Question Number: 15756

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 6/11/2007

Gil Acedo of Pasadena, CA USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 15702

If I had to base a decision as to whether the GK was guilty of a foul or not and I had only Keith's description of event to go by, I would have to say no foul. Now the referee thought otherwise, but Keith says the keeper kicked the ball [and then?] the attacker, I would say it's unfortunate the player was injured but kudos to the GK for a good, aggressive but clean play on the ball. Many times I have heard spectators howl for a foul when one of their players was knocked down or injured in a confrontation, but the knock-down or injury itself is not always justification for a punishment.

The comment by the unsympathetic GK was out of line, and assuming he heard it, should have elicited a warning from the referee.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Gil are you that ref who perpetuates the "I got the ball" myth? The proverbial ref last week? No, I'm kidding, I know better from some of your other questions to the site.

Kicking an opponent, either before or after kicking the ball, is a foul. Any contact with the opponent before contacting the ball is a foul.

It is true that a skillful player could tackle the ball away and then the opponent might fall due to tripping over the outstretched leg. That isn't a foul.

The successful tackler could illegally "improve his lie", so to speak, by raising a leg off the ground or moving it around to make it easier for the opponent to trip. That is a foul.

As we answered Keith originally, we aren't in a position to second-guess whether any written description of a goalkeeper's action is a foul or not, or is misconduct or not. I can certainly conceive many scenarios that fit the description, ranging anywhere from no foul to SFP. The decision was made by the ref at that game, based on what he saw.