Question Number: 32540

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 6/24/2018

RE: Competitive Under 14

Mike Flanigan of Monticello, Minnesota United States asks...

My daughter just played in a game in which the opposing team was literally pushing our goalie during a corner kick. I was under the impression that this was penality, unfortunately nothing was called & they scored. Just wondering if the ref blew the call.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Mike
Yes pushing is a foul punished by a direct feee kick.
At corner kicks referees pay particular attention to holding, pushing of the goalkeeper by opposing players. However with a lot going on at corner kicks the referee can be watching the flight of the ball, the drop zone of the ball, other action areas involving players.
So it is conceivable that the referee missed an offence or perhaps he did not view the actions of an attacker as illegal.
Generally referees are accused of tending to err on side of goalkeepers when there is potential for offences in challenges for the ball.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Mike, if you note at he WC in Russia the referees are doing a LOT of intervention prior to restarts to try and mitigate the pushing and holding. The reason MORE foul are not called is often the defender & the attacker are both holding,& grabbing or pushing the other so it is tough to say who started it and who is most affected by it. I recall a pro team trying a tactic where they boxed in the keeper front back and sideways and screamed for a foul every time the keeper tried to push his way out. . This was a USB action prior to the restart in fact these actions prior to the restart are ONLY misconduct and if the referee felt it necessary he could caution for these actions. It is just the restart remains the same!. If a referee allows the restart, be it corner kick or whatever once the ball is IN play THEN the actions become a foul and can be dealt with as the next restart!

A referee with integrity calls what he sees based on what he knows . The experience curve of recognizing what is or is not a foul or a poor angle of view at a given moment. Best to agree to disagree and move on . If there is video or teachable moments these are of course to be explored . Assessments, mentors ongoing training, a n association has to be progressive and its members willing to become better through training, practice and time!

I have a training program designed to educate ALL those who participate from the parents, players, coaches, referees , fans & pundits. The thing all those that play see the game differently then those that watch, a parent sees it differently when it comes to their child, those that coach see it differently then those that play, a referee sees it differently than a non neutral looking for a result! Sometimes what is apparent is and as Esse Baharmast showed us in 1998 sometimes it is not!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

No this pushing is not legal. This referee most likely is not experienced. Corner kicks are situations when there is almost always going to be pushing and holding going on. The referee must be careful and put an end to it early on in the match. Good preventive officiating is key here. While a foul cannot be called until the ball is kicked in and play, the referee should do something to stop the pushing. A simple whistle to hold up the kick and talking to the players can go along way.. If the push happens after the kick then a free kick should be awarded to the keeper