MISCONDUCT AT A PENALTY KICK

May 12, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
During a PK, 1-2 players from the defending team shout out loud just as the kicker kicks the ball. Ball does not go in(deflects off goalie and goes out of bounds)). Ref shows one player a yellow card and awards attacking team a corner kick. Would a retake of the PK be justified based on the rule that if a teammate of the goalkeeper infringes the Laws of the Game, and the ball does not enter the goal, the kick is to be retaken ?

USSF answer (May 12, 2009):
The two shouting opponents must be cautioned for unsporting behavior. If the ball did not enter the goal, the penalty kick must be retaken. If the ball did enter the goal, the goal is scored and the restart is a kick-off.…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

SPACE?

May 12, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
I was recently the center referee for a mid-flight U14 boys game. One player on the white team had foot skills well beyond any other player. This player “fell” twice early in the game when pressured by a defender. I did not see any trip, so let play continue. His third “fall” was a very acrobat twisting fall over a defender’s leg which left me wondering if he was fouled or if he took a dive. I decided to watch this player’s feet closely any time he touched the ball during the remainder of the game.

In the second half, with white up 1-0, the same player had the ball in the opponents’ penalty box. There were two defenders between him and the goal. Both defenders were facing him and standing about 2 feet apart with their legs in a natural position at their sides and slightly out from their hips. The white player played the ball between the two defenders and ran into the gap. Before either defender could react, the white player feet clearly got entangled in one of the defender’s feet and he tripped / went down hard.

In my judgment, the skilled white player could have stepped over the defender’s leg and gotten through the gap without making contact, but chose to allow himself to be tripped to draw the foul and a PK.

My choice was to either caution the white player for diving or to give him the PK for being tripped. In favor of the PK – the white player had a right to the space between the defenders and he was tripped. In favor of a caution – the white player had the skill to jump over the legs and continue to the ball.

I ended up giving the player the PK since he did have a right to the space and did go over the defender’s leg and I felt I should not be judging his intent (did he allow himself to be tripped?), but rather the actions on the field (attacker splits the gap and trips over defenders leg).

Was this the proper call? Should a referee judge the intent of a player?

USSF answer (May 12, 2009):
The referee must judge the result of an action, not attempt to divine the intent of the player. The word “intent” was removed from the Law some years ago.

No player has a right to “space.” Each player owns the space he or she is currently occupying, unless he or she ran to a spot and suddenly stopped, effectively creating a blockade of an opponent. If all was as you describe it, the defenders were attempting to play the ball, rather than play the player, and they committed no offense.

Did the player actually dive, or did he fall over the opponent’s foot by running over it? That might be a foul by the attacking player. If the defending player was trying to play the ball, there might be a foul, but we cannot call either of those fouls from the comfort of our desks.…

"Inventive Coaches"

“MEDICAL PERSONNEL”

May 12, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
The following happens in a boys U12 game. An attacker is fouled in the box, with a resulting whistle and penalty kick. The fouled attacker is shaken up and, after inspection, the referee signals his coach onto the field to treat him. (Note: there are no doctors or other medical personnel available.)

After a relatively short visit by the coach, the player is up and wants to continue in the game and take the PK. However, the referee tells him (and the coach) that he must temporarily leave the field since the injury required team personnel to be summoned onto the field.

The coach’s position is that the player does not have to leave the field for the following reasons:

1. ATR (Law 5.9) states that: “When the referee has stopped play due solely to the occurrence of a serious injury, the referee must ensure that the injured player is removed from the field….If play is stopped for any other reason, an injured player cannot be required to leave the field.”

The coach maintains that play was stopped for the foul, not for the injury, and that this wording says that the injured player cannot be required to leave the field.

2. The coach is also later directed to the following USSF wording: “A player for whom the referee has requested medical personnel to enter the field at a stoppage is required to leave the field and may return with the referee’s permission only after play has resumed even if the stoppage was not expressly for the injury.”

His position is that: (a) “medical personnel” was not summoned onto the field – only a coach; and (b) this is contradictory to the ATR advice in 5.9 that states “if play is stopped for any other reason, an injured player cannot be required to leave the field.”

It would be appreciated if you could respond to this coach’s position.

USSF answer (May 12, 2009):
Basic rule of soccer: Coaches will try in every possible way to divert your thinking from the true path. Do not let this happen!

There is no basis in what the coach says, as the player must leave the field in any event, no matter why the game was stopped. What Advice 5.9 says is this: “Players who are injured are required to leave the field under either of two conditions: The referee has stopped play due solely to the occurrence of a serious injury or the referee signals approval for anyone (team official, medical personnel, etc.) to enter the field to attend to an injury (regardless of whether that person enters to assist or not and regardless of why play was stopped).”

The USSF position paper on “Handling Injuries,” dated October 12, 2007, states: “‘Medical personnel’ for purposes of these guidelines includes any team official who has responsibility for the player in the absence of available trained medical staff.”

Basic answer: If there no “medical personnel” available at the game and someone, anyone, is called into the field to attend to an injury, the player must leave the field. It makes no difference if it is the coach, Mom or Dad, or a passing stranger: The player MUST leave the field.

And when play is restarted, after the player has left the field, the referee must blow the whistle.…

Advice to Referees

TRICKERY?

May 12, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
I was recently an AR for a U16 boys club match. The score was 3-2 in favor of Team A when one of their defenders committed a foul inside their own penalty area. The center signaled for a Penalty Kick and everyone was pleased with the decision. The player from Team B stepped up to take the kick and the center whistled. The kicker started to run up to the ball and in the middle of his approach, he stopped completely, and then restarted towards the ball. The referee whistled (for trickery) before the ball was kicked (it did go into the net) and signaled for an indirect free kick the opposite way for Team A. Obviously fireworks went off and the game eventually ended 3-2. I have talked with different referees and assignors and there does not seem to be a general consensus on whether this was the right course of action. Some people believe that it was trickery and the correct decision was made; others believe that the player should have been cautioned but allowed to retake the kick. What is the correct course of action?

Also, this is completely unrelated to the incident but I was just wondering whether a defender (previously on the field of play) who is currently off the field of play (either over the touch line or goal line) would count as one of the last two defenders?

USSF answer (May 12, 2009):
1. We need to define terms before we start an answer. This is not “trickery” (at least under the Laws of the Game); it is a ploy and might have been legal. Only the referee can know for sure.

We offer for your reading this selection from the Interpretations and Guidelines for Referees from the Laws of the Game 2008/2009:

LAW 14- THE PENALTY KICK
Procedure
Feinting to take a penalty kick to confuse opponents is permitted as part of football. However, if, in the opinion of the referee, the feinting is considered an act of unsporting behavior, the player must be cautioned.

And a selection from the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game, Advice 14.9:

Infringements after the referee’s signal but before the ball is in play may be committed by the kicker, the goalkeeper, or by any of their teammates. Violations of Law 14 by the kicker in particular include back heeling the ball (14.12), running past the ball and then backing up to take the kick, excessively changing directions in the run to the ball or taking an excessively long run to the ball (which, in the opinion of the referee, results in an unnecessary delay in taking the kick), or making any motion of the hand or arm which (in the opinion of the referee) is clearly intended to confuse or misdirect the attention of the ‘keeper. In almost all such cases, the referee should let the kick proceed and deal with the violation in accordance with the chart below, which outlines the proper restarts for clear infringements of Law 14. However, in the case of a kicker creating an unnecessary delay in taking the kick, the referee should intervene, if possible, warn the kicker to proceed properly, and signal again for the restart.

2. If the defender is off the field with the permission of the referee, his presence is not included when determining offside position. If the defender does NOT have the referee’s permission, then that player is counted, as applicable to the alignment of players.…

Law 18 - Common Sense

OFFSIDE ASSISTANCE BY TRAIL AR?

May 12, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
This question relates to what role the trailing Assistant Referee may play in assisting with an offside call on the other end of the field. This situation occurred in a high school game (on whose rules I know you don’t directly comment), but I imagine that it could easily occur in a USSF sanctioned match.

Team A has pushed its defenders up to the midfield line. Due to a rapid exchange of possessions, I am lined up with Team B’s second to last defender about 15 yards from the midfield line (one of those awkward situations where 20 players are squeezed into a relatively narrow slice of the field). Team B gains possession of the ball and clears it into the other half of the field. From my position I judge that Team B has three players in an offside position, and one of these players gains possession of the ball. Where is the Assistant Referee who should be signaling the offside? For some unknown reason he is 40 yards out of position and incapable of assisting. Since the referee’s attention had been on the clearing defender, and the (potentially) offside player was only 2-3 steps offside when the ball was played, he is unable to make the offside call on his own and allows play to continue.

I am about as sure as I can be from 15 yards on my side of the field that the player was offside, as I could see no Team A players in their own half of the field. After seeing that the other AR is incapable of performing his duty, can I raise my flag to help the referee make a decision?

In this case I chose not to signal for offside. Fortunately the play did not result in a goal, as it would likely have affected the outcome of the game. If a goal had been scored, would it have been too late to offer my opinion to the referee that the player had been offside (assuming that I did so before the ensuing kickoff)?

USSF answer (May 12, 2009):
As you note, we do not deal with high school rules, but there should be no difference in this situation.

While you may indeed have had a view of the alignment of the players, assistance from you in this case could not be “sold” to the participants because of where you were on the field — not in line with play. If you flagged and offered your opinion and the referee accepted it, that would cause more difficulty than either of you can imagine.

The same applies to offering your opinion after the goal had been scored and before the ensuing kick-off.

Our advice would be to mention it to the referee after the game and have him take it up with the other AR, who should be ashamed for being so far out of position and thus endangering the referee’s control of the game.…

"Only in America!"

UNIFORM UNIFORMITY

May 11, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
We understand that recreational, youth and even high school soccer teams sometimes get creative with their uniform design.

Adult and U20 soccer teams uniform question is whether all players (with the exception of the goal keeper) must wear the same color socks ON BOTH LEGS.

We dont see anthing on ATRLOTG that specifies BOTH socks on players legs having to be the same color. If the entire team is wearing one color on one leg and a different color on the other, is this within the spirit of the game? Can this be considered taunting? Unsporting?

Does it stand true that as long as the team uniform is “uniform” regardless of the pattern, color or fashion statement.

Is there a presidence or guidance on this from USSF regarding adult matches? Or any match for that matter? Shouldnt the referee focus be on equipment safety not whether its a fashion statement or particularly odd (or uncommon) to see but within the guidelines of Law 4?

USSF answer (May 11, 2009):
This answer was sent out in 2008:

USSF answer (May 7, 2008):
There is indeed a requirement for uniformity of socks. While nothing is specifically written in Law 4 regarding the color of socks, tradition and common practice dictate that all members of a team (with the possible exception of the goalkeeper) wear socks of the same color, rather than each wearing his or her own choice or wearing socks of one color on one foot and socks of a different color on the other foot.

The ruling will be found in the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game,” which is based on the Laws, memoranda from FIFA and the International F. A. Board, and in memoranda and policy papers published by the United States Soccer Federation.

4.1 WEARING UNIFORMS
It is implicit in the Law that each side wear a distinctively colored jersey, that shorts and socks be uniform for each team, and that the uniforms be distinguishable from the uniforms worn by the other team. However, the details of the uniform are governed by the competition authority and can vary widely from one match to another. The referee must know and enforce the rules of each competition worked. Players’ jerseys must remain tucked inside their shorts, socks must remain pulled up, and each player must wear shinguards under the socks. All undergarments (slide pants, undershirts, etc.) which extend visibly beyond the required uniform must be as close as possible in color to the main color of the uniform part under which they are worn.

All players must wear jerseys or shirts that distinguish them from the referee and assistant referees. If the colors are the same, the players, not the referees, must change.

Remember that jersey/shirt and shorts must be two separate items, not a single unit.

…

Advice to Referees

CHARGING

May 7, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
My question is about a “Legal Charge”. In reading the LOTG and ATR, a legal charge is clearly defined.

I recently had a U19 game, where a player from the offense was bringing the ball up the left side of the field. A defender ran into the shoulder of the player, and knocked them off their feet and the ball. I whistled the foul, issued a direct free kick, and considered cautioning the defender but elected not to.

The defending coach had an emotional outburst, in which he claimed that it was a legal charge.

In the training I have received, I have been taught that for a charge to be legal, you use your strength to take a player off the ball, not your momentum. This makes sense, since we would see MLS players weighing 300 lbs, “blowing” players off the ball otherwise.

However, in the spirit of making sure I have the right concept and can make the right call, I wanted to get your opinion.

USSF answer (May 7, 2009):
There have not been very many players weighing 300 pounds who lasted any length of time in high-level soccer. Are you sure you have read the definition of charging in the Advice to Referees?

12.5 CHARGING
The act of charging an opponent can be performed without it being called as a foul. Although the fair charge is commonly defined as “shoulder to shoulder,” this is not a requirement and, at certain age levels where heights may vary greatly, may not even be possible. Furthermore, under many circumstances, a charge may often result in the player against whom it is placed falling to the ground (a consequence, as before, of players differing in weight or strength). The Law does require that the charge be directed toward the area of the shoulder and not toward the center of the opponent’s back (the spinal area): in such a case, the referee should recognize that such a charge is at minimum reckless and potentially even violent. (See also Advice 12.14.)

“Momentum” should not be a factor in the referee’s judgment of a charge. Beyond the definition given above, there are only two criteria for judging the charge: (1) Was it fair or unfair? (See definition in the Advice.) (2) If unfair, was the charge (a) careless, (b) reckless, or (c) using excessive force? After these two questions have been asked and answered, the referee makes a decision.

If the player’s momentum is too great, it is likely that the player is using excessive force; however, a player can be knocked over by a fair charge and the charging player should not be punished for that. If the charge described in your example was either reckless or done with excessive force, the player should have been either cautioned for unsporting behavior or sent off for serious foul play. …

"Only in America!"

INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE SIDELINES

May 7, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
What is the proper way to handle parents who coach from the spectator area, or as I suspect, teams who place coaches on the spectator side for purposes of being able to instruct players from both sides of the field? Some of these spectator coaches will cross the field at halftime to instruct players in the technical area. What can I, as an official do to stop this?

USSF answer (May 7, 2009):
Unless there is some rule of competition that prohibits coaches from mingling with the spectators and carrying on their role as coach(es), then there is nothing the referee can do about such action during the game. A rule of competition prohibiting coaching from the spectator area is unenforceable unless the competition itself is willing to place monitors in the spectator area. Think about it: How can the referee determine whether some parent yelling generally nonsensical and confusing things at the players is simply a parent or is instead a coach in disguise yelling generally nonsensical and confusing things at the players? The coach’s job should be done in the period before the game begins, in the week preceding the game and over the course of the season. There is little of value to be gained by yelling instructions across a field.

As to crossing the field at halftime to issue further instructions to the players, again there is not much the referee can do without help from the competition itself. As a practical matter, the field is open territory at the midgame break and there shouldn’t be a problem if a parent (or whoever) from the parent side wants to cross the field to be with the team, player, coach, etc. on the other side — nor would we have a problem if the coach left the team side at halftime to go across the field to talk to a parent on the other side. In short, unless the crossing is for nefarious purposes and/or causes a confrontation, the referee crew has more important things to do than keep people off the field at midgame break.…

Law 18 - Common Sense

REFEREE BEHAVIOR AND ETHICS

May 7, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
I recently attended my daughters high school soccer game and the center referee was talking and joking with the spectators during the game. The players on the field then began talking to the spectators. Do the laws of the game address this? The referee also spent his time during half time talking to one of the teams and after the game went and talked to same team extensively. It seems like the referee would not want to do this as it appeared to show bias to one team. Do the laws of the game address the referee etiquette?

USSF answer (May 7, 2009):
We do not do high school rules here, but we can say with great certainty that the Laws of the Game do not address referee etiquette. However, common sense and the Referee Code of Ethics (for USSF referees, which may not apply to the referee you saw in a high school game) certainly apply here.

The Referee Code of Ethics
(1) I will always maintain the utmost respect for the game of soccer.
(2) I will conduct myself honorably at all times and maintain the dignity of my position.
(3) I will always honor an assignment or any other contractual obligation.
(4) I will attend training meetings and clinics so as to know the Laws of the Game, their proper interpretation and their application.
(5) I will always strive to achieve maximum team work with my fellow officials.
(6) I will be loyal to my fellow officials and never knowingly promote criticism of them.
(7) I will be in good physical condition.
(8) I will control the players effectively by being courteous and considerate without sacrificing fairness.
(9) I will do my utmost to assist my fellow officials to better themselves and their work.
(10) I will not make statements about any games except to clarify an interpretation of the Laws of the Game.
(11) I will not discriminate against nor take undue advantage of any individual group on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
(12) I consider it a privilege to be a part of the U.S. Soccer Federation and my actions will reflect credit upon that organization and its affiliates.

…

"Inventive Coaches"

COACH/REFEREE UNINFORMED RE UNIFORMS

May 7, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
I had the distinct pleasure of working with our up and coming youth officials as an AR in a U12B game. I sincerely hope that the coach/referee reads this site and you feel it is pertinent enough to post the question and supply the answer.
It was a tournament game with games back to back. The referee and AR were fairly new so they only had the yellow shirt. The coach of the yellow team (solid yellow jerseys), 3 minutes before game time (when we had been there inspecting the nets/players for a few minutes) introduced himself to the referee and demanded that the crew change jerseys because of the confusion it has caused all tournament and season, for that matter. He claimed that he, too, was a registered official and had all the secondary colored referee jerseys in case of conflict. The young referee stated that he did not have an alternate color jersey nor was it practical to run back to the referee tent (far far away) and try to find someone who could loan us two shirts because the games had to run on time. We did a check of both teams while they were warming up but they had on black warm ups so we did not assume that they would have yellow jerseys. It was our error that we did not ask t o! see the color of the uniforms. But, the stripes in our shirts clearly delineated us from the team and has done so in the past when there was a “conflict”. The coach went ballistic and claimed that since we were all professionals, we were required to have alternate colors. He said that, despite the two officials being young that all officials were required to have alternate jerseys!! He yelled at me (because I have all the gold on my badge, I guess) and said that there had to be five distinct colors on the field. We resolved it because we found 3 pennies to wear so, that indeed, gave us five distinct colors. The game started on time.
At half time, the coach substituted his goalkeeper. The new goalkeeper had a jersey the same color as the opponents. I called it to the referee’s attention before the second half began. The coach was livid! He claimed that he did not have another jersey because the previous goalkeeper did not want to loan his jersey to the replacement. He was gently reminded that there needed to be five distinct colors on the field. He huffed and puffed and threatened to file a complaint about our being “unreasonable” and overstepping our authority. We did not start the second half until he satisfied the color requirement. The next tournament game on our field started on time.
Question: What are the requirements for youth officials regarding alternate jerseys? They are local officials and there are no yellow teams in our area. Parents are very upset at the start up costs for just the starter kit and are reluctant to put out anymore money because it is not clear which alternate jersey to buy since you would conflict with most teams, anyway.
Oh, the yellow team lost the game and apparently had a losing tournament.

USSF answer (May 7, 2009):
As a referee, the coach should KNOW that the Law requires the teams to change so as not to conflict with the referees. (After all, who started wearing black jerseys and thus took away what used to be “the referee color”?)

Referees, particularly at the beginning of their career, are required to have only a gold jersey. If they can afford to buy more colors, good for them, but they do not have to. It was very kind of your crew to find some pinnies to borrow and thus do the yellow team a major favor. The referee on your game would have been justified in requiring the yellow team to change its jerseys. And the referee was also justified in insisting that the goalkeeper change, if only because the coach/referee was a pain.

There are times when the goalkeepers may wear the same color as one another, but they must make every effort to wear a different color than the opposing team’s field players.…