Question:
I continue to value the advice presented on your website-and I’m delighted that it will continue beyond the demise of drix.net to offer the value it continues to provide all involved in our game.

Having said that, I’m perplexed by a situation I saw a few days ago on an overseas game, and would like guidance on dealing with this situation here in the US.

Here is a clip of the situation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qNHZQs1-YU

As you can see, the Boca Juniors forward seems to hold on to the crossbar briefly-impossible to tell whether it’s to keep himself from hitting it, or as an attempt to hold himself upright. I vaguely remember this as an IFK and a caution for unsporting behavior.Your thoughts?

USSF answer (February 4, 2008):
We will let others judge which of the alternatives the Boca Juniors forward is pursuing. But we will give them something to work with. A call by the referee for punishment would have required total confidence and absolute iron will by the referee, who would appear not to have had much assistance from the assistant, who was behind play.

If, in the opinion of the referee, the player used the crossbar to make it easier for him to play the ball, he has committed unsporting behavior and must be cautioned and shown the yellow card. The restart would be an indirect free kick to the opposing team from the place where the infringement occurred (keeping in mind the requirements of Law 8).

If, in the opinion of the referee, the player was hanging from the goalpost simply to avoid injury to himself or to other players, there was no infringement of the Law.…

Question:
During the recent recert, there was an exam question asking which card should be issued for the listed circumstances.A defender impedes the progress of an attacker during an obvious goal scoring opportunity.

Is it a yellow since Law 12 states that the resulting kick was not a DFK or PK? Or is it a red since it was an OGSO?

Question #2: Law 4 states that a player cannot wear “any type of jewelry.” When asking the instructor for clarification when the “religious icon” clause was mentioned in class, I was shown the “Advice To Referees” booklet that stated the religious artifacts could indeed be worn. Are necklaces acceptable if they have a Cross/Star of David/etc????????

USSF answer (December 31, 2007):
It is unclear from your question just what is happening in the situation involving the obvious goalscoring opportunity. If the player who actually has the OGSO is denied that opportunity by a player who commits an indirect free kick infringement, then the correct decision is to send off that player and show the red card. (See Law 12, Sending-Off Offenses, 5: denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offense punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick.) The correct restart for impeding the progress of an opponent is an indirect free kick.

Regarding jewelry the answer is somewhat complicated. We know what the Advice says, but there is more to it than that. On medicalert bracelets, the answer is clear. As long as it is safe for all participants, it may be worn.

As to religious paraphernalia — no one really wears “artifacts,” do they? — the issue is NOT whether an item of jewelry (or clothing) is “religious” (because there is no useful definition of that term) but whether that item of jewelry that would otherwise be prohibited under the “no jewelry” rule is nevertheless REQUIRED TO BE WORN by a religion. The item must be required by some religious tenet — the Jewish yarmulke, for example, or a Sikh turban, etc. In short, the actual range of “religious items” is VERY narrow.

So, because there is no way for a referee to know definitively what does or does not come under the that definition, any player who seeks to claim a “religious item” exception must apply to his or her state association, which in turn would decide if such was the case and would provide some letter or other documentation that could be given to the referee. In all events, the referee must still determine if, despite all this, the religious item still could not be worn (at least in its present form) because it was dangerous.…

Question:
Why aren’t fouls called more often at touch lines or goal lines (within the field of play) in professional soccer? I regularly see players shielding the ball rolling to the line (to win a possession at the ensuing restart) being pushed or taken down from behind with an obvious shove or rough tackle by an opposing player. Sometimes the shove/tackle actually propels the player who is shielding the ball into the ball itself, causing the ball to cross the line more quickly! Despite this, more often than not, the contact is ignored.

I can understand if the referee prefers to believe that the ball had completely crossed the line (or was just about to) prior to the contact. Once the ball crosses the line and is out of play, the referee can simply award the throw-in, goal or corner kick to the victimized team. Perhaps also, I can understand a referee’s reluctance to award a PK when this kind of contact takes place at the goal line in the PK area, for reasons that may have more to do with common sense than the letter of the LOTG. Yet, the same referee will blow the whistle and/or pull out a card for similar or even lesser contact elsewhere on the field.

I guess my point is that the failure to call fouls (or show cards) at the lines seems to invite a lot of cheap shots. I’ve seen this sort of thing happen time and again in both MLS and international matches and would have no difficulty compiling a video montage if I were so inclined (and had no life!). It’s so common place that certain TV commentators, who might otherwise find no trouble finding lame excuses to berate the referees, usually have nothing to say about it.

So my question (yes, I do have a question, finally), is am I just imaging that cheap shots at the lines are being ignored, or am I missing something or is there really something there needing to be addressed? As a referee of youth games, I try to watch and learn from the pros. But in this regard, I feel disinclined to emulate the professional referees. Professional players expect to take their lumps perhaps, but youth players are a different matter.

USSF answer (December 19, 2007):
We cannot speak for the individual decisions made by referees at any level. After the duty to ensure the players’ safety, the second prime criterion for match-management decision making is that the referee must use his or her brain and form an opinion on each of the thousands of acts that occur during that game. Their decisions must be based on the level of play, the skill of the players, the way the game is being played from the first kick-off (or even before it kicks off) and the circumstances under which the particular act has occurred. While the referee must take care during every moment of every game, there is one rule of thumb that most players and the referee can agree on: The higher the level of play and the accompanying level of player skill, the more freedom the players expect and are granted; the lower the level of play and skill, the less the players, coaches, spectators, and thus the referee will tolerate.

We might add only that our soccer experience (well over 100 years among those of us involved in answering your question) does not mirror yours regarding jostling, etc., at the boundary lines. Some, yes, but not all and not all that often.…

Question:
The scenario is the Referee blows the whistle to indicate the first half of the match has ended. During the half-time break, a send-off offense occurs by a member of Team A. The Referee shows the red card to the Team A member.

Let us say that the Team A member who was shown the red card was a player at the end of the half. Must Team A play one man short in the second half? You may ask, “did the offense occur on or off the field of play”. Please answer both of those scenarios if the application of the Laws is different for each.

I believe that if the Team A member was a substitute or substituted player, then Team A does not play short one man the second half.

In youth matches where there is no official scorer or fourth official, the Referee may not be able to determine if the Team A member that was sent-off was a player or substitute.

I reviewed the 2007 Laws of the Game, Advice to Referees and Q/A, and did not find this addressed, though I admit I could have missed it.

Thanks for this forum, as I always enjoy and learn a lot from you.

USSF answer (December 10, 2007):
It makes absolutely no difference whether the sending-off offense was committed on or off the field of play. If the person sent off at halftime was a player at the end of the half, 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.

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. It’s not covered fully in the Advice to Referees because 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. In the game of soccer played under the Laws of the Game, there is no “scorer” to keep track of these things; we don’t explain the rules for those competitions, as they are not affiliated with the Federation. 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. See Advice 5.17 for part of your answer.

5.17 DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE GAME Misconduct committed by a player or a substitute prior to the start of the match, during the match, and during breaks between playing periods is subject to a formal caution or a send-off, as appropriate. Yellow and red cards, which are now mandatory indications of cautions and send-offs, may be shown only for misconduct committed by players, substitutes, or substituted players during a match. “During a match” includes:
(a) the period of time immediately prior to the start of play during which players and substitutes are physically on the field warming up, stretching, or otherwise preparing for the match;
(b) any periods in which play is temporarily stopped;
(c) half time or similar breaks in play;
(d) required overtime periods;
(e) kicks from the penalty mark if this procedure is used in case a winner must be determined.
(f) the period of time immediately following the end of play during which the players and substitutes are physically on the field but in the process of exiting.

Cautions issued prior to the start of the game or during breaks between periods are recorded and they are counted for purposes of sending a player from the field for receiving a second caution during the match. To prevent misunderstandings, the referee should inform officials of both teams before the first period of play begins of any cautions or send-offs occurring prior to the start of the match.

If a player or substitute is cautioned or dismissed for misconduct which has occurred during a break or suspension of play, the card must be shown on the field before play resumes.

If a player is dismissed before the match begins, the player may be replaced by a named substitute, but the team is not allowed to add any names to its roster and its number of permissible substitutions is not reduced.

Players or substitutes who have been sent off may not remain in the team area, but must be removed from the environs of the field. If this is not practical because of the age or condition of the player, the team officials are responsible for the behavior of the player or substitute.

There can be no “temporary expulsion” of players who have been cautioned, nor may teams be forced to substitute for a player who has been cautioned.

Postgame: Any misconduct committed by players or substitutes after the field has been cleared must be described in the game report and reported to the competition authority. The referee may display cards as long as he or she remains on the field of play after the game is over. Referees are advised to avoid remaining in the area of the field unnecessarily.

(However, see Advice 5.13.)…

Question:
Indirect free kick for attacking team just outside the (opponents’) penalty area. An opponent moves closer to the spot of the kick before it’s taken and then he deliberately touches the ball with his handles. Ok caution, but retaken indirect free kick (for infraction law 13 – distance) or penalty kick (for handling)?

USSF answer (December 3, 2007):
We presume you meant that the opponent handled the ball rather than touched the ball with his handles (plus, we are not entirely sure where his handles would be).

What you describe is a classic example of the section in Law 5 that requires the referee to punish the more serious violation when a player commits two or more offenses simultaneously. Here, the opponent violated Law 12 by failing to retreat the required minimum distance (and compounded his offense by clearly interfering with the free kick). For this alone, the referee would stop play, caution the opponent, and restart by having the IFK retaken. However, the opponent also committed a foul by touching the ball with his hands after it had been put into play. For this alone, the referee would stop play, caution the opponent for committing a tactical foul if appropriate, and restart with a DFK (or, in this case, a PK if the handling occurred inside the opponent’s own penalty area).

Given that the two infringements were committed at the same time, the referee should stop play, caution for the failure to respect the required distance, and restart with a DFK (or PK if the handling occurred inside the opponent’s own penalty area). There is no issue of sending off the opponent for interfering with an obvious goal scoring opportunity because a goal cannot be scored directly from an indirect free kick.…

Question:
We had a situation in a match that raised a question that I (and other referees) could not definitively answer. Here it is:
Attacker evades goalkeeper (who goes to the ground) in a one-on-one and attacker proceeds unchallenged to the goal line where he stops the ball with his foot just outside the goal (it would have gone in for a goal if he did not stop it) and waits for the goalie to get up and try to recover before putting the ball into the goal. The action was clearly taunting and deserving of a caution. If given a yellow card for unsporting behavior, what is the appropriate restart? IFK from point of foul and goal does not count because foul stops play? Kick off (goal counts) after the caution. Another option?

USSF answer (November 26, 2007):
Without delving deeper into the matter of the attacking player’s sportsmanship, the correct restart, if the referee does indeed stop to caution the player for unsporting behavior — and has decided to do so before the ball is kicked — is an indirect free kick, taken from the place where the misconduct occurred. (Don’t forget the special circumstances described in Law 8.) And if the game is stopped for the misconduct, the goal certainly cannot be counted.…