Question Number: 29825

Other 10/17/2015

RE: Rec & Comp Under 15

Neil Pelkey of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania United States asks...

We have two referees in our area who do not call fouls on larger players when they knock down smaller players--because smaller players 'just fall down easier'. I have argued that law 12 requires challenges to consider the safety of the opponent in challenges and that size should be a factor. They argue that unless they look like they are trying to knock them down, it isn't a foul. Help is appreaciated.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Neil,
physics do play a part, mass and speed are a force to be reckoned with. Your query is it fair for a big guy to challenge a smaller guy? Nothing states size is a prerequisite, it is a consideration of any action undertaken is done in a fair and safe manner. I have watched a smaller player go crashing into a larger player and he bounced off . It was technically a foul of charging on the smaller player but it did not even phase the larger one!

It is virtually impossible for a larger player to legally shoulder challenge a smaller opponent off the ball as they lean down and push the smaller player to the ground rather than ease him away from the ball. Same again for a smaller player who head comes up to the armpit of a big guy so he would have to jump at an opponent just to get there! I believe this to be a foul recognition problem at the recreational level. Some referees feel that the bigger player gets a raw deal as smaller players will grind away fouling by trying to push or grab at the larger mass but if that mass was to lean back, down the little guy goes. Other referees feels the bigger guy must be more careful but where in the LOTG does it say not to challenge based on size? Watch the use of the arm , watch the eyes, (looking at ball or player?) look at the speed of the run and direction of interception. Watch the ankle bites when the smaller guys try to even the odds. Larger players often hip check the smaller player simply because they can not get a shoulder to line up.

It certainly is possible that an unconcerned larger player was simply intimidating by running at or through the smaller opponents to scare them from getting close. Small guys are not going to win 50 50 balls with larger skilled opponents very often. The math is simply not in their favour. No referee should consider evening up the foul count by deciding that what others do is wrong, giving big guys a pass or the reverse, punish them for no reason other than they are big. You look and see, then decide the appropriate action, based on your current understanding and interpretation of the LOTG

But by the same token if a larger player challenges a smaller player , given the shoulder is not really feasible the careless, reckless, or excessive use of his FORCE better be all directed at the ball and not into or through the opponent. The smaller opponent better just fall over the big guy on a tackle that wins the ball or fall over the ball because the ball is stacked by the mass

In youth I prefer age appropriate groups play with each other. I have seen smaller recreational leagues what they call their senior group all high school with a scrawny grade 8 not yet 13 go against a grade 12 at 17 or 18 year old with more hair on their face than a bloody bear. I watched a perfectly good 50/50 ball where the grade 12 right leg came through the ball as the grade 8 player's right foot was coming in from the other side both running at pace both trying ONLY to kick the ball facing across from each other. This was text book defending ,in the ball is not a reach in, both bodies square to prevent the ball from squirting through. The grade 12 used the side of his foot the grade eight came to a complete stop, flipped up in the air and came down on top of the ball his back arching. I hear a loud 'CRACK!'I think oh my God he broke his back! I was already hitting the whistle, yelling for the ambulance even before he had finished crashing to the ground. The ball compresses, flips him up, he comes back down and lies their motionless with almost no sound. He suddenly tries to sit up holding the one arm broken into a u shape sagging down. The grade 12 was crying he did not mean to. The grade 8 in complete shock and making gasping moaning sounds! Well it was as ugly a looking FAIR challenge that I have ever had the misfortune to watch. Our larger player in fact, had pulled up only ensuring his leg was in behind the ball. This was big guy versus small guy and about as good a reason to force age specific play for like sized youth. Luckily lots of nurses and doctors there that day to help prepare him for the arrival of the ambulance. I consoled the larger player that he had done nothing wrong or illegal it was just a physics conundrum and noted he had not run over or into the player just stood his ground and played the ball sweeping it into the oncoming player redirecting the smaller player's forward force up given his mass and stability was way above the unfortunate smaller player .

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Neil
This is a test in every location. When players are mismatched in size contact can and does look like the smaller player coming off second best in challenges. It is up to referees to judge whether the contact is a foul or not. It would be patently unfair on larger players to consider size as a factor where a player goes to ground on contact. The most common area where these mismatch happens is in charging. Now the majority of fouls that happen on the FOP size is not a factor. These are kicking, tripping, pulling, pushing, striking and size is not a factor in those. The area of difficulty is in charging and if the general legal conditions of charging are met then there is no foul. Perhaps some referees decide to be generous to the small guy and call the free kick more often on charging. Now unless the big guys are intimidating the smaller opponents and being reckless I can't see what a referee can do to be fair which is ultimately his role.
As to uniformity among referees that is very difficult to achieve. All referees have differing thresholds on challenges, dissent etc. One colleague of mine played soccer at the highest level and his foul threshold is extremely high as that is what he was used to.
As to what can be done my only suggestions are to try to match up players on the field of play so that the really small players have direct small opponents and perhaps as you have done have a quiet word with the referees. Okay in matching up they will move about yet if a right wing is up against a left back of the same size the match up will happen most times. Also you have spoken to the referees and that probably puts them on alert for the big player that is trying to knock down or intimidate players
I would make the final point that at underage I was small in stature yet I developed no fear of challenges from larger opponents nor did size of opponent ever effect me. In fact I worked on my skill and the less agile big player was less of a challenge with probably the one exception of the aerial ball. As a consequence my game was much stronger on the ground.