Question Number: 25351

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 8/23/2011

RE: comp Under 12

sherman holmes-gen of sacramento, ca usa asks...

This last weekend, I was watching a U11 B competitive soccer match. The away team was behind in the second half of play. After scoring a goal,a player from the away team retrieved the ball out of the goal and was sprinting directly to the center circle. The center ref began yelling at the player, 'Put down the ball!' The center ref then ran to the confused player and grabbed the ball away from the player.
During a break in play, I identified myself as a new level 8 ref and asked the near side AR why was the player prevented from returning the ball to the center. He said that 'It was 'in the rules' and that as a level 8, I should know it.'
After the game, I asked the AR and the Center for a clarification.Iasked where in the Rules of the Game did it prohibit a player from a scoring team to return the ball to the center. They replied that it was not in the 'ROG', it is a convention to prevent taunting with the ball and prevent the other team from being insensed. They also told me to consult your site for further question.

My question to you, 'Is this indeed the proceedure referees should follow?' It seems to me that taunt can occur with or with out the ball, and can be controlled by cautioning the player. It also seems to me that the player was merely trying to prevent an unnecessary useage of time(since his team was still behind) and that the Center Ref was unnecessarily confrontative to a youth player. What is your opinion?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Both the Laws of the Game and USSF's publication Advice to Referees note that a player shall be cautioned for delaying the restart for 'provoking a confrontation by deliberately touching the ball after the referee has stopped play.' The referee in this game inserted himself into the situation so that there was no provocation nor confrontation. Probably overkill.

The team that just scored was still behind, and wanted the kickoff to take place quickly. But it is not their job to force it by grabbing the ball and hustling it to the center circle.

Instead, the referee could have blown a few short, sharp tweets on the whistle and said, 'Give them the ball, I've got the time.' When the referee lets the teams know that time will be kept fairly, all kinds of shenanigans can be avoided.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Taunting and Rules of the Game are NFHS terms not used in FIFA/USSF games.
The Laws give the referee great power. Power is most effective when used with respect and it is wielded by degrees. So referees should only use what is necessary to control the situation. A quiet word will generally be adequate in these sitiation with the player being told what is expected and that he should leave the ball alone.
In a game where a player has lifted the ball to bring it back unchallenged to the halfway line for kick off, he has not committed any offence under the Laws. It happens all the time and problems only arise when there is a contest for the ball. These situations can and do cause problems and the referee has to ensure that there is no confrontation over the possession of the ball.
In this situation there was no need for the referee to get involved and he should simply have watched closely. At the slightest hint of any confrontation he then steps in and deals with it. If the player does not desist he can be cautioned for 'provoking a confrontation by deliberately touching the ball after the referee has stopped play'.
Shouting and running after players is not appropriate particularly when there was no incident to deal with. Had two players been tussling to win the ball and intervention was required to prevent it escalating into something more serious then so be it. The referee should only do what is necessary to control the situation. Don't use a sledgehammer to crack a small nut.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

For a brief period of time, FIFA attempted to make it a mandatory caution if an opponent touches the ball at a stoppage in play. They soon realised how impractical this was, so simply instructed referees that it must be a caution if it's an act designed to provoke the opponents.

Grabbing the ball out of the net as the keeper is about to grab it would be one such scenario, as this often leads to a confrontation - and it's completely unnecessary. Of course, an astute referee may be able to spot what the player is about to do and use his whistle and/or voice to intervene and prevent the player from getting involved before it reaches the point where the cards need to be shown.

But most of the time there's no problem whatsoever, and the referee should therefore look at these scenarios on a case-by-case basis.

In this case it seems like no problem was caused, so the referee could've either prevented the situation in the first place (a quick blast of the whistle as the player is approaching the ball, and tell him to leave it), or managed it better once the situation has arisen.

Chances are, this U/11 player had no idea he was doing the wrong thing (but I'll note that I've come across a number of players this age who are taught to be horrible players). I firmly believe that in these younger ages, the referee has a significant role in educating the players. It depends on the grade, but the referee should talk to the players and tell them what they've done wrong when they breach the law - particularly for lesser known infractions, such as the one we're talking about here.

Players of all ages should be dealt with calmly by a referee who is in control of his own actions.

Becoming involved in the personal space of a player and being physically involved with that player (such as by grabbing the ball) should never be done, at any grade.

I cannot stress this enough.

The referee must not grab the ball from the player.

Also, running at the player shows a lack of awareness of management requirements of a youth match; this probably would have unnecessarily intimidated the player.

If no problem was being caused, then simply allow the player to run the ball to halfway and have a quick word to him to let him know he shouldn't do that and he might receive a yellow card for it in the future.

It sounds like this is all that would have been required in order to manage the situation.