Question Number: 23733

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 8/2/2010

RE: College

gene of geneva, il usa asks...

This question is a follow up to question 97587

The keeper gets possession of the ball in the penalty area. He now walks by a player and intentionally passes his elbow across the opponents stomach. It is non-violent but more an act to say 'don't invade my space'. What is the call and restart by FIFA rules. Would this be an 'unsporting act' with an indirect kick restart, after cautioning the keeper, even though it is in the box? Please settle a debate.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Elbowing is a form of striking. The referee will have to decide if this was done in a manner that is careless, reckless or with excessive force; if so it is a direct free kick foul which results in a penalty kick.

In my opinion it sounds like a foul accompanied by unsporting behavior. The goalkeeper would be cautioned, and the restart is a penalty kick.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Gene
These are always difficult situations for the referee to manage. Goalkeepers take exception to outfield players jostling, impeding etc when they have the ball in their hands. The referee has to determine did the outfield player go out of his way to impede the GK or prevent the quick release of the ball. This requires vigilance on behalf of the referee and early intervention/anticipation is important to not allow it happen. I have given penalties in the situations where the GK believes that because he has the ball in his hands that he is somehow above the laws of the game and he charges, pushes an opponent. It is also a caution. I have also given FKs to the GK where I believe the forward went out of his way first to interfere with the GK which is the first foul committed. That is usually followed by the GK's charging or pushing action. I have then spoken to both players telling them that it is unacceptable and either cautioning or telling them that a repeat will result in a caution.
So what you describe is a penalty and a caution for the GK. It could also be a direct free kick to the GK because he may have been fouled first through the actions of an opponent and also a caution for the GK for the unsporting retaliation. Only the referee on the day can decide that.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

If the referee decides to treat this as a foul, the foul is striking and results in a penalty kick.
It also could be cautionable as misconduct (unsporting behavior).

A referee, recognizing what is happening, may decide to deal with the growing tension between the two players in other ways: talking to the keeper at the next stoppage, running near the players and speaking privately, etc. Sometimes the best course for the referee is to deal with the act; sometimes it is to find out from the keeper what the opponent did (that the referee didn't see). These actions rarely happen in a vacuum.

What the referee will do will depend on the age and skill of the players, and the overall temperature of the match. What the referee cannot do, however, is to ignore this. It will not go away on its own.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The keeper has put his elbow into an opponents body. You say it is intentional but not violent. Well, that means the keeper is not sent off for violent conduct but he has committed a foul, more importantly one of the 10 direct free kick fouls and he most likely has committed misconduct.

Award a penalty kick and caution the keeper.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

It depends - as always - on the situation. What has transpired up to that point? Is the referee being proactive in dealing with player issues like crowding a goalkeeper in possession, or is the referee not being close enough to play to observe and let the players know what is seen and heard?

If the referee has been proactive, and the keeper isn't responding and takes matters by the elbow, then by all means chew him out, award a PK and give him a caution. If that doesn't get his attention, he's not long for this game anyway. One supposes that would be the response as well regardless of the referee's actions - but the necessity is less if the referee is involved in the game.

Sending him off should only be considered if the elbow was used as a weapon - not just as an intimidation tactic, which is more akin to unsporting behavior. Keep in mind the players can be testing the referee to see if you can deal with these issues in a positive fashion for the game or not.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

These incidents are more about having a feel for the game, rather than identifying what has happened. Yes, you could say a foul has occurred - but what does the game need? You have the option of just loudly telling the players to get on with it, and at the next stoppage have a word with the keeper (don't necessarily have to follow up with that - on one hand it shows that you recognise what's happened, on the other it may suggest you didn't have enough courage to deal with it). If you do award a penalty, you don't necessarily have to card the keeper - remember, striking is only a direct free kick offence. Only if it's done recklessly or using excessive force does the card come out.

The referee will need to consider the needs of the match - sometimes overreacting to incidents can cause as much of a problem as failing to respond. If it's just a little bump, as you describe, then I'd say that a quick shout of 'play the game keeper!' may be sufficient - although you really want to keep a very close eye on the keeper in the future, particularly when he gets near the striker. You'll also want to consider why he felt the need to do this - does he feel targeted by the striker? Is it possible that you're allowing the striker to get away with a little too much, or is the keeper simply overreacting to something?

The age and grade of the match is also something you'd consider - if an U/12 player did this I'd be far more likely to award a penalty than I would for a local first grade match.