In the 2nd half of the Arsenal v Birmingham game on 10/17, CR Lee Probert awarded Arsenal an IFK for handling of a deliberate pass-back. The Birmingham keeper picked up the ball inside the 6 yard box. However, Mr Probert spotted the ball about 10 yards out for the IFK (at the point from which it was passed back). Even Arshavin tried to point out the error. The IFK did not result in a goal. My question: Had this IFK resulted in an Arsenal goal, would Birmingham have grounds for protest (and replay) due to the misapplication of the LOTG?
It would be a stretch. But I suppose it is possible if the referee were to state that he awarded the kick from the spot of the pass. But it would not be protestable if he misjudged the place where the 'keeper handled the pass. It is also (remotely) possible that the IFK was awarded for using trickery to get around the restriction on the goalkeeper handling a pass from a teammate. Then the kick would be from the spot of the pass.
Most competitions have provisions for appeal on the grounds of misapplication of the LOTG. I can't see why the Premier League wouldn't. Whether the appeal would be successful is another matter. Just because a misapplication has occurred doesn't mean that the result of the match was materially affected. Did the placing of the IFK really have a big impact on the likelyhood of the goal being scored? To me, 6 or 10 yards out is not a great difference - if it was given 6 yards out the player likely would have knocked it back to about 10 yards for someone to take the shot anyway. That's not to say it wasn't something that should have been done right to begin with, but whether it merits a replay is certainly quite arguable.
Maybe it was placed 10 yards because thats how far back the defenders had to be before it was taken. They can't go back further than the goal line.
There were two things that struck me most about the incident... One, although such occasions are rare, the exact same thing happened in the Sunderland-Wolves game 2 weeks ago. In that case, the ball was spotted correctly (on the edge of the 6) and a goal DID result. Surely the FA equivalent of our "week in review" would have highlighted this. Two, the A-B crew are in contact electronically, yet nobody informed Probert of his error.
No. If the kick would have been inside the six, it would have been required to move it back to the nearest point on the six. However, once outside the six, the ball can be placed anywhere, and defenders can form a wall on the goal line or ten yards from the ball.
Having worked with a number of British referees over the years I believe they do not focus on the LotG like we do in the USA. Now, obvious the guys I have worked with are not doing EPL matches. But I think the culture is rather different over there with respect to training. So, I guess what I am saying is that I can understand how this would be misapplied over there even in such a high level league while I can't imagine it ever happening in a pro league match here.