Question Number: 17798

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 11/9/2007

RE: Competitive Adult

Brian of Wauwatosa, WI USA asks...

If any of the group watched the Fire/Revolution match on Nov 8, I would be interested in a discussion of the allowance of the bicycle-kick goal by Taylor Twellman. It seemed to me that the kick, taken in close-quarters between two defenders involved dangerous play. One Chicago defender (Dasan Robinson) is shown in replays turning his head to the side to avoid the boot. Obviously, the ruling was an example of ITOOR. Thanks.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Brian,
At this level of play that is going to be a goal, it was perfectly controlled and well executed bike and you may notice on his second one a bit later he got hammered into the ground. The defenders expected it, knew it was coming and did not refrain from their efforts. Notice the referee was in good posion to allow the goal and again when TT was knocked down on the later attempt. MLS referee Kevin Stotts gets his fair share of knocks from critics but I say well done here!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

I agree that in MLS...it will be a goal everytime. If it were a youth match, then it might be a different story. When considering whether to call a dangerous play, the referee must evaluate the response of the opponents. It did not seem that the opponents ceased to play the ball as a result of the bicycle kick.