foul or incidental contact

CecilOne · #1 (**permalink**) Sat May 17, 2003, 03:28pm

A basic philosphy question. Are soccer players responsible for controlling themselves or just for deliberate actions? That is, does their momentum (from chasing a ball or running to position) excuse contact that would be a foul if deliberate or do they have to anticipate a collision and control their movement to avoid it? This is not a question about whether they "got the ball" or not.
It's hard to define an example when the question is supposed to be philosophical, but one could be when an attacker is dribbling and a defender runs to get the ball, misjudges and collides with the attacker in a manner that would be a foul if deliberate.

kansassoccerref · #2 (**permalink**) Mon May 19, 2003, 10:30am

Soccer (especially American soccer) is a game of contact, some deliberate, some incidental. The art of refereeing soccer is to sort out what contact you're going to allow and what contact you'll whistle. A good rule of thumb is to consider the aftermath of the contact and ask yourself the question "Did the contact affect the flow of play?" If it does, you're probably going to want to call the foul (unless you choose to apply advantage). For instance, if a defender runs at an attacker slightly out of control and makes contact with the attacker, you would need to see how the attacker responds. If he/she keeps the ball at feet and continues to play, it may be best to allow the game to continue to flow. If the contact caused an interruption in the attacker's ability to play the ball (such as a slight stagger that takes away momentum), a foul would be appropriate.

A couple of other factors to consider are the age of the players involved and the general tone of the game. You can give older players a little more leeway, giving them a chance to play through the contact and allow flow of play to continue. Usually younger players should have the fouls called, since it helps them learn what is foul contact (and it helps keep the parents' sideline screaming down a bit too!). If the game is getting quite physical, the referee may want to call the game a bit tighter to maintain match control. The key thing is to be sensitive to the players' reactions -- that will tell you what they will accept/expect in the way of contact, and what they will want you to control/enforce.

CecilOne · #3 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 08:07am

I understand the principles of advantage and "playing through strength". Please apply your comments to the question I posed, as I would like to hear the similiarities or differences between my approach and explanations with those used by the rest of you.

kansassoccerref · #4 (**permalink**) Tue Jun 10, 2003, 06:55pm

Cecil:

If the player's momentum resulted in contact with the opponent that caused the opponent to become dispossessed of the ball or affected his/her ability to continue to play the ball, I would call the foul. Remember the three levels of offense: careless, reckless or with excessive force. At best, a player who fails to control his or her momentum on a slide tackle and collides with the opponent is guilty of careless play and a foul should be assessed. If the referee thinks the offending player's action was performed recklessly, a caution would be appropriate, as the recklessness is a form of misconduct. If the contact was performed with excessive force, a send-off would be in order.

I hope this addresses your question. It's a difficult one to address in the abstract, because it's definitely a YHTBT (You Had To Be There) situation.

CecilOne · #5 (**permalink**) Wed Jun 11, 2003, 07:29am

Quote:

Originally posted by kansassoccerref
... snip ... I hope this addresses your question. It's a difficult one to address in the abstract, because it's definitely a YHTBT (You Had To Be There) situation.

Yes to both and thanks. I deliberately made it abstract to get philosophical or conceptual answers long before our season.

sEcondcAution5988 · #6 (**permalink**) Tue Jun 17, 2003, 10:50pm

Fouls are not intent, but result. If a player trips and accidently pushes an opposing player to the ground, it should probably be considered a foul. Notice 'probably' -- foul recognition is in the eye of the only beholder that matters: the referee.

CecilOne · #7 (**permalink**) Tue Aug 05, 2003, 01:45pm

Sounds like you all see this as I do and I appreciate the confirmation. The second part is about the practical application, overcoming the players protests of "playing the ball", "got the ball", "right to make a play", etc. After 12 years, I have my own views and answers, but I'd like to know if you agree on these as well.