Look in law 12 under dangerous play. Just because you are on the ground doesnt mean it is dangerous.It most certainly can be legally done.
This has to be the most unconsistent call ever. Ive seen people call it but is it actually against the "laws of the game." I say let them play on the ground if they want to get kicked. Anyone know for sure wht the rule about it is?
Playing the ball on the ground is not an offence as long as you don't endanger yourself or another player in doing so. If you put your body over the ball to stop the opposition from playing the ball it is another story though.
Exactly. A common foul occurs if you play the ball while on the ground and other players cannot kick the ball because you are lying in the way. You are endangering yourself by staying on the ground in the way of the other players trying to play the ball. If no one has to hold back because you are on the ground, then no one is endangered.
I haven't heard ignorance in this call except at REAL young ages (8-10). I really haven't had people yell at me in a while saying "He can't play it on the ground!!", even when someone wasn't around him.
The call I'll most often make is where a player on the ground tries to kick the ball and kicks or almost kicks other players in the shins.
Crimeny!! I hear it at all levels thru U19, and see it called at all of those levels. Not so often in club ball (tho it does happen), but just like "high kicks" it gets called like crazy in high school. Sad, and I hate to admit it, but the rulesmakers and many of the referees make high school soccer something different, and not better at all.
From my recollection I don't believe I've called "playing on the ground" as dangerous play in many many years. I find it quite rare that a person on the ground truly presents a dangerous situation, as they most often will just take a poke at the ball in the process of standing up. The fact they are on the ground has not prevented opponents from playing the ball fairly and thus I see no reason to stop the game. I referee mostly amateur soccer these days with an occasional youth game (typically around the U17 age). I will second the notion that this concept is for the most part applied only to the youngest age groups to keep the buggers from stepping on each other.
Why? Do you also call a missed kicked that "almost kicks other players in the shins" when they are standing?
By the way.........the USSF ATR(sorry I actually read this thing) says that a player has to stop playing in response to a play for it to be dangerous. So if you raise your foot at your opponants eye level and they dont flinch......no foul...at high levels of play. At lower levels you call the act as a precautionary measure.
You're right. Has to disadvantage an opponent in some manner. After all, this is a foul. Doesn't matter how dangerous it is to you, if you don't adversely affect and opponent, no foul.
Except for the kids - who aren't smart enough to back off of a dangerous play. We still have to protect them and that is the majority of games we do.
In some/many youth recreational leagues, where a lot of the youth players start, it is against their league specific rules to play the ball in any manner while on the ground. That's where this comes from.
And at the opposite end of the spectrum, many O-something recreational adult leagues prohibit slide tackles - on the theory that they all have to go back to work tomorrow morning, and it's not worth the risk in a recreational game. These might be some of the soccer moms and dads of those same U8's and U10's. The adult rule morphs into "no play on the ground" - and durned if you can convince them otherwise. What I can't figure is why the U14-U16 premier players (and coaches) haven't figured it out yet. Inevitably at least once a season I hear, "Ref, he can't play it on the ground!" If I'm feeling charitible, my response is, "Yes, he can." In a bad mood, I might say, "This isn't U8, is it?"