Question Number: 35689

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 9/9/2024

RE: Competitive Under 17

Kevin jones of London , United Kingdom asks...

My son is a striker and very often defenders will often deliberately lead with their forearm towards his head and or back of the head.
The referees focus is inevitably with the ball and not where the ball is going and the person running the line is usually associated with the opposition team.
What is the best way for my son to deal with this?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Kevin,
foul recognition is as much an art form as is the experience in knowing where and when to look. A neutral referee can get too close or focus in too tight yet also what one allows as normal may well not be the same as another.

As to how a player can MAKE a referee pay attention is fraught with difficulty as the one way they seem to like is to throw themselves to the ground, screaming and holding the contacted spot. The diving, lets help sell a foul, is certainty not without cause as things are missed but the willingness to act as if lightening just struck you is rather pretentious!

Whether you have club linesmen usually responsible for in or out or actual neutral ARS that act as the referees eyes and ears in behind play. A good referee simply try's through position, body language and experience to give the match their best effort. A referee with integrity can only call what he sees from the angle of view they have when the incident occurs! Wise experienced referee use over the shoulder checks and listen to understand the background dissent. Because when things are unravelling, from missed fouls to incidents away or out of sight, a referee that has his radar up and the pulse of the game notices changes!

Size differences also factor into how the larger smaller players interact. I recall a favorite illegally disguised move was the lean of a large defender where the elbow or forearm simply rested on top of the shoulder of the opponent acting as a holding foul, literally pressing them to the ground as opposed to a hand grab of the jersey far more easily seen. The LOTG allow for some contact when challenging but a free arm striking the head or face of the opponent is not one that is permissible.

Aside from a noticeable blood smear or bruise, a player might just mention to the referee," I am getting slammed in the head with elbows and forearms is that not a foul?" Not saying the referee will be as sympathetic as you might wish? Still I had a player come up to me at the half and show me a good gash along the back of the leg just above the ankle claiming that this one defender was cleverly stomping the back of the legs/ankles on corner kicks using the backing in of the attackers to cover his movements. There is no doubt that players use the line of sight to their advantage at times knowing the referee is screened from a direct view which is why neutral ARS are so vital, especially off the ball holding or striking to stop strikers from gaining momentum.

In matches as referee where I can feel the game moving in the wrong direction. I might get very tight with calls to make a point. I often bring the captains in with a, "Lets not play games let's just play soccer! I only need 7 aside to continue if those here can not refrain from acting poorly!"


Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Kevin
Thanks for the question.

IFAB the law making body in its advice to referees says the following
** If a player makes contact with an opponent’s face with the hand/arm while challenging for the ball, the referee’s decision depends on the exact circumstances. If the contact is careless, reckless or excessive force, the referee:

# awards a direct free kick (or penalty kick if it is within the offender’s penalty area) and
# takes appropriate disciplinary action

UEFA the governing body in Europe recognised this also as a particular issue in the game following on from IFAB’s lead and there has been training modules aimed at highlighting this very issue to referees which includes videos etc. I expect that the FA in England would have covered this topic as well in its referee training.

Many the game bemoan the fact that referees call fouls and issue cautions for arm contact on opponents while jumping for the ball. They talk about the raised arm for leverage yet when it makes heavy contact with an opponent it is clearly an offence as it is as best careless and more likely reckless which is a caution. It works both ways as attackers are also guilty at times of this offence on defenders.
The only way it will reduce is for this type of offence to be called regularly by referees.

Club assistant referees are typically advised not to signal on field offence which is the domain of the referee. Their role is ball in and out of play and offside assistance. This is what the FA advises referees to say in CAR instructions
** It is most likely today that all fouls and misconduct will be given by me, for the sake of consistency throughout. It will also decrease the pressure on you. Albeit you may have a different view on an incident, please leave these decisions to me and as the referee I will take responsibility.**
So CARs get instructed before games and I expect that fouls are kept by the referee as their sole responsibility.

As to how to deal with it my advice is that it depends very much on the referee. A referee if respectfully approached by a player about contact on the head a referee can be asked to pay attention to aerial challenges using the arms. The referee should have seen the challenges yet may be *old school* of allowing what was seen as combative aerial challenges.
Too often referees hear “In the back ref” which does happen when two players jump for the ball in the air. I see a lot of those and typically they are not fouls. The ones that are fouls is where the player uses a raised arm to push or make contact with the side / back of the head or shoulder.
Perhaps a coach can have a quiet word with the referee before kick off to say that there has been an increase in aerial fouls using the arms on players and ask that particular attention be paid to it.

There is also a renewed effort to involve captains more in the game so again a captain can respectfully advise the referee that attention should be paid to these type of aerial challenges.

So the better referees will get these offences. They typically attend the training modules and know what match observers are looking out for.