The Weekly Soccer Referee Blog – Vol 5 – Issue 43 – Sucker Punched – TWICE! – Quote of the Week

The Weekly Soccer Referee Blog
Sharpening Referee Knowledge and Judgment, One Week at a Time
Volume 5, Issue 43, November 3, 2013

Forward this to a Friend!
Please forward this Blog to your fellow soccer officials.

The purpose of this Blog is so we can all learn from each other’s experience and by doing so, avoid mistakes, make more consistent calls, and do a better job. I don’t have to make any of this up – this is what happens on the pitch.

Quote of the Week
“You’re a good ref!”

From a U-19 player this week, whose team had dominated the other team, when I noticed that they had switched to a 5-touch offense after scoring 4 goals, and told them I appreciated the sportsmanship.

This Week’s Question – Sucker Punched – Twice
On a recent IHSA Regional Final game…

The end of the second half is approaching, with the score tied 1 to 1.  Player A3 thinks a foul should have been called, and begins yelling at the referee.  The referee cautions the player, and then ejects the player.

As the player is being ejected, he throws two punches at the official, striking the official twice.

You Make the Call:

What is the call?
What is the restart? 

Last Week’s Question – Bad Throw-In
Player A1 throws the ball in from Team A’s defensive end.  As A1 puts the ball into play, you see that he does so illegally.

You see that Player A16, who was the intended recipient of the throw in, missed the ball and that the ball rolled to B12, who was in a position to create a scoring opportunity.

You Make the Call:

What is the call?
What is the restart?

What You Said:

Referee 1:
By the time the bad throw in had passed the intended recipient and gone on to an opponent, I expect you would have already blown the whistle and awarded the ball to the opponents. So, no further decision has to be made.

Referee 2:
As much as you’d like to allow the play to continue, the ball has not been put into play properly and thus a throw in must be given to team B. This is no different than an improper start/restart with kickoffs, goal kicks, corners, free kicks…

Referee 3:
Any violations of a throw in result in the other team being awarded the throw. In this case, it should restart with a B team throw in.

Referee 4:
IHSA – throw in to the other team.
USSF – retake the throw in.
There is no advantage of a ball not put into play legally. 

Referee 5:
There cannot be an advantage for an illegal throw-in, at least not legally. So sadly, illegal throw-in requires other team to take throw-in from the spot.

The hapless throw-in….. Have I “blinked’ at the appropriate moment and allowed something better? Yes, sometimes the letter of the Law needs to bend for equity’s sake. 

Referee 6:
Ball has not been properly put into play. Throw in to the opposing team. Since this is not a foul (other than foul throw) you can’t apply advantage. 

Referee 7:
There is no “advantage” for a bad throw in. The ball is not in play until its is placed legally in play. This ball was not. Whistle to stop play.

The Answer:
This one should be easy.

USSF: This is covered under Law 15, The Throw-In, where it describes how the throw-in is taken:

Procedure:

At the moment of delivering the ball, the thrower:

• Faces the field of play
• Has part of each foot either on the touch line or on the ground outside the touchline
• Holds the ball with both hands
• Delivers the ball from behind and over his head
• Delivers the ball from the point where it left the field of play. 

Since it was put into play improperly, the ball is turned over to the other team for a throw in.

IHSA Rule 15, Throw-In

Section 1 – Throw-In from the Touchline

Article 2: The ball shall be thrown in any direction from the point where it crossed the touchline by a player who is facing the field of play and has both feet on the ground on or behind the touchline.  The thrower shall use both hands (unless physical impairment would limit use to one hand) and shall deliver the ball from behind and over the head in one continuous movement.

PENALTY: Throw-in awarded to the opponent from the spot of the foul.

Advantage is applied to the Penal Fouls.  Advantage does not apply to the Admin Rules such as throw-ins, second touch, offside, obstruction, etc.

Then again, there is always Law / Rule 18, Common Sense, where you could blink this off.  Use it with caution – if you let this bad throw in go, and call the next one, expect barking from the bench.  And if you do allow this, don’t mention you allowed Advantage.  Ever.

This is a free service.  No advertising is solicited; no “donations” are requested.

Tags: center referee, punch, punches, referee, soccer, violent conduct