Question Number: 35605

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 6/30/2024

RE: recreational Adult

Derek Bender of any, any any asks...

I had a question regarding a call in my league. A through ball was played and it was onside, the forward had their head down to track the ball, goalkeeper came off his line and did not go low to slide for the ball but intentionally went high with his shoulder and elbows. When the collision happened the goalie was actually knocked backwards and the forward got the ball and tapped it into the goal. The ref at the time ruled a foul on the forward and not the goalkeeper. I was hoping for an explanation for thus ruling.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Derek
Thanks for the question
From your description you state that the goalkeeper went intentionally high with the shoulder and elbow. That does not read to me as a genuine attempt to play the ball particularly when you suggest that the GK had the option to go low to slide for the ball.
If the attacker was bigger and stronger it is likely that the contact could result in the goalkeeper being knocked backwards which is what happened,

So for me there is not enough in the description to decide with certainty yet not going low for the ball has red flag aspects to me of a potential foul with shoulder and arm use.
Getting knocked back while challenging for the ball does not mean that the challenge by the GK was legal or that the challenge by the attacker was illegal yet I suspect that in challenges where one player gets knocked down perhaps heavily the inclination of many referees is to go with a foul.

So from your description it was not a foul by the attacker yet that obviously is not the way the referee saw it. Indeed it could have been six of one and half a dozen of another and the cookie crumbled in favour of the goalkeeper. A coming together in a challenge.

On these one on ones involving the goalkeeper many times the decision goes in favour of the goalkeeper. My esteemed colleague mentions from time to time the challenge between Higuain of Argentina and Neuer the German goalkeeper in the 2014 World Cup. A foul was given in favour of Neuer yet many felt it was the other way around and a card for the GK or perhaps no foul and a throw in to Argentina. It certainly was baffling to give the decision in favour of Neuer against Higuain who did nothing other than go for the ball and it was Neuer’s knee that made the contact on Higuain’s head.
Senior retired referees at the time felt that Neuer was entitled to go for the ball which he played cleanly with his fist and that it was a coming together. They however felt the decision should not have been a foul by Higuain who came off the worst having sustained a heavy knock to the head.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Derek,
sorry for the delay, I transferred your question to this site instead of the mr.ref site. As my colleagues note you are short on particulars as to how the situation actually could be thought of in context without a video to review. The referee apparently decided there was a foul by the attacker for running into the keeper. Hopefully no one was injured. You kind of imply the keeper was preparing for the collision rather than challenge for the ball? The fact the ball was available to be challenged a keeper has certain advantages if they can get their hands on the ball in the opposition can not effectively challenge. Now you can shoulder charge on a V intersection or a side by side challenge quite forcibly and still be fair . However you can not run over a player like a block in in pointy ball. The mass weight speed ratio and how your feet are positioned there s no guarantee you come out ahead in any collision unless those factors are in your favour! It sounds that perhaps the keeper was fortunate!
Cheers