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Originally Posted by Snaqwells
How is this different than purposefully taking a safety on fourth down when you're buried at your own 2 yard line with 20 seconds left?
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Purposely taking a safety is a tactical play that does not involved a penalty. A team is willing to sacrifice a mere 2 points for field position. Sure, the kicking team intentionally went waaay offside for tactical reasons - to prevent a return. But they also did it to manipulate the clock.
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Originally Posted by Snaqwells
Or, how is it different than than fouling to stop the clock in a basketball game?
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Fouling to stop the clock in a basketball game, if done correctly, is a legal play to obtain possession of the ball.
Properly taught players "go for the ball" and if successful, are rewarded with a loose ball (rarely a straight possession change occurs) and can then gain possession of the loose ball. If the defending action is unsuccessful, team A either retains possession, re-gains possession, or is awarded foul shot(s). If the official deems that clock manipulation occured, or no play on the ball was attempted, the penalty is upgraded to an intentional foul, which carries a more severe penalty.
Clearly the actions of the kicking team were clock manipulation, so the argument is that a more severe penalty could apply.