[Nevadaref]

Originally posted by phatneff
I was the center official in this match.

That's cool that you are man enough to come forward with this and take the criticism/feedback. You will certainly improve as an official.
I still stand by what I told you in my earlier reply. From the description of the play you gave there, I would have ruled differently. However, in your most recent post, you drastically changed your portrayal. Here are your two quotes:

Originally posted by phatneff
At the time of the kick, he noticed that a defending Team White (TW) player flagrantly threw a TB player around him by basically headlocking the TB player and tossing him aside.

Originally posted by phatneff
The TW player than "brushed" him aside with his arm around the TB player's head.

This is vastly different. So which was it -- a flagrant throw or a brush?


Now I'll give you my thoughts on the rest of what you added.

Originally posted by phatneff
Now, the reason for the caution was simply because the TW player had already been verbally warned by me for some of his other actions earlier in the match. This caution was an attempt to keep him and the rest of the players under a certain amount of control.

If you had already talked to this player, then he probably deserved a punishment. Would the more just punishment have been a penalty kick? That depends upon your changing picture of what happened. Also, I'm sure that you know, there are other ways to bring players under control than using the cards.

Originally posted by phatneff
Regarding fouls in the penalty box, I am of the nature where normal fouls that happen outside of the box aren't necessarily called inside the box, especially during set plays such as corner kicks. There are bodies all over each other within the box so it is pretty hard to single out one specific foul. Most of the time, what I tend to do is focus on the goalkeeper (as I am one myself) if there is an offensive player by him. I will make sure that the keeper is not obstructed, but if he is fairly done so by the offensive player, I will watch to see if the keeper fouls him to get him out of the way, of which I will definitely call a penalty kick.

There are two schools of thought on the penalty area. One is the way you have described above. The other is a foul is still a foul and if the defense is foolish enough to not be careful inside their defending area, then that is their fault. Just be prepared to have your philosophy put to the test when you work with other referees.

Originally posted by phatneff
Another point is that cautionable offenses are not always fouls. I believe my example is a shady gray of that, since two people's actions offset one another. However, other cautionable offenses such as delay of game, disallowing 10 yards prior to a restart, coming onto the field when not summoned, etc., can be cautioned, but those tend to happen directly at the time of the action.

My honest opinion is that you don't have a solid conviction here. Your stance seems wishy-washy to me. You need to know the precise penalty rules and then have the strength to enforce them.
The fact is that ALL cautionable offenses are either fouls or misconduct. Each carries a specific penalty, and if the ball is in play at the time and the action is committed on the field by a player, then the penalty phase includes the awarding of a free kick (Off the field misconduct, including stuff done by a coach or substitute, results in a drop ball in USSF and an IFK in NFHS). It is true that some of the cardable offenses are technical infringements when the ball is out of play (and you have listed a few examples), and for these you simply use the original restart. The only time that the free kick is not immediately awarded is if the advantage clause is invoked.

This is just the opinion of one fellow referee, so take it for what you will, but I believe that if you are carding players for their actions and not awarding the accompanying free kick, then you are failing to properly punish their poor behavior. In short, you are letting them off easy. I would implore you to enforce penalties in the Laws/rules in their entirely as they are written so as to provide a deterrent for poor conduct. If the players perceive that the referee isn't going to hand down a stiff punishment for their unsporting actions, then you had better believe that they will persist in such.