Question Number: 5556

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct

RE: Rec. Under 18

steve of , asks...

In a match that I AR'd this weekend there was a cleating of a player by an opponent. The two were challenging for the ball. White made a sloppy, but not forceful slide tackle from behind the red player who was stopped. He ran up the ankles of red and the CR elected not to call this a foul. Red, annoyed with the action of white cleated him in the belly by pushing his boot back toward where the white player was lying. My question, is this violent conduct or SFP ?

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Steve the following is a partial quote from a 2003 USSF paper for regional and national cup competitions: (The two paragraphs are reversed for clarity)..2. Tackling..A tackle as such is not an infringement of the Laws of the Game. It becomes an infringement only if the tackler plays carelessly, recklessly, or with excessive force, or places his opponent in danger... (a) A sliding tackle from the front or side, made with one or both legs, is permissible if, in the opinion of the referee, it is not dangerous. If, however, the player making the tackle trips his opponent before, during, or after making contact with the ball, the referee shall award a direct free kick to the opposing team. The referee must judge whether an illegal trip occurred or whether the opponent fell over the leg of the player making a legal tackle... (b) Tackling with the foot lifted from the ground may be dangerous, whether contact is made with the ball or not. A player who lifts his foot should be penalized if the referee considers he is endangering an opponent by so doing. If the player deliberately plays over the ball and makes contact with his opponent's leg, this is serious foul play and must be sanctioned with a send-off (red card) and a direct free kick (or a penalty kick, if appropriate)... (c) Tackling with two feet together, studs up, if uncontrolled and from a distance, could be judged as at least dangerous to the opponent and possibly reckless as well. If controlled and from a short distance, there may be no danger... (d) A foul committed while tackling from behind, with little or no attempt to play the ball, endangers the safety of an opponent and must be sanctioned as serious foul play. The player must be sent from the field (red card) and play restarted with a direct free kick (or a penalty kick if committed by a defender inside his own penalty area)...End Quote..Notice that each item mentioned offers the referee the to have an opinion, if the opinion matches one of the items then the referee is offered a solution. In this case our referee allowed play to continue. ..Again, from the same document:..1. Serious Foul Play and Violent Conduct..Soccer is a tough, combative sport. The contest to gain possession of the ball should nonetheless be fair and gentlemanly. Any actions meeting these criteria, even when vigorous, must be allowed by the referee. Serious Foul Play and Violent Conduct are, however, strictly forbidden and the referee must react to them by stringently applying the Laws of the Game..These two offenses can be defined as follows:. . (a) It is serious foul play when a player uses excessive force, formerly defined as "disproportionate and unnecessary strength," when challenging for the ball on the field against an opponent. There can be no serious foul play against a teammate, the referee, an assistant referee, a spectator, etc... (b) It is violent conduct when a player is guilty of aggression (excessive force or deliberate violence) towards an opponent when they are not competing for the ball. It is also violent conduct if the excessive force is used when the ball is not in play or if it is directed at anyone other than an opponent (e. g., teammate, referee, assistant referee, coach, spectator, etc.). If the violent conduct is committed against an opponent on the field during play, the restart is a direct free kick for the opposing team where the foul occurred (or a penalty kick if it was committed by a defender inside his penalty area). If the violent conduct is by a player during play against anyone on the field other than an opponent, the restart is an indirect free kick where the misconduct occurred. If the violent conduct is committed during a stoppage of play, the restart is not changed. A dropped ball where the ball was when play is stopped is the correct restart if the violent conduct is committed during play either off the field or by a substitute...Quote ends...So in order to answer we must know where the ball was, if the nall was present we have Serious Foul Play; if not then the offense is Violent Conduct...Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Dawson

Hi Steve,.most players being cleated is rarely a trival or doubtful foul with or without the ball. Retaliation is fairly common if the reciepiant of the 1st tackle is not all ready writhing on the ground. Players will exact their own brand of justice if in the player's opinion the referee fails to call the foul. We can not judge why the referee decided not to whistle the incident you describe. No advantage call? Could be considered doubtful or trival in nature although your description would not indicate no foul! Perhaps the referee felt the ball was knocked free by a legal challange..In any case where was the ball? If it was during a challange and the ball playable SFP could be possible but in truth it sounds more like violent conduct as there appears to be no play on the ball. Have a look at Q@A 4634 my colleague Eric and I had a good session on this topic. Cheers

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 17938