Fair Contact?

[paulpug]

When should contact by a defender on an attacker that's incidental to both going for the ball a foul? Example, midfielder gets to ball, passes it, and is then run into by a defender who was also pursuing the ball. Is this a foul? If so, should the defender be cautioned?

[CecilOne]

Assuming the contact was only from the momentum of ball chasing and it was immediate, probably not. If it was not immediate, meaning it would not have occurred if the "defender" obtained the ball, then possibly a foul if not trifling. If it was careless, reckless, etc. then the referee must judge the effect and intent.

The "defender" could be cautioned based on the manner of the foul, if careless, dangerous, tactical, etc.

[jasmunich]

Flow of the game versus "beep-beep", start-and-stop soccer: After living in Europe for a number of years, I have noticed there is a vast difference in the amount of body contact allowed in European youth soccer versus American leagues, perhaps not unlike the culture shock many NBA players experienced when being penalized for "hands-on" fouls in international play.

While officiating a so-called "friendly" game in the States, I almost got my ear cut off by a bunch of angry American parents for stuff they felt I should have called but what I saw as just normal competitive contact. Perhaps my perspective has been jaded by watching European games where of course fouls are called and players are to be protected at all costs but where the premium is also on keeping the game alive.

From a non-officiating perspective: one man's foul is another man's legitimate play at the ball.