David, an adult amateur referee, asks:
Advantage in the penalty box. Attacker receives ball in penalty box, Defender trips Attacker who stumbles but does not fall while going around Defender and gets a shot on goal which deflects off keeper past goal line. Referee did signal advantage. What is the correct call?
Answer
Your question is a bit ambiguous … what exactly are you wondering was “the correct call”? If the issue is whether advantage can/should be applied to events in the penalty area, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” If the issue is whether the Referee applied advantage correctly in the given scenario? Again, the answer is “Yes!” but not necessary resounding because we weren’t there and can only assume that the correct criteria were used. If the issue is whether the Referee used the proper mechanics in applying advantage in the penalty area, the answer is “no.”
Why “no”? Because US Soccer has long indicated that what should happen is what might be called “silent advantage” so, in essence, it is a matter of preferred mechanics. The Referee could certainly, amidst the fast moving events in a critical area of the field where seriously important events are occurring second by second, use the recognized advantage signal (swing his/her arms upward while shouting “Play on!”) but this carries the danger thereby of momentarily missing some important event and/or diverting the attention of nearby players away from their tasks.
Furthermore, the application of advantage inside the penalty area involves some fundamental differences from advantage applied elsewhere on the field. For example, elsewhere, the Referee is looking simply for the likelihood of enabling the offended player or team to continue its attack on or toward the opponent’s end of the field — the possibility of a goal is not a major objective. Not so for an offense committed by a defender inside the opposing team’s penalty area. There, the Referee’s objective involves protecting the likelihood of scoring a goal within the next play (or 2 quick ones, at most). This is understandable since not applying advantage means stopping play, followed by a penalty kick restart. Let’s say, just for purposes of comparison, that PKs on average convert to a goal for the offended team 75% of the time, but applying advantage opens the possibility for the offended team to score a goal (which represents 100% success!).
Accordingly, we urge Referees to use “silent advantage” (i.e., stay quiet, keep the arms down) and use “wait a moment to see what happens” (good advice in many other situations as well). The option of whistling for the offense remains if, after the offense, neither the offended attacker nor any of his/her nearby teammates are able to score in the next 1-2 plays on the ball. Plus, the Referee can (as with any advantage anywhere) return to deal with misconduct whatever the outcome. Note: starting in 2016, the Laws of the Game limited the misconduct options to a caution if (a) the offense involved an attempt to play the ball and (b) the outcome was a decision for a penalty kick (this includes the commission of both OGSO and non-OGSO situations).
