Question Number: 21685

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 7/23/2009

RE: Rec, Competitive Adult

Rattan of Ottawa, ON Canada asks...

This question is a follow up to question 21642

I respect the comments of the referee panel and appreciate the learning opportunity.

Seeing the video in full motion once, it appears to me that the attacker (white) made a rather poor attempt to gain control of the ball, missed and fell on the ball. While the attacker was trying to get up, the defender had no chance to safely play the ball during this time and was disadvantaged. Why not call a IDFK for the defense?

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

That was one of the recommendations of the panel, if you recall - assuming there is anything there to call at all. Apparently, the referee here had a different angle and saw something that caused him to give a PK. So, pictures don't always tell the whole story!

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I'd remind you that if the ball becomes stuck under a player, as long as that player is making an attempt to get up and dislodge the ball, playing in a dangerous manner should not be called. That said, the referee was right on the spot with full view and awarded a penalty kick.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

As as it is to have a video of a decision to discuss, we also need to remain aware that a video is a reasonably poor way to view an incident. It us a very limited view which often isn't the best view - and it probably wasn't the best view in this case. Also, the limited frame rate can result in action being a little blurred. That, and I the suspect the fact that the video is in 2D as opposed to 3D also has an effect.

So it's great to talk about decision, but we also have to take all those factors into account - which is partly why even with a video, it's often impossible to come to a singular, unified conclusion.

There are a lot of things to consider in an incident like this. As for your view that the attacker had no chance to safely play the ball, I would respectfully disagree.

Yes, the ball was stuck under the player's legs, but this only happened for a moment. We should wait to see if the player makes an effort to release the ball, either by kicking it away or moving off it before stopping play. If the player doesn't make an effort to release the ball, we need to consider that it may be because the nearby players aren't allowing him to.

In this situation I do believe that the attacker made a reasonable effort to release the ball, and that player was being challenged while doing so. There isn't necessarily a problem with that. It was when that player got up that it appears the defender charged the attacker from behind, not allowing him to get up and pushing him back to the ground, that the referee called a penalty (the defender also may have kicked the attacker's leg while trying to play the ball, it's difficult to tell).

So yes, the ball was trapped underneath the player, but you need to allow the player a reasonable opportunity to release the ball - and if that doesn't happen, then you need to figure out why and where the fault lies.

It would be an unfair approach to penalise a player for simply falling on the ball; while it was a clumsy challenge she can't be blamed for the ball ending up where it did. It would only be if, after allowing a reasonable amount of time, she showed no signs of attempting to release it that you would award an IFK (again though, you need to be careful that it hasn't come as a result of the opponent actually making the situation dangerous and not allowing her to move/get up/play the ball).