Do you Know The Game?

As part of a new series, we sat down with Football Queensland State Referee Manager David Wiebe to get the inside explanation on two talked-about decisions from home and abroad in recent days.

IVAN PERISIC’S HEADED BACK-PASS

The Context
During Inter Milan’s 3-1 defeat to AS Roma, the hosts’ Croatian attacker Ivan Perisic tried what seemed to be a genius back-pass header to goalkeeper Samir Handanovic. Instead, Perisic was shown a yellow card and an Indirect Free Kick was awarded to AS Roma.

Why The Referee Got It Right

WIEBE: You can see in the clip that the player deliberately uses a trick to pass the ball back to the ‘keeper. That’s seen as circumventing the Laws of the Game and is punishable by an Indirect Free-Kick and a caution for the player responsible. Where the player goes wrong is in Law 12, under the heading ‘Cautions for unsporting behaviour‘. There are different circumstances for when a player must be cautioned for unsporting behaviour, including if a player:

• Uses a deliberate trick to pass the ball (including from a free kick) to the goal keeper with the head, chest, knee etc to circumvent the Law, whether or not the goal keeper touches the ball with the hands.

In other words, even if the goalkeeper does NOT pick the ball up, the player who did the trick will STILL be cautioned and an Indirect Free Kick will still be awarded.

RED CARD FOR DENYING AN OBVIOUS GOAL-SCORING OPPORTUNITY

The Context
In the Flight Centre Premier League match in Brisbane between Albany Creek Excelsior and Holland Park Hawks, a penalty is awarded and Hawks defender Jake Kallis is shown a straight red card for a foul on opposition forward Chomba Arop. The incident is shown at approximately 4:40 in the video below.

Why The Referee Got It Right

WIEBE: This year the Laws have changed with regards to denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. If a player is attempting to make a challenge for the ball with his feet and the referee (if they see it as a genuine attempt to play the ball) awards a penalty because of that challenge, then the player will now be cautioned rather than sent off as in previous years.

However, if a player gives a free kick or penalty away because he was holding, pulling or pushing the opponent then the sanction is still a send-off offence. As you can see in the video above, the Hawks player clearly has a handful of the Albany Creek player’s shirt which enables them to make a challenge for the ball. The referee correctly awards the penalty for the pull of the shirt, and correctly sanctions the player by sending him off.

This is a good reminder for everyone to be aware that holding, pulling or pushing is still a send-off if the referee feels that it is denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.