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MISCONDUCT |
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MISCONDUCT |
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CATEGORIES OF MISCONDUCT Law XII identifies five categories of action for which a player may be cautioned and shown the yellow card. Another four categories of action are identified for which a player may be sent off the field (expelled or dismissed) and shown the red card. A player sent from the field under Law XII may not be replaced (i.e., the team must continue the match with one fewer player). A substitute sent from the field under Law XII also may not be replaced, but this does not alter the number of players his team may field. RESTARTS FOR MISCONDUCT If play is stopped solely to deal with misconduct committed by a player on the field, the proper restart is an indirect free kick from the location of the misconduct (subject to the conditions imposed by Law VIII and Law XIII). If play is stopped solely to deal with misconduct committed by a substitute, for misconduct committed off the field of play, or for team officials who fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner, the restart is a dropped ball taken from where the ball was when the play was stopped (subject to the special circumstances of Law VIII). If play is stopped for any reason in addition to misconduct, the restart is determined by the other reason. The restart cannot be a direct free kick unless the reason for the stoppage included a penal foul. If misconduct occurs while play is stopped, the restart is determined by the original reason for the stoppage.
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Click on picture for a video about Misconduct! |
WHEN TO PUNISH MISCONDUCT
Law V empowers the referee to take "disciplinary action against players guilty of cautionable and sending-off offenses. He is not obliged to take this action immediately, but must do so when the ball next goes out of play." If the referee has applied advantage and delayed punishment for misconduct until the next stoppage, he must normally act quickly to prevent play from restarting when the next stoppage occurs so that the punishment will be recorded and the proper card displayed. In cases of serious misconduct where a sending-off will be ordered, the referee must be certain that he has the full opportunity to take the necessary actions despite the apparent loss of advantage due to a quick restart opportunity being denied. However, if the misconduct was less serious and the team that suffered the misconduct wishes to put the ball back into play quickly, the referee should weigh the value of the quick restart against the necessity to deal with the misconduct. If a quick restart is in the best interest of the game, then the referee should not interfere. In such a case, the referee must remember that by giving an immediate restart he no longer has the authority to caution the offender. He should take the next opportunity to warn the offending player about his conduct.
UNSPORTING BEHAVIOR -
Among the specific actions considered cautionable as unsporting behavior, the following are noted.
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DISSENT Dissent is committed by words, actions (including gestures), or a combination of the two. The referee should evaluate dissent in terms of content (what exactly is said or done), loudness (the extent to which the dissent can be seen or heard widely), and whether it is clearly directed at an official. The objective in dealing with dissent is to support the spirit of the game, to maintain the authority of the officials, and to reduce the likelihood of such behavior becoming widespread. A goalkeeper who leaves the penalty area (not beckoned by the referee) to engage the referee in debate regarding a decision has committed dissent. |
PERSISTENT INFRINGEMENT
Persistent infringement occurs either when a player repeatedly commits fouls or infringements or participates in a pattern of fouls directed against the same opponent. It is not necessary for the multiple fouls to be of the same type or all to be penal fouls, but infringements must be among those covered in law XII or involve failure to maintain the distance required under Laws XIV and XVII. The referee must first warn the player that the pattern has been observed and, upon a subsequent violation, must then issue the caution. In cases where the referee sees a pattern of fouls directed against a single opponent, it is proper to warn the team that the pattern has been seen and then to caution the next player who continues the pattern, even if this specific player may not have previously committed a foul against this single opponent.
Other examples of persistent infringement include a player who:
Violates Law XIV again, having previously been warned
Fails to start or restart play properly or promptly, having previously been warned
If playing as a goalkeeper, wastes time (excessive time while holding the ball), having previously been warned or penalized for this behavior
DELAYS THE RESTART OF PLAY
The following are specific examples of this form of misconduct:
Kicks or throws the ball away or holds the ball to prevent or delay a free kick, throw-in, or corner kick restart by an opponent
Fails to restart play after being so instructed by the referee
Excessively celebrates a goal
Fails to return to the field from a mid-game break, fails to perform a kick-off when signaled by the referee, or fails to be in a correct position for a kick-off.
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FAILS TO RESPECT THE REQUIRED DISTANCE This category of misconduct covers the requirement to be at least ten yards away from an opponent's free kick or corner kick. Cautions under this category are at the discretion of the referee. (See Law XIII for a more detailed discussion.) |
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ENTERS OR RE-ENTERS THE FIELD OF PLAY WITHOUT
THE REFEREE'S PERMISSION
Players who leave the field with the referee's permission require the referee's permission to return to the field. Examples of this include a player who attempts to come onto the field"
After being instructed to leave the field to correct equipment
After leaving to receive treatment for an injury
After leaving to receive treatment for bleeding or to replace a blood-soaked uniform
After being substituted
Before receiving permission to enter as a substitute
DELIBERATELY LEAVES THE FIELD OF PLAY WITHOUT PERMISSION
This category of misconduct normally refers to a situation in which an opponent leaves the field in an attempt, in the opinion of the referee, to place an attacker in an apparent offside position.
A player who commits serious foul play, violent conduct, a deliberate handling of the ball which denies a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, or a foul which denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity must be sent from the field. These categories of misconduct are discussed in more details below. A player who commits any of the following actions will also be sent from the field:
Spits at an opponent or any other person
Uses offensive, insulting, or abusive language (including nonverbal language or actions)
Receives a second caution in the same match
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HOW TO ADMINISTER THE SEND-OFF FOR A SECOND YELLOW A player who receives a second caution must be shown the yellow card for the second caution and must then be shown the red card for the sending-off offense. The second caution leading to dismissal from the field can occur at any time during the match. |
EVALUATING LANGUAGE
The referee should judge offensive, insulting, or abusive language according to its content (the specific words or actions used), the extent to which the language can be heard by others beyond the immediate vicinity of the player, and whether the language is directed at officials, opponents, or teammates.
SERIOUS FOUL PLAY AND VIOLENT CONDUCT
Soccer is a tough, combative, contact sport where the contest to gain possession of the ball should nonetheless be fair and sporting. Serious Foul Play and the related offense of Violent Conduct are strictly forbidden. They violate the Spirit of the Game and the referee must respond to them by stringently applying the Laws of the Game: The punishment is ejection (players) or dismissal (non-players).
Referees must be particularly vigilant regarding
offenses which are too severe for a caution and which include one or more of the
following additional elements:
Retaliation
Tackling from behind
One or both feet, with cleats showing, above the ground
Violent or disproportionate force
No chance of playing the ball
Such offenses are completely unacceptable to the Spirit of the Game, the enjoyment of spectators, the education of youth players, and the safety of the players themselves. All violations of the Law which meet these criteria must be called (stopping playing or applying advantage) and the appropriate further punishment for misconduct must be administered.
SERIOUS FOUL PLAY
It is serious foul play when a player uses violence (disproportionate force) when challenging for the ball on the field against an opponent. There can be no serious foul play against a teammate, the referee, an assistant referee, a spectator, etc. The use of violence or disproportionate force against an opponent under any other conditions must be punished as violent conduct.
VIOLENT CONDUCT
It is violent conduct when a player (or substitute) is guilty of aggression towards an opponent (when they are not contesting for the ball) or towards any other person (one of his teammates, the referee, an assistant referee, a spectator, etc.). The ball can be in or out of play. The aggression can occur either on or off the field of play.
RESTARTS
The restart for serious foul play is either a direct free kick or a penalty kick. Restarts are more complicated for violent conduct. This chart illustrates the restarts appropriate to incidents of violent conduct:
| OFFENSE COMMITTED | ON FIELD BY PLAYER | OFF FIELD BY ANYONE OR ON FIELD BY NON-PLAYER | |
| AGAINST | OPPONENT | ANY OTHER PERSON | OPPONENT OR ANY OTHER PERSON |
| RESTART | DFK FROM SPOT OF OFFENSE (PK)* | IFK FROM SPOT OF OFFENSE* | DROPPED BALL AT SPOT WHERE WAS* |
| PUNISHMENT |
EJECTION |
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| BALL OUT OF PLAY?
RESTART MUST BE APPROPRIATE TO REASON BALL WAS OUT OF PLAY |
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| *SUBJECT TO THE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES LISTED IN LAW VIII | |||
DENYING A GOAL OR AN OBVIOUS GOAL-SCORING OPPORTUNITY
There are two ejection offenses that deal with denying an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. These occur in cases where a player: (a) "denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)" or (b) "denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offense punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick." This would apply to any player other than a goalkeeper in his own penalty area who handles a ball to prevent it from entering the goal, whether the ball was last played by the opposing team or not.
The denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is punished by ejection (red card) the guilty player, even though there may have been no contact between the players involved.
CRITERIA FOR AN OBVIOUS GOAL-SCORING
OPPORTUNITY
The referee must consider the four (4) Ds when evaluating a situation as an obvious goal-scoring opportunity
Direction of play (the player must be running toward the opponents' goal, not toward the goal line or the corner).
Distance to the ball - (could the player have reached it to play it?).
Defenders - The location and number of opponents able to participate immediately (one or none between the player and the goal, in addition to the opponent infringing Law XII).
Distance from the goal - The location of the foul (the farther from the goal, the less likely it that an obvious goal-scoring opportunity existed). There was a reasonable chance for a shot (not a definite goal, but at least a chance to shoot).
Even if all these criteria are met, it is still the judgment and opinion of the referee that determines if the event was an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
APPLYING THE ADVANTAGE
Even if the referee makes use of the advantage clause during an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, he can still punish the offender after the fact. If a goal is directly scored despite the attempted intervention by a defender handling the ball, fouling an opponent, or committing misconduct, the offender cannot be ejected for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, but he can still be cautioned for unsporting behavior or ejected for serious foul play of the foul involved disproportionate force. However, if in these circumstances the goal was scored following a second or immediate subsequent play of the ball, the offender must nevertheless be ejected because his action prevented a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity during the first play when the infringement occurred.
