Question Number: 32215

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 2/5/2018

RE: Adult

Douglas Wix of Liverpool, Merseyside United Kingdom asks...

In the Liverpool v Tottenham match recently I felt that both Penalty awards were not correct. First award surely Kane is offside & in any case he cheated & dived. 2nd award I felt Van Dijk pulled out of challenge & Tottenham player fell too easily,falling into him. Seems both Moss & Smart were,should I say NOT SMART between them. Any thoughts on both awards please & why? Thanks

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Douglas
On the Kane one the deliberate play of the ball by Lovren resets the offside so Kane, while in an offside position, could not be called offside. Had the ball deflected off Lovren the offside would have been called but that is not what happened. This is what Law 11 states * A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save by any opponent) is not considered to have gained an advantage.** We also had the benefit of listening to AR Smart say to Referee Jon Moss that if Lovren played the ball it could not be offside. The only doubt he had was whether the ball was played or not by Lovren. As the ball was played by the Liverpool player the AR was 100% correct that it was not offside. Also offside is not a escape clause for a poor play by a player.
On the subsequent penalty the Liverpool goalkeeper dives at the feet of Kane and fails to play the ball. The momentum takes him into Kanes path who perhaps goes down easily yet a trip is what it is. On field it would have looked a certain penalty. Most comments I have heard suggest that it was a penalty. A similar incident happened in the Watford v Chelsea game where Courtois of Chelsea dived at the feet of Watfords Deulofe with a similar outcome. GKs need to realise that in real time with one look at it by the referee that diving without playing the ball runs a high risk of a foul on any contact even limited.
On the second penalty decision it was clearly shown that Van Dijk Liverpool kicked Lamela on the back of the knee in the penalty area. I suspect Lamela made the most of it it yet it was a clumsy attempt to play the ball. The Laws make no reference to the strength used in a kick etc so as it was a kick on an opponent it is a foul. It would be a foul anywhere else on the field of play.
So for me all the decisions were correct. If anyone was not being smart here it was the Liverpool GK and defenders. GKs know that if they do not play the ball such challenges run the very high risk of giving away a penalty kick. Also kicking a player high up in the leg anywhere on the field of play always runs the risk of a foul.