Question Number: 32319

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 3/18/2018

RE: Amateur Adult

Michael of North Bay, Ontario Canada asks...

Hello,
If there is a foul by the attacking team (Team A) inside the defensive team's (Team B) penalty area and the ball falls to another player on Team B - but still in the same penalty area - if they immediately lose possession and Team A scores, is the referee correct to say that they played an advantage?

I would argue that the ball is so far from the other goal that it doesn't make sense to play advantage here especially as possession was conceded so quickly and in such a dangerous area.

I hope my question makes sense, if you need additional information please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks!

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Michael,
you are spot on my friend . In the defending third never mind the PA there is almost no use of the advantage. A free kick alleviates all pressure!

There might be the very odd counter attack if say the opposition was all pushed up in a last minute corner and after a foul the ball squirts over to a free defender who bombs along one down field for a loose speedy attacker to glom onto for a breakaway. That COULD be advantage but if say the defender bobbled the ball under pressure and the long pass never materializes you then go with the foul. You have several seconds to consider the idea of advantage as being truly there but as you pointed out its a long way to the other end! .
Well done !
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Michael
Experienced referees know that it is not a good idea to play advantage in the defensive third for the very reason you mention. A referee can play advantage anywhere on the field of play yet an outbound free kick is generally the best advantage available to the defending team deep in its own half. Perhaps an exceptional situation of a quick breakaway might benefit from allowing play to continue yet it would have to be a very good situation to allow play to continue.
Now if a referee plays advantage to Team B and advantage is fully realised then technically play continues so he can say that it was technically correct. Obviously it was not a good advantage in the first place if the ball was immediately lost and a goal is conceded. If time has passed to the point that the referee cannot go back to the original foul then it is play on. If it is not played the question does not arise.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Michael,
The law says that the referee:

''allows play to continue when an offence occurs and the non-offending team will benefit from the advantage and penalises the offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue at that time or within a few seconds.''

So even if the referee has tried to play the advantage, which all things considered, they probably should not have done anyway, I would argue that since the anticipated advantage has not ensued within the few seconds stipulated in the law (you say the defender lost the ball immediately) the referee would be better advised to go back and penalise the original offence.

In addition to the basic provisions of law 5 regarding advantage, the section 'Practical Guidelines for Match Officials' says the following:

''The referee may play advantage whenever an offence occurs but should consider the following in deciding whether to apply the advantage or stop play:
[...]
- the position where the offence was committed - the closer to the opponent's goal, the more effective the advantage can be''

Obviously the reverse of this holds true - the further from the opponent's goal, the less effective the advantage, so as my colleagues have pointed out, it is almost never a good idea to play the advantage for a team in their own defensive third of the field and especially not inside their own penalty area. About the only time this might work is if the ball has gone straight to the goalkeeper who now has it in the hands and is in a good position to launch a quick counter attack. But not if it is on the ground at the feet of a defender who is likely to be challenged for the ball by an opponent.

The idea that an advantage could be applied in a situation like this, that could lead (and did, in this example) to a goal for the team having committed an offence, seems totally counter to the 'spirit of the game' and is against 'what football would want/expect.'