Question Number: 33401

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/29/2019

RE: Competitive Under 13

Mary Ramirez-de-Arellano of DAMASCUS, MD United States asks...

Last weekend in a U12 boys competition one player 'bridged' over another. I can't recall who had the ball. I believe they were both vying for it. Now that I try to recall it accurately,I am pretty certain that the player on the ground was trapped there. I am not proud to say that I didn't whistle, I froze. I didn't know what to call. Eventually the young man bridging over the other player got the ball and carried it. As you could expect the coach of the losing team made certain I knew his mind (dissatisfied and indignant) at the end of the game.(His team lost) .He was angry that I had permitted something that isn't permitted in soccer. So I vowed I would get the answer from you. Can you help me out so that the next time this happens I will blow the whistle and make the correct call? Thanks so much! I appreciate your thoughtful understanding responses to our questions.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Mary,
There's a few things to consider here - but it does come down to how the actual incident looked.
First off, there's nothing explicitly forbidden there - players get tangled up when other players fall over and they need a reasonable chance to resolve it.
If a blue player falls over - even on to the ball - they cannot be penalised for this. If, say, they're on the ball or 'huddling' the ball and not making any attempt to either move away, or move the ball away, then they're creating a situation where opponents cannot safely play the ball - that's PIADM by the blue player.

But, sometimes the blue player cannot get up - if there's a mob of players kicking at the ball, that player may not be able to get up. At that point you need to consider whether the standing players are causing the dangerous situation - but unless anything is clearly over the top, you'll normally try to give it a few moments to resolve (after all, they're all allowed to try to play the ball - just need to do it safely!).

So, if a red player is standing over the top of a blue player, then what is this doing for the overall situation?

For me, I'm looking at 2 things - danger created, and impact upon the opponent.

For impact on the opponent - in this case, I'm looking at whether the blue player is prevented from getting up off the ground. So, if the 'bridging' was very brief with no contact and it didn't clearly prevent the blue player getting up, then I'd probably be okay with it. If it goes on for a bit longer (and I might allow slightly more leeway if it occured as a result of the players getting tangled up and falling over the top of each other rather than the red player doing this as a clear choice), then you need to consider that the blue player has no possibility of getting up while another player is over the top of him - this also puts the blue player at increased risk by forcing him to stay on the ground in close proximity to the ball.

If it simply occurred because the red player fell on top of the blue player through no fault of his own, that in itself isn't a foul - but if they're delaying getting to their feet to play the ball (or pushing the blue player down to get up), then that's likely to be a foul.

So, in short - if it was very brief with no contact or impact upon the opponent, I'd probably allow it. But if it goes on for a bit longer, and the blue player can't do much because of this opponent, then a foul has probably been committed.

And assuming there isn't contact, I'd call this an IFK (PIADM, or even impeding the progress of an opponent).

A final thought - sometimes when players fall down around the ball, you can look at it and just know that there's no way this situation is going to resolve itself without somebody committing a foul. Especially if a couple of players have gotten tangled up and fallen over.

You may consider stopping play and awarding a drop ball. It's only something I'd use very, very sparingly, and only in low grade matches (even social grade adults). I think I've only done this 2 or 3 times throughout my career (but I only thought of this during my last season or two).

I'd only consider this if there's no way the situation is going to resolve itself safely and fairly - for the most part, there's the opportunity to do this and you need to let the players play; you don't want to be awarding a drop ball every time somebody falls down near the ball. As I said, its only an option - feel free to completely disregard that (if you consider it, don't forget to be across the new drop ball laws when they come into effect in your area).

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Mary
Thanks for the question
First off I would ignore the rant of the coach. It is one incident in 70 minutes of soccer. I am certain that there were plenty of opportunities to score, defend better etc.
As to the call that can be a difficult one. The player on the ground can be guilty of an offence by laying on or close to the ball preventing opponents from legally playing the ball. That can be playing in a dangerous manner punished by an indirect free kick. The player is at danger placing her body in such a way that she can get kicked in the opponents genuine attempt to kick the ball.
In addition the player standing over the opponent on the ground can also be guilty of an offence by holding down the opponent on the ground using her body. In fact it could be six of one offence and half a dozen of another.
Generally though for me the more likely offence is the PIADM where the player on the ground does not want to give up the ball and places their body over or close to the ball in a way that is dangerous to themselves and preventing an opponent from playing the ball. They do not wish to give up the ball. It does not always happen that way and the standing opponent may not even be trying to play the ball in which case there is no offence. Also there is no restriction on playing the ball on the ground.
As to what call to make my first instinct is to look for an initial offence such as a push to the ground. The next instance is to consider whether the opponent was acting unfairly by holding down the player on the ground? The final consideration was to opine if the player on the ground was contributing to an offence by laying on the ball restricting it from challenge.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Mary, some people no matter how well intention are frustrated entities who cannot seem to make peace with a mistake, just like a player misses a shot, a referee can misjudge a foul , it happens, best to agree to disagree and get over it. There will be oddball situations that can put your mind in shutdown mode wondering, just who is fouling who & is there a reason here to stop play?

Your use of the term bridging inspired some smiles here as we were thinking the wrestling move pinning the shoulders against the ground ( that would be holding by the way) lol So was a player facing up, using his head and feet to arch his back up as a bridge over the ball or opponent? or bent over facing down using hands and feet? It sounds as if a player was on top of the ball and another fell on top of the player or it started out that way?
The key components are HOW did this player wind up on top of the ball on the ground? Was he pushed or tripped? Foul?
Did he stumble and fall? Not a foul?
It is NOT an offence to play or shield the ball on the ground within playing distance.
However we expect a concerted effort to immediately get up and proceed with play..
He is NOT to lie on top covering the ball up using the head, arms or to stop opponents from also playing the ball. This could create an unsafe action PIADM ( playing in a dangerous manner) or is unsporting misconduct for delaying or wasting time (USB) (caution show a yellow card)

The opposing player is NOT totally prevented from playing the ball but he to is accountable for how he does so. How was he involved? Did he fall or lean over and trap him? He can not just start kicking away into the belly hoping to knock it free . That is a kicking foul on him!
Yet if he was to reach a foot in to draw the ball out from under a crouching player who then used his arm or moved his head to block the leg while he is on the ground that is a form of impeding or PIADM. Thus a foul against the player on the ground

From trying to visualize your situation perhaps the opponent was sort of leaning over the downed player not permitting him to rise effectively but trying to stay directly off his body by bridging himself up off the ground just limiting his space? It really needs to be seen to adjudicate a fair decision. It sounds as if a PIADM might be an indfk on the ground or it could be a careless holding or pushing foul thus a dfk by the one further off the ground?

I would play it over in your mind and see if you can figure out was there an unfair action by either player at the least careless albeit accidental? Where one player disadvantaged the other? Think carefully about how the situation occurred and if it resolved itself with or without problems ( not that the coach was upset) but did one player get away with a bit too much?
Cheers