Question Number: 16162

Law 5 - The Referee 7/29/2007

RE: Competitive Adult

Al of Sarnia, ON CANADA asks...

Two questions today:

1. Red player is carelessly kicked by white just after red passes ball forward to a teammate. Ball is clearly heading toward red teammate breaking through defenders and advantage is applied and signaled. However, AR raises flag for offside as soon as red teammate touches ball.

I blew whistle to stop play and gave DFK to red for original foul since advantage I anticipated did not materialize. However, had foul not occurred, red still would have been off-side.

Some inkling in my mind remembers reading a question about this in the past, but I could not find it. Was my ruling correct application of Laws and/or Common Sense?

2. A Sending Off offense occurs well after the match is over and after traditional handshakes but officiating crew is still on field (in Chile/ Argentina U20 match, a German AR was slapped by a Chilean substitute; in my game tonight, a player used offensive language against a coach from the opposing team). Is it quite league specific or is there a general procedure for reporting actions that occur well after the match is over when the showing of cards no longer is practical (or for that matter reporting any other information [ex teams protesting player eligibility, neither team having a 2nd uniform and both having same colour, etc.] that does not fit standard reporting paperwork)? I've worked as AR with many referees who "advise" me to ignore this late behaviour (never referee assault mind you) because "it's not worth it", but I only believe that will encourage it in future matches for someone else to put up with. I wrote what I called a "Supplemental Game Report" describing details of the incident and forwarded it to League. What have you done in past?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

(1) In this specific situation, you have to ask yourself what happened first? There is some disagreement on this. The target was in an offside position, so we deem offside to have occurred at the time the ball is kicked - even if the offside call cannot be made until a later time when involvement is seen. Therefore the restart should have been an IFK coming out. The kick by the white player can only be sanctioned as misconduct. This is confirmed by FIFA Q&A (2006) 12.34. Unfortunately this document is out of date, and is not being reissued by FIFA. I cannot find this specific incident addressed in the new extended version of the Laws of the Game.

34. A player is in an offside position and an assistant referee raises his flag. The referee does not see the signal and a defending player violently punches an opponent. The referee stops play and only then sees the signal of the assistant referee. What action does the referee take?
a. If he accepts the signal for offside from the assistant referee, he sends off the defender for violent conduct and restarts play with an indirect free kick for the defending team *.
b. If he does not accept that an offside offence has occurred, the defending player is sent off for violent conduct and play is restarted with a penalty kick or a direct free kick for the attacking team.

(2) Sounds like you acted correctly. We can't "just leave it" because, as you state, it will just encourage poor behavior later on. In the leagues I work, the gamesheet is the official record of the match. We indicate who scored goals and put in a code number for misconduct. We are expected to write a description of the misconduct, either on the back of the form or in a separate document. Usually I wait until I get home and type it on the computer, and then attach the report to the gamesheet before mailing it in. I also forward the misconduct report to my referee association.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

1)Like Referee Voshol, I agree it is a case of what happened first? In the scenario you describe, I'm a little confused. If the kick by the red player went to a teammate who was breaking through defenders, that sounds like it went to an onside player. Did you ask your AR later about the offside call and what he saw that caused him to flag for offside? Was this a situation where an onside player and an offside player were both going for a ball? That is a slightly different kettle of fish. Nonetheless, if the kick by the white player for which you allowed advantage occurred after the ball was kicked by red, and you accept that the call by your AR was for an offside offense from that kicked ball, then offside is the correct call. If you feel your AR made an error in judging the offside, then you go with the foul.
2) Paperwork is such a hassle! No wonder referees shirk this responsibility. However, they don't seem to mind getting paid or the responsibility of showing up on time, or conducting the game according to the Laws. Oops. Wait. The Laws (Law 5) require the referee to make a full report. So, many kudos to you for filing a supplemental report stating the facts of what happened - that is exactly what should have been done. Ignoring or leaving it is like failing to call a violent foul because it means you have to go to the trouble of reaching into your back pocket (or wherever you keep that red card), showing it and making the miscreant leave the field. So much work, so little time. A report doesn't have to be long and wordy (like my answer here) - in fact, short, factual and succinct is the favorite of every review board I've ever been on, dealt with or talked to. I hope your example is followed.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Agree that you have to decide what occurs first. Here, the offside is judged at the moment tha ball is played by a teammate which occurred BEFORE the carelss foul so I would give offside with appropriate IFK restart for defenders. You may punish the kick as misconduct but not as a foul as play was dead due to the offside. 2. It's a shame that many referees do not want to bother punishing bad behavior just because the match is over. If the players have left the field you do not show a card but you DO inform them they have been sent off and a proper report is being filed with the appropriate authorites. This means the player will be sitting out at least the next match

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Agree with my colleagues. It is offside since the offside is evaluated at moment ball touches teammate. Since you stated the after the fact kick was careless, a caution most likely would need not be administered. For the second incident, report all action to the league. The red card CAN INDEED be shown.