Question Number: 34679

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 8/26/2022

RE: Amateur Adult

Mühenned ELSEYHO of Kahramanmaras, Turkey asks...

Hello, does playing in a dangerous manner (without contact) inside the penalty area result in a penalty kick or an indirect free kick, and when does the referee raise the yellow card against dangerous play (without contact)?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Playing in a dangerous manner without contact is always an indirect free kick no matter the location of the offence. So inside the penalty area it is an IDFK from where the offence took place.
As to whether PIADM merits a caution that is up to each individual referee to decide.
My opinion is that it has to be particularly reckless for a card or the action was done for unsporting reasons such as laying on top of the ball for a lengthy period or stopping a promising attack. In some of those situations if there was to be contact a card would be merited.
I like to show this example although it could also be interpreted as a reckless challenge albeit with no contact. It is a judgment call.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gZJn4UgpjY4
There was no contact on the player yet the manner of the challenge was reckless.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi there Mühenned ELEYHO,
PIADM is an INDFK BECAUSE there is no actual physical contact! The foul created a situation that disadvantaged the opponent who, if he/she had, chosen, to play the ball could either damage the player or themselves in the challenge

For me trying to shield a ball whilst on the ground is legal, however, the manner in which it is being done might not be. An opponent might gingerly try to fish out a trapped ball under a downed opponent but he or she cannot just randomly kick away as that WOULD be a DFK foul on THEM! Just as the downed player can not try to ward off the legs fairly reaching in, using the arms to shield the ball or remain lying on the ground for too long

Same as an overhead bike kick generally ok even if opponents are fairly close but if a defender had the ball at head height and was attempting to head it and a high attacking foot flashes up into his face so he pulls away to avoid being kicked that is a foul no matter how pretty a goal might look like!

We should note that a DFK for an ATTEMPT to trip or kick is NOT PIADM. We should also note the PIADM does qualify for DOGSO and the set up for INDFKs inside the PA have very strict limitations that are far too often ignored! Albeit a rare site it generally is a chaotic mess most every time and at every level. lol
Cheers
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi,

An Indirect Free Kick (IDFK) Offence doesn't become a Direct Free Kick (DFK), or penal, offence, just because it is in a different part of the field.

So, PIADM will be an indirect anywhere. That means if it is by the defender within the goal area, the IDFK is taken on the edge of the GA, and the defence can line up in goal.

The referee will consider a card when there is a high level of danger. A boot that comes very close to head high, especially with studs showing towards the opponent's face, will probably be a YC (and if contact is made, it becomes a DFK - and probably a RC).

A YC can also be shown if it's stopping a promising attack, though this is rare. On that note, DOGSO can occur with PIADM - and if it does, this is still a red card (it's not one of the DOGSO-YC offences as it isn't a penalty kick).

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Muhenned,
Playing in a dangerous manner (PIADM) is an offence that cannot involve contact, precisely because it is an indirect free kick offence. Any offence that involves contact must be a direct free kick and since PIADM is listed as an indirect free kick offence, therefore there can be no contact. If PIADM occurs, no matter where on the pitch it happens, it always results in an indirect free kick.

For the referee to award a caution for PIADM is relatively rare and for me, it probably has to be one of those cases where the action blurs the line between "regular" PIADM and either a reckless challenge/attempt to kick, or unsporting behaviour. Sometimes, when a challenge without contact occurs, it's a bit of a toss up as to what to call it. For instance, the challenge in the clip referenced by ref McHugh above is arguably more in the nature of a reckless challenge than it is pure PIADM. An example of PIADM "morphing" into USB could be a player who lies on top of the ball and keeps doing so for an excessive length of time, making no attempt to move away from the ball, for no apparent reason.