Quote:
Originally posted by TravelinMan
Am new to the group. Just popped my head into this room as I am interested in officiating another sport (I do basketball) that I am familiar with (watched a ton of soccer on Long Island, upstate NY and NC - now living in GA). Felt I could learn a lot by listening to discussions.
Reading this thread generated a question. If a defender (last defender with only the keeper behind him) deliberately (grabs shirt and holds forward)stops forward on an OGSO OUTSIDE THE BOX(let's say just past midfield), what is the penalty, cards handed out?
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From reading your posts in the basketball forum, I know that you are quite an experienced official, so you understand how important some of the terminology of the rules of a particular game can be. Your unfamiliarity with soccer makes your question hard to answer because you don't quite have the jargon correct. So, I'll try to lay it out for you. Sorry but this will be quite long.
First, you need to know that whenever a player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity by committing a foul, it is a sending-off offense (red card).
Secondly, you need to know precisely what constitutes denying a goal and what constitutes denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
Here's what the book Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game (basically the casebook for USSF soccer rules) says:
"12.36 DENYING A GOAL OR AN OBVIOUS GOALSCORING OPPORTUNITY
There are two sending-off offenses that deal with denying an opponent a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity. These occur in cases where a player: (a) "denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a
goalkeeper within his own penalty area)" or (b) "denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick.
This would apply to any player other than the goalkeeper in his own penalty area who handles a ball to prevent it from entering the goal, whether the ball was last played by the opposing team or not.
12.37 PUNISHMENT
The denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity is punished by sending off (red card) the guilty player, even though there may have been no contact between the players involved.
12.38 CRITERIA FOR AN OBVIOUS GOALSCORING OPPORTUNITY
The referee must consider five criteria when deciding whether or not the conditions during an infringement of Law 12 constituted an obvious goalscoring opportunity:
1. The direction of play (the player must be running toward the opponents' goal, not toward the goal line or the corner).
2. The proximity of the ball (could the player have reached it to play it?).
3. The location and number of opponents able to participate immediately (no more than one defender between the attacker who was fouled and the goal, not counting the defender who committed the foul).
4. The location of the foul (the farther from goal, the less likely it is that an obvious goalscoring opportunity existed).
5. There was a reasonable chance for a shot (not a definite goal, but at least a chance to shoot).
Even if all these criteria are met, it is still the judgment and opinion of the referee that determines if the event was an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
12.39 APPLYING THE ADVANTAGE
Even if the referee makes use of the advantage clause during an obvious goalscoring opportunity, he can still punish the offender after the fact. If a goal is scored directly despite the attempted intervention by a defender handling the ball, fouling an opponent, or committing misconduct, the offender cannot be sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, but he can still be cautioned for unsporting behavior or sent off for serious foul play if the foul involved excessive force.
However, if in these circumstances the goal was scored following a second or immediately subsequent play of the ball, the offender must nevertheless be sent off because his action prevented a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity during the first play when the infringement occurred."
So after reading all of that, we can now take a stab at answering your question. We have a player just past mid-field who has his shirt grabbed and held by the last defender other than the goalkeeper. This is at least a cautionable offense. We need to check whether or not it meets the OGSO criteria:
1. was the player in the center of the field or near the side? Let's assume that he is fairly centered and was moving toward the goal. Check.
2. Where was the ball? Don't know, because you didn't specify, so let's say that the attacker is dribbling it or that it is close enough to him that we can expect him to get to it. Check.
3. 2nd to last defender committed the foul. Check.
4. How far from the goal? Well, this is quite a distance. Debateable.
5. Chance for a shot? When? Not immediately, but certainly soon. I'd say check.
Lastly, in the officials judgment, it must be decided that this play is an OGSO. On your play I could go either way because of the large distance from the goal, but I lean towards saying yes and sending-off the offender.
By the way the restart is a direct free kick at the spot of the foul near midfield.
PS Two years ago I sent-off a player in a HS game for doing this inside the penalty area. He turned the attackers shirt into a sail. That was a red card and a penalty kick. No argument at all about he call, even his father came over after the game to say that he saw it and his son deserved the red card. The PK was missed!