Missed Trip

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by sdoebler

I did say specifically that he tried to trip him, highlighted above. I am looking for opinions of handling the situation. Appreciate if it is a T that anyone watching would agree and needs to be obvious on the tape, like that approach. Basically, pending any specific case play or ruling it comes to grey area officiating, what is the best approach to the situation? What rules can we apply to the situation and be supported? The answer maybe nothing, we have no penalty to apply within the rules, but would agree we are addressing the player at the first opportunity about the situation if that is the case. Thanks for any additional thoughts.

Once again, you said tried to grab him. And you also said that he tried to grab his foot. To me, that is not a kicking motion with the leg or even something we know automatically he was ultimately trying to do.

Again if you are looking for opinions, I gave you one. I gave it based off of the OP and comments. Then you added other situations that would change the situation. No, I am not calling a T for what you described in the OP without seeing it clearly. A continuous attempt of doing something would elicit a different response. And you would have to see it to know how egregious or if it was subtle and not easily understood. If it was something done that I "thought" took place, I would approach that player so they know I am aware of what they tried. Now if they try it again they know I was watching. Could you call a T? Sure, but be careful if you are the only one that knows this took place or it does not show up on video. Because the coach is going to only show that play, not the two or three other incidents that took place.

I threw out a player in football a couple of years ago for throwing a punch and connecting with a players helmet after he was first flagrantly contacted by his opponents previously in the same action. I got "written up" (which is a serious process) and the video did not show the entire incident in total. I was accused of not ignoring the situation or stopping a kid from throwing a punch in retaliation as if I was going to stop a 290-pound player from doing anything to him in the first place. All that was shown on video I was standing there initially and the camera did not show the rest of the actions out of frame. But the contention was that I should have somehow stopped the reaction (by the team that was the player) after blowing my whistle and being 10 feet away from the situation the entire time (not following the ball). I say this because even when you are "right" you still have to deal with the perceptions of the reaction. So that is why some said it was a HTBT situation. Because if you call it and it doesn't show up on video, you might get more scrutiny. So if it is not obvious and you are "too technical" that might hurt you in the long run. Someone doing something over and over has nothing to do with the OP you made. That is a different situation and might help you when you finally call a T. So no, you do not have to wait until someone gets hurt and you do not prevent people from getting hurt even if you make the call.

Peace