In watching what I thought was otherwise a well-refereed youth game this weekend, I was surprised by the frequent, permitted use of what I thought was an illegal tactic. Namely ... defender comes shoulder to shoulder with the attacker. Defender puts out hand, puts palm of hand against the shoulder, pushes attacker off the ball. Not shoulder to shoulder push, but a hand to shoulder push. (Not stiff arm, mind you, a bent arm if that makes any difference.) This was throughout the game, usually quite successfully (i.e., attacker losing the ball). No whistle, no complaint by the oposing coach. So who's crazy here?
What you are describing falls under Law 12 Fouls and Misconducts. A direct free kick would be awarded if a player pushes an opponent "in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force." One of the (IMHO) big misconceptions about soccer is that ALL pushing is a foul. 'Fess up. Nobody here has ever seen a corner kick without some degree of pushing in a competitive match. OTOH, it the defender in your scenario 'straight armed' his opponent in such a way that he could not move backwards to make a play on the ball, the referee should call "holding" which the referee only needs to see, not judge its severity. Scott
Re: Re: Use of Hands Yes, the LOTG. Objectively speaking, I would not call a push with the palm of one hand on a shoulder as careless, reckless, or as forceful as placing the entire weight of the body behind a shoulder charge. However, using the hand has the advantage of being easier than a shoulder charge. Very effective, too -- most players tend to stumble when pushed firmly on the shoulder while they have one foot in the air. And it's hard to dribble, pass, or shoot without putting a foot into the air! So the LOTG as written don't help me much.
What was the level of the match? In a particularly skilled match or one with older players, my idea of what is triffling or doubtful contact in a situation such of this shifts. I'll usually let a lot more of that sort of contact go and let the game flow. While calling all of this would be technically correct, the game probably doesn't need all of the whistles if the players are tolerating and expect this type of contact. Another possibility is that the referee was oblivious to what was going on. He may not have been in a good position to see the pushing.
It's kind of like basketball. You can't push or hold in basketball either, but if you called every push and hold you'd half to stop the game every 30 seconds. (That does sound like basketball.) At higher levels of both sports, you ignore the triffling contact, and call the ones that need to be called - for fairness and/or player management.
You have to remember who the game is for -- the players. They will ultimately decide how much physicality they accept, you are there merely to faciliate. As the skill of the players increase, the less they care about "pushing" and "holding" as written precisely in the LOTG. Part of the game is learning how to ride a challenge, angling your body in such a way that the charge propels you in the direction you wish to go. It's actually quite fun. So, rather than eliminate these supposedly illegal challenges, the players would rather allow them and see how they can benefit. You as the referee need to judge the result. The call is made when the action of one player takes away the ability for the other player to play the ball fairly. If both players are still able to challenge, or the challenge would have the same result if done textbook, there's no need to stop the game. You have to read the reaction of the players. If they are ok with a push or hold, it means they wish to be able to do the same. Both sides will accept this up to a point because that is how they like to play. If a push or hold goes too far, you will know instantly by the response and body language -- mere dejection at losing the ball is one thing, but visible annoyance is another.
Response Bill (and others) - This was a U11 match. But a very good U11 match, among 2 of the top boys teams in Illinois. At that level, physical play is common, as is use of the arms in shielding (i.e., creating space). But use of the hand to push the other player off the ball is not common. The player being pushed certainly was taken aback. He "knew" that he was in good position to dribble because the defender was a foot or so away from being able to put a body on him, yet suddenly he found himself being pushed off the ball, so that he was stumbling. This happened several times to a couple of our team's best dribblers. To the point where they ceased trying to dribble in traffic. I am at a bit of a loss what to tell the players ... at the start of the game, before trying to do a shoulder charge, use your hands instead and see if that maneuver will be permitted? (Because the hands defense is quite a bit easier to play.) As for the attackers, stick out a hand and push back? Pass immediately when somebody gets close? Maybe I'm just describing the maneuver poorly ... this hand thing didn't look like much but it had a very large effect on game play.
Re: Response Look, at U-11, no matter what the skill of the teams, you're not going to get the most experienced referees. That's a simple fact. The referee may have been poorly positioned or he may have been tactically naive. Don't necessarily teach the kids how to cheat. If you do that, IMO, you're teaching them how to avoid using their skills at such a young age. You also never know what sort of referee you'll get, so the tactic could backfire especially if done in the defensive third. Personally, I'm going to me a little more strict in a U-11 game. Admitiedly, this confuses you and the players, but the application of the law isn't black and white. So, I guess that brings us back to "it depends". Just keep this in mind for the next time you play that team and see what happens. If a team relies too heavily on a boarderline tactic it eventually comes back to bite it.
I don't feel in this case you look at the action, but rather look at the consequence as a result of what "could" be an illegal action. If the opponent is unaffected, and play continues, enjoyment is maintained. . . play. If the player is disadvantage, and moved off the ball, it walks and talks like a foul. This smacks of tactical gamesmanship. If the players are ignoring it, maybe we shouldn't interfere, unless the disadvantage, safety, enjoyment (SEE) are obvious. It could be like that little shirt grab. . . has no consequence, no disadvantage, player playing through it, no one's upset, play!
Re: Re: Use of Hands Scott Am I missing something here? Pushing is a foul.....period? The careless reckless and excessively forcefull language comes into effect when an otherwise LEGAL tackle is commited as described by those words??? It isnt legal to push. Practically speaking though: I let the play go on if BOTH players are equally pushing until I decide it has gotten to be too much....you have to let them play.
Re: Re: Re: Use of Hands Actually, pushing, along with kicking, tripping, jumping, striking and charging, all require that the referee judge how the offense was committed in order for it to be a foul or not. In other words, it is legal to push, up to the point that the referee decides that it is a foul. The careless, reckless, with undue force determination is how we decide whether it is just a foul or is misconduct. Of interest, and a possible source of confusion on this, is that in schoolboy soccer, now NFHS, putting one's hands on an opponent, while charging or contesting for the ball, was until this year an offense. This has now been removed to be more consistent with the USSF applicaton.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Use of Hands What is particularly funny (and sad) about this whole issue is that in the annual "rules update" video that NFHS and NISOA distributed, the narrator is very sarcastic in his tone. He proclaims something like: "The referee should never take such an unyielding approach because simply putting hands on an opponent should never be considered a foul by itself." He clearly tries to imply that it was individual referees at the local level who were manufacturing this false basis to call a foul and that somehow NFHS was now stepping in to correct those poor misguided referees. If you didn't know anything about NFHS soccer rules and just watched the tape, you would never know that it was their ridiculous "rule book" that made it a foul for a player to simply place his hands on his opponent while contending for the ball.