter. As a referee I'd want to be quite sure that it was really the intent of the defender for the ball to go to the keeper, otherwise I'd be inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt, especially if it were a one-off occurrence. If a pattern developed, I might take a different view, of course.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Salvador ,
the options are of course no call, careless award free kick , caution show a yellow for reckless or USB in or out of the PA with free kick or PK or a send off show a red card for DOGSO IF outside the PA or if a excessive force tackle in or out the PA with free kick or PK

A leg in generally is recognized as a reasonable challenge most often a careless foul that is mistimed, it still can prevent a scoring opportunity thus a red card is possible as my colleague Ref Grove pointed out the criteria by which we would is specific. The new LOTG changes reduce the impact of a send off if the challenge was thought to be a reasonable one as a PK restart is considered as a reasonable substitute for the lost opportunity. Yet that same DOGSO challenge outside results in a free kick & a send off instead of just a caution so the location really matters.


. We would not fault a keeper for falling on a loose ball in around their area they thought was in endangered of being rammed into their goal. We expect keepers to save the ball, it is their main purpose so we would not see a save as a INDFK incident unless we were convinced the defender shepherd the ball as a means for the keeper to take possession rather than a dribble clearance effort gone wrong.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Salvador
1. The referee here has to make a decision as to whether the offence denied a goal scoring opportunity and the location of the foul. A penalty award on a GENUINE attempt to play the ball on a foul that denies a goal scoring opportunity is now a yellow card. The same foul outside the penalty area that meets the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity is still a red card as is a deliberate handling that prevents a goal.
So in your scenario it can still be a caution or a dismissal depending on the DOGSO conditions being met and the location of the foul.
2. Each situation is different and the referee has to decide whether the goalkeepers team mate has played the ball in such a way that it is a deliberate kick to the goalkeeper or a position that the goalkeeper can lift the ball. There can be times in a save situation where it is a scramble for the ball with a goalkeeper diving on the ball last played by a team mate as part of a save. There can also be times where a team mate dribbles the ball towards the penalty area and the ball is left for the GK to pick up. The Law makes no provision for the distance or strength of the deliberate kick which can be the last touch of a dribble. That is an offence should the GK use his hands to play the ball.
If a GK picks the ball up as part of a questionable save under pressure he has 6 seconds or so to put it back into play.