Category: Law 12 – Fouls & Misconduct

Law 12 – Fouls & Misconduct

Handling

‘KEEPER THROWS BOOT AT BALL

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Question:
goal keeper throws his shoe to deflect a ball from going into the goal. The ball goes out of bounds over the endline.

What is the call and what is the restart?

USSF answer (February 20, 2010):
The goalkeeper is cautioned for unsporting behavior and the match is restarted by an indirect free kick to be taken from the place where the ball was when it was struck by the boot or similar object (see Law 13 for position of free kick).

The correct action for the referee depends on where contact with the ball occurred, not where the goalkeeper was when he threw his boot. If the place of contact was inside the penalty area, caution for unsporting behavior and indirect free kick where the goalkeeper was when he threw his boot. If the place of contact was outside the penalty area, red card for denying the obvious goalscoring opportunity and direct free kick where contact with the ball was made. If it was a defender other than the ‘keeper, red card for denying the obvious goalscoring opportunity regardless of where contact was made and a direct free kick if that location was outside but a penalty kick if inside.

The boot or similar object is considered as an extension of the player’s arm. Play would be stopped. If the boot struck the ball inside the penalty area, a penalty kick would be awarded and the offending player would be sent off for preventing a goal by deliberately handling the ball. If the boot struck the ball outside the penalty area, a direct free kick would be awarded and the offending player would be sent off for preventing a goal by deliberately handling the ball (see Law 13 for position of free kick).…

Indoor

INDOOR QUESTION

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Question:
Perhaps this slightly outside of your purview, but since USSF does sanction Indoor Referees and Indoor Rules, let’s assume that was the rule of competition instead of this house league.

A player committed a reckless foul and was issued a 2-minute Time Penalty and shown the blue card. On his way out of the arena, he slammed the door in anger. Similar to the act of throwing a water bottle on the field, which I know the WIRs have defined as violent conduct, I equated this as the same, and sent him off. Was I justified? If so, is this an absolute (and also, is the act of throwing water bottles in anger always an act of 100% misconduct mandating punishment by a send-off/dismissal?), or does the Referee have “wiggle room” to manage the situation?

USSF answer (February 13, 2010):
Unless there is some other rule in this competition, under indoor rules the act of slamming the door falls under the category of “misconduct” and should be handled by showing an immediate yellow card and giving that player an additional 5-minute misconduct penalty for the dissent. The team must then have a substitute join the original player in the penalty box; the sub would serve the original 2-minute penalty and come out to put the team at full strength if a goal was scored against them, or at the end of the 2 minutes. Since the penalties would be concurrent, the original offender would serve 7 full minutes, and cannot leave the box until a guaranteed substitution opportunity after the 7 minutes expires, because his team is not playing shorthanded.…

Advice to Referees

ADVICE 12.25 AND INTERPRETATIONS P. 120

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Question:
Player leaves without permission and commits obvious violent conduct that referee is going to punish. Does he first caution for leaving and then send-off for VC and show yellow/red? Or is it ok to go to straight red? I know if it’s not VC it’s yellow/yellow/red. My gut says who cares if he left during normal course of play, it’s VC so just go straight to that.

USSF answer (February 11, 2010):
The referee’s decision in this case rests on the needs of the game and how the referee must manage the game. While it may seem natural simply to reach for the red card and send off the player who has left the field without permission, that player has committed a cautionable offense prior to the violent conduct — and the cautionable offense governs the restart if the violent conduct occurs off the field of play: if the player leaves the field of play to commit the offense, play is restarted with an indirect free kick from the position in which the ball was located when play was stopped (see Law 13 — Position of Free Kick).…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

ONE CARD OR TWO? (EACH)

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Question:
At a game in which I was the AR, there was a situation in which I felt multiple players should have been issued two yellow cards. However, the referee chose only to give each player one caution:

With a few minutes remaining, players A, B, and C were unhappy with the referee. The outcome of the game was already decided (it was a 3-0 game), so during a stoppage of play, the players took off their shirts and stormed off the field without the referee’s permission.

The referee gave players A, B, and C only one caution for deliberately leaving the field without permission. I felt that the players should have been given two cautions: 1) dissent and 2) deliberately leaving the field without permission. This would therefore mean each of the players got a red card.

What would be the proper way to administer the cautions in this situation?

USSF answer (February 8, 2010):
We cannot comment on a decision to send off both players without full details (and they are not necessary to answer your question). However, If you were to choose to caution both players twice and then show them the red card, a decision that is entirely up to you, then this is what you would do::

Show each player the yellow card twice in a row (each time explaining what it was for) and then, separately, the red card. Ex;plain to them what you are doing, make full notes, and submit a complete report to the competition authority and to any other persons required by your association.…

"Inventive Coaches"

LEAVING THE FIELD OF PLAY

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Question:
The attacking team is awarded a corner kick. Player A from the attacking team lines up to take the corner kick. Player B from the attacking team leaves the field of play – about three yards past the touch line. Player A taps the ball from the corner kick and Player B runs from his position off the field of play onto the field of play and kicks the ball towards the goal.

Has Player B infringed on the laws of the game by leaving the field of play without the permission of the center referee and then played the ball. Leaving the field of play has allowed Player B to develop more speed at the point he plays the ball from Player A and perhaps also involves some trickery as the other team might not have accounted for this player to defend.

USSF answer (February 5, 2010):
Players are permitted to leave the field without the referee’s permission (1) during the course of play to avoid an obstacle (opponent, teammate, referee), (2) to retrieve the ball when it has left the field, (3) to put the ball back into play at a throw-in or a kick restart, (4) to signal that they are not involved in play during a possible offside situation.

Players are not allowed to leave the field of play simply to station themselves conveniently for a restart being taken by another player. As we said in an earlier response, with the exceptions noted above, players are expected to be and remain on the field of play. Leaving under the circumstances described would NOT be in the course of play and, if the referee decided that it was being done for unfair tactical reason, the action would be cautionable.…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

“MAKING ONESELF BIGGER”

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Question:
In Jan 24 2010 game between Inter Milan and AC Milan, at the later time in the second half, Inter Milan defender Lucio standing in the goal area to defend and AC Milan’s forwarder shot towards him.

Lucio dodged with a hand waved over his shoulder and stopped the ball.

AC Milan was awarded a penalty. Lucio was shown the 2nd yellow card and sent off.

We got two questions:

1. should this dodge and pat action be viewed as undeliberately handling the ball, which is not a foul, and avoid the penalty?

2. if it is a deliberate handling of the ball, should this be viewed as prevent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and send off Lucio?

USSF answer (January 27, 2010):
1. No, this was clearly deliberate handling. Lucio “made himself bigger” by raising his hand to an unnatural position and thus deliberately handled the ball.

2. That is certainly possible, but the referee on the game saw it as a cautionable offense. U. S. referees are advised that the criterion for denying a goal by handling is that if the handling had not occurred, would the ball have gone into the net. If the referee decided that the ball wasn’t going to go into the net without the handling, then a red card would not be correct.…

Interpretations/IFAB

TUSSLE OVER BALL IN GOAL

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Question:
With time running out at the end of a game the blue team scores to tie the game. A player from the blue team runs into the goal to retrieve the ball so that they can hurry up to try and get the ball back into play. While doing this, he gets into a tussle with the goalie from the red team who was also trying to get the ball. What should the call be? Should either player be cautioned for unsportsmanlike conduct? or for delay of the game?

USSF answer (January 23, 2010):
After the referee has stopped play for a goal, the ball, although “dead” until play is restarted with a kick-off, does belong to the team against which the goal was scored. Traditionally the ball is carried back to the center spot by the team against which the goal was scored (Red). A player who provokes confrontation by deliberately touching the ball after the referee has stopped play may be cautioned for delaying the restart of play. (See Law 12, “Delaying the restart of play,” in the Interpretations of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees in the back of the Laws of the Game 2009/2010.) This would be the case of the player from the scoring team (B) who was interfering with the Team A player carrying the ball to the center of the field.

The team which has possession (Red) may “allow” the opposing team to hold/transfer/carry/etc. the ball by acceding to the action (i. e., not disputing it). However, the opposing team does this at its peril. In your game, Blue, perhaps believing that Red was moving too slowly to carry the ball back to the center circle for the kick-off, tried to take the ball that “belonged” to Team Red. Blue has no right at any time to request that the ball be given over to it (including such childish behavior as attempting to grab the ball or punch the ball out of the Red player’s control.

Rather than immediately cautioning either player, the true owner (against whose team the goal was scored) and the “wannabe” owner (whose team will be defending at the kick-off), it would be better if you simply spoke quickly to both players, admonishing the wannabe owner to leave the ball alone. You could also tell the player that you will judge whether there is any “delay” in getting the ball back to the center spot and will, if necessary, add time to make up for any time lost.

There is little reason to immediately caution either player if you do what we suggest above. In any event, the possibility of a caution would depend on HOW the Blue player attempts to gain possession (i. e., how aggressively, how prolonged, etc.). We cannot see how the mere fact of attempting to gain possession is itself cautionable.

The critical fact that makes the player’s action cautionable is that his attempt to retrieve the ball caused a tussle with the true “owner” of the ball, the GK. If this hadn’t been inserted into the scenario, then the referee could well have ignored the whole thing . . . because there would in fact have been no delay.…

Advice to Referees

RECOGNIZING AND DEALING WITH IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR

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Question:
Could you provide some examples of irresponsible coaching at the youth level (U8-U12) of soccer. I recently had a game that had 3 coaches for one team and two coaches for the other team. (Our league allows 4 coaches per team). Constantly throughout the game ALL six coaches would be hollering at the players providing DIRECTIONS on positioning and passing and anything else. The majority of the coaching rarely had any tactical instructions – mostly were the type of “pass now, why did you kick it with your left foot, what are you doing” type of directions. I stopped the game (after listening to them shouting for the majority of the game)and demanded that the coaches let the players play the last 4 minutes with silence from the coaches area. The coaches complied (what a relief!) and the game was ended 4 minutes later. After the game, one coach complained about my demand for silence and said “Where is it written down that I can’t shout instructions to my players?” I did not have a ready response to his question other than I don’t believe the coaching was positive, informative, or in the spirit of the game. I may have come on too strong for the situation, but I was so tired of their screaming at their players, that I felt something needed to be done. Maybe I was right and maybe I was wrong, but for 4 minutes the players played their own game and it was peaceful for the first time that game and everyone on the field had a good time. So, what constitutes irresponsible or inappropriate coaching?

USSF answer (January 18, 2010):
According to Law 5, the referee “takes action against team officials who fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner and may, at his discretion, expel them from the field of play and its immediate surrounds.” By no stretch of the imagination do most, and certainly not many, coaches or other team officials behave irresponsibly.

Here are some examples of irresponsible behavior, based on questions received and answered here or taken from the USSF position paper of March 22, 2006, on Management of Behavior in the Technical Area. These examples were directed by coaches or other team officials at referees, assistant referees, fourth officials, players of the opposing or their own team, and opposing coaches.

1. Screaming at or verbally or physically abusing the officials or any players or other participants for any reason.
• a youth coach “who begins to scream at his players when the game begins and does not stop until long after the game is over. With every touch of the ball by his team he gives (screams) instructions to the players off the ball as well as the player with the ball. With every touch of the ball by the other team he is giving (screaming) specific instructions to each player on his team as fast as he can get them out of his mouth. Much of what he says is negative and all mistakes are pointed out and players are taken to task. He is a physically intimidating person who loves to argue about anything and most area referees just stay as far away from him as they can.”
• ordering a player who has made a mistake to “drop and give me ten” (pushups) right there on the field.
• Speaking insulting words or making offensive gestures
• making unwanted contact with opponents

There is a national trend within the soccer community toward eliminating abuse of young people by any adults. The referee is certainly empowered to ensure responsible behavior by the team officials. The method chosen would be up to the individual referee.

2. Interfering with the game in any way, such as:
• yelling out instructions to do something illegal or giving deceptive instructions.
• when coaches become actively involved in helping their team deceive the opponents, such as saying that player “x” should do this or that and clearly intending something else to occur (as discovered after the restart).
• clearly instructing the players to line up within the required distance and “have the referee move you.”
• instructing his/her team, both on the field and on the bench, to jump up and down, waving their arms, and scream at the top of their lungs.
• giving tactical instructions to other players when invited to enter the field to see to the injury of a player.
• presuming to give the officials instructions on how to make or signal their calls.
• insisting that an opposing player be cautioned or sent off.
• throwing objects in protest
• kicking chairs
• striking advertising boards
• persistently and flagrantly protesting decisions by an official
• interfering with the performance of assistant referee or fourth official duties
• refusing to return to the technical area
• entering the field of play without the permission of the referee

SO, WHAT CAN THE COACH OR OTHER TEAM OFFICIALS DO?

Under the Law, only one person at a time is authorized to convey tactical instructions from the technical area. The coach and other officials must remain within its confines except in special circumstances, for example, a physiotherapist or doctor entering the field of play, with the referee’s permission, to assess an injured player. The coach and other occupants of the technical area must behave in a
responsible manner.

As a practical matter, particularly at the youth level, any POSITIVE coaching is allowed. Whether at the level of the least experienced players (and coaches) or at the highest levels, any case in which the coach behaves irresponsibly will result in the coach being dismissed. (Two examples from among many: ranting at the referee, overt participation in deception of the opposing team.)

A coach has no “right” to anything in the game of soccer, other than the right to conduct him-/herself responsibly during the game — from within the technical or bench area — while offering advice to his/her team’s players. A referee who allows coaches or other team officials to parade around the field or shout abuse at players in the guise of instruction, in contravention of the requirements in Law 5 that coaches behave responsibly and that referees not permit anyone other than players to enter the field, should be ashamed.

WHAT CAN THE REFEREE DO?

Coaches and other team officials are expected to behave responsibly. (See Law 5 and Interpretations of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees, the only places in the Laws that team officials are mentioned.) The intelligent referee will generally disregard coaching comments, unless they become openly disrespectful of the game and of the referee. The referee’s first line of defense (unless the behavior is REALLY egregious) is to warn the coach who is behaving irresponsibly. This is the equivalent of a caution, but no card is shown. Then, when the behavior persists (as it usually does, because most coaches who behave this way fail to understand that they must change their errant ways), the coach is expelled from the field for failing to behave in a responsible manner. Please note that under the Laws of the Game, no card may be shown; however, showing the card may be a requirement of the rules of the competition.

Unless the matter is particularly grave, the referee would usually wait until the next stoppage. However, if the situation is indeed grave — as any case of abuse would be — then stopping the game and drawing attention to the matter is an excellent tool in and of itself. Proactive steps such as the admonition of the coach will usually prevent players who become disgusted with their coach’s behavior from acting out and thus becoming subject to punishment themselves. It sends a clear message that the referee is serious about the matter. In such cases, the referee would stop play with the ball in the possession of the abusive coach’s team (if possible), advise the coach or other team official that this behavior is irresponsible and must stop if the coach or other team official wishes to remain in the vicinity of the field. If this warning is not effective, then another stoppage and the expulsion of the coach must follow. No cards, please, unless the rules of the competition require them. Also, do not engage in extended discussions when doing this in any circumstances: State the message and leave.

In all events you should prepare a supplemental game report or letter to the league on the matter. You might also suggest in the report or letter that they send someone to monitor a couple of games. The letter could be written in such a way that says perhaps the coach was having a bad day, but it should suggest that it might be beneficial to the children involved if someone from the league dropped in for a game or two just to make sure.

[In the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game” we find:

5.10 BEHAVIOR OF COACH AND BENCH PERSONNEL
Coaches or other team officials, one at a time, may provide tactical advice to their players, including positive remarks and encouragement.  The referee should only take action against coaches or other team officials for irresponsible behavior or for actions that bring the game into disrepute. A coach or other team official may not be cautioned or sent off nor shown any card; however, at the discretion of the referee, such persons may be warned regarding their behavior or expelled from the field of play and its immediate area. When a coach or other team official is expelled, the referee must include detailed information about such incidents in the match report.

The maximum numbers of substitutes and substitutions are set by the competition authority and with the agreement of the two teams within the requirements of Law 3. Additional people in the technical area, such as team members who are not named as players or substitutes (for the current game) on the roster or parents or other persons involved with the team, are permitted to be seated with the team in the technical area (or other designated team area) only if this is allowed by the competition authority. Such persons will be considered team officials and are therefore held to the same standards of conduct specified in Law 5 as other team officials. Although team officials cannot commit misconduct or be shown a card, they may be ordered from the field for irresponsible behavior. Full details must be included in the match report.

The “Ask, Tell, Remove” process is recommended for all officials to follow relative to conduct within the technical area:
* Ask
If a situation arises where there is irresponsible behavior, the official (referee, assistant referee, or fourth official) should ASK the person(s) to stop.
* Tell
If there is another occurrence of irresponsible behavior, the official should inform that person that the behavior is not permissible and TELL them (insist) to stop.
* Remove
If the non-accepted actions continue, the referee must REMOVE that person immediately.

These are the recommended steps, but they are not necessary if the behavior and conduct of personnel within the technical area requires immediate dismissal. Remember, where circumstances permit, match officials should use a “gentle escalate” approach so that referee team responses match the nature of the bench behavior. Try to use the least intrusive response that will solve the problem.

…
"Inventive" Refs

SEND-OFF AT HALFTIME UNDER UNLIMITED SUBSTITUTION RULES

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Question:
A question has arisen regarding USSF soccer games which specifically use UNLIMITED substitutions.

Background:

FIFA LOTG allow for modifications to the substitution law for youth, all women’s games and veteran’s games. In MA all U19 town travel soccer, most if not all premiere youth soccer, all women’s soccer and all O-30 soccer use Unlimited Substitutions.

In those games, as the referee, I am Not informed of who is starting the game nor who is starting the second half. During the game, at specific times, I will allow awaiting substitutes to replace players on the field, but I never record who enters or who leaves. I do have a roster, that I checked prior to the game, for both teams which provides me a list of players and numbers who are allowed to participate in that game.

Therefore, not knowing who will be asked by their team to start the 2nd half of the game, I always assume that once I blow my whistle to end the first half, and thereby start the half time interval, Everyone is a Substitute.

Question: During the half time interval, I need to dismiss a person on one of the teams who is in uniform and is on the roster for that game. For the start of the second half, I would allow that team to have eleven players on the field, as the person I dismissed, is by my definition, a Substitute.

I can find no place in the USSF position papers, ATR, etc. that differs from my assumption: During the half time interval, all people on the roster are considered Substitutes if the game is using an Unlimited Substitution rule.

Comments?

{This is for Youth, Women’s games and Veterans games that specifically use Unlimited Subs.}


USSF answer (January 14, 2010):
This sort of situation is one of the reasons that the Laws of the Game forbid unlimited substitution. In point of fact, the modifications specified by the International F. A. Board permit modifications only for players through Under 16 (not Under 19), women, and “veteran” players, who are defined as over 35 (not Over 30). If the person sent off at halftime was a player at the end of the half — in other words, was on the field as a player and not on the bench in the role of substitute — the team plays short in the second half (or, in extra time, in the next period). If the person sent off was not a player at the end of the half, the team does not play short. If the officiating crew cannot determine that the person was in fact a player at the end of the period, then the team does not play short.

Your basic assumption, that during the halftime break every player/substitute on the team’s roster is considered to be a substitute, is clearly wrong. Every person who is officially a player at the end of the first half remains a player of record until officially substituted. And every referee, no matter in which competition he or she referees, should know what “officially substituted” means, because the process is described in Law 3 and is NOT subject to local rule variations (or a referee’s personal opinion). That includes permission of the referee AND entry onto the field of play. It is the referee’s JOB to know who was and was not a player of record (though this can be tricky in youth play with its standard exceptions to Law 3’s limited substitution rules). It is one of the reasons why we generally recommend knowing who was NOT a player at the end of the first half by identifying those persons in uniform who were on the bench, since this is usually a much smaller number.

This is not covered in the Laws because it would not be a problem in higher-level games. They KNOW who is in the game and who is not, because there is none of the constant shuttling of players in and out of the game that we see in competitions that permit it. We expect the referee and assistant referees (and fourth official, if there is one) to know who was in the game at the end of the half. Those who do not yet exercise due diligence in determining this fact ought to consider doing so.…

Law 12 - Fouls & Misconduct

PLAYER OFF THE FIELD

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Question:
A winger dribbles the ball in the opposition half, directly down the touchline. He is tackled fairly off the ball by a defender and exits the field of play. The defender passes to a forward teammate who passes straight back; the first defender slips over; the ball continues directly down the touchline. The fallen winger meanwhile, noticing this, sprints down the touchline – still off the field of play – and onto the field to take the ball, alone, and score.

Goal?

USSF answer (November 20, 2009):
A player who has left the field in the course of play is expected to return as quickly as possible to a position on the field. The legality of the goal would depend on the referee’s perception of two things: Whether this player’s return occurred quickly enough and whether the player stayed off the field accidentally or to deceive the opponents.…