Question Number: 23818

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 8/23/2010

RE: Competitive Under 12

Walter of San Diego, CA USA asks...

This question regards handling inside the penalty box, and possibly DOGSO in a U11 competitive girls match I saw this weekend.

Attacking team has the ball on the outside, down near the penalty area. The goalie has left the goal to defend the outside and an attacker crosses the ball to an onside player just outside the six yard box.

One defender stands on the goal line. The attacker hits a super-hard shot right at her head. She reflexively puts her arms up to defend her face, which the ball strikes and falls to the ground right in front of her. She then takes the ball and clears it out of danger.

I understand a player is allowed to defend herself with her hands instinctively, and it was a very hard shot, I don't know if there was any player on the field who would have done anything else.

So on the one hand a red-card for DOGSO seems pretty extreme to me, but at the same time, that saved a pretty clear goal and I thought that she got a very very big advantage from that move.

The ref just called 'play on'. Is that correct? Fortunately, it didn't matter to the outcome of the game.

Thanks, and love the site!

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Walter, 'advantage' in this context is not an element of the foul for deliberate handling of the ball. When, as here, the referee judged that the player made a reflexive action to protect face or sensitive parts, the contact with the ball is not considered 'deliberate.' It is not a foul even if the ball drops to the defender's feet or into the opponent's goal.

As players mature, two things happen. Players learn how to control a ball that inadvertently contacts the arm. The subsequent control will lead to a handling foul.

In addition, players learn how to disguise that they are deliberately placing an arm in an extended position in the hope that the ball will strike it and they can gain a tactical advantage. When one has a motive for a tactical advantage, and one receives the tactical advantage, it is likely that one put the arm in that place deliberately.

The referee must judge whether the contact was deliberate or reflexive. With ten year old players, that's usually easy. Twenty year old players are much sneakier.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Amen to Ref Wickham's reasoning! A sending off at this level would be wholly inappropriate because the ball was not deliberately handled - no offense, no foul, no misconduct.

The referee should not have called out 'play on!' as that is reserved only for advantage, and advantage may be called only if there was a Law 12 infraction. Here, if there was an advantage, it would not have gone to the attacking team but to the defender's team, which is backward. It is better to say something along the lines of 'nothing there', or 'no foul, keep playing'.