Question Number: 17057

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/2/2007

RE: club Under 17

scott of abingdon, maryland usa asks...

should you get a card if you slide at the goalee with spikes up?

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

When I was a goalkeeper and an opponent contacted me with open studs he usually wished he had just gotten a card, even a red one. Reason? I tended to fall down really hard when that happened, no telling where or with what I made contact to his body. And I did tend to make contact.

If the referee did offer me some protection I was there to offer a helping hand to the quivering mass of opponent...

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

Speaking as a goalkeeper - this is at the very least cautionable (yellow card) and quite possibly dismissable (red card).

Think about it, when playing the ball on the ground, why would the attacker want to raise their boot straight out toward the goalkeeper with their studs exposed? If the ball was on the ground, you wouldn't need to do this to play the ball and if it was in the air, why not play it with some other part of your body that is more appropriate than the bottom of your boot? (Like the top of your boot, or your chest or head?)

99% of studs up situations when the attacker uses this technique to foul the goalkeeper is done solely to intimidate or injure the goalkeeper, who often is vulnerable due to the nature of his job. If a player can get in the keeper's head, then he's taken something away from the defending team that is important, the keeper's confidence.

So it becomes the referee's job to not only restore balance to the force, but also get in the attackers head to let him know is no uncertain terms that "this sort of conduct will not be tolerated from you, or anyone else on the pitch today, sir!"

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

That should get you a nice bright RED card