You have just finished refereeing a game and one of the parent comes over and asks you this question. He is asking politely and seems to be asking a serious question -- not someone that is clearly just ragging on you. How do you answer the question?
A foul is an offense committed by a player against an opponent, with the exception of handling, on the field, during play. Kicking, tripping, striking, jumping at, pushing or charging, if done carelessly, recklessly or with undue force are fouls, as are holding, handling, spitting, or contacting the opponent before playing the ball when tackling. But you know this. Sherman
If the person asking the question is new to the game, and it sounds like this parent was, then I would say: "A foul is an attempt to gain an unfair advantage over an opponent. If may be pushing a player so he/she can't get to the ball. It may be a trip so the player falls over or even kicking the player so they have to stop running." Try to emphasise the fairness part as parents understand that. Crowdie
Yes, you are right. What the person meant and, perhaps, how I should have phrased this was, how do you recognize a foul? Again, we didn't blow this guy off like I might have at other times -- he did not come over all huffy and he came across as very polite and respectful -- and in fact, in the end he was -- he did not create problems for us. I am just curious how some of you guys would have responded to the guy and then I'll tell you tomorrow how I responded.
Ahhhhh.... along the lines of the old "why don't we call every offense?" or "why did you blow the whistle for that trip, when five minutes ago, you let a similar trip go?" When asked, my response is that, unlike basketball or football where referees are instructed to signal every foul and for every foul there are specific penalites, soccer referees, while trained to recognize all fouls, are instructed to allow play to continue if the foul had no effect, signal "advantage play on" if the if we need a few seconds to judge the effect, and reserve the option of calling the foul late and restarting at the point of the original offense, or blow our whistle immediately because the opponent was clearly disadvantaged and award a free kick as the restart. I point out that we have to decide on how to call each offense on its own merits, in relation to the flow of the game at that point. I also express my sympathy in that, to a parent, this must at times seem confusing. Most parents will accept this, though there are a few who suggest the opinion that it is I who is confused out there. Sherman
My reply would be something like this: "A foul is an unfair play made against an opponent during the course of a game...or against the opposing team, if someone deliberately handles the ball. What's fair or unfair in a given game will largely depend on the referee...and if it doesn't really make any difference --- well, no harm, no foul." Any more than that, I think, risks losing the message amid a pile of minutiae...and, for most people, would qualify as TMI (too much information). If the parent actually wants something more...you can always delve into detail, then.
What I basically said was that we call fouls when the push/hold/whatever becomes unfair or affects play. What was happening on the field is that this parent's team was clearly not used to a physical style and was not prepared for the challenges they were receiving. However, 90% of the challenges were fair. But to the parents of this team, it just seemed that they were being beaten up without any repercussions to the offenders.