I dropped a big boll@ck today

[RefJef]

I made a howler today.

As it happens, the right outcome might have been reached but I'll admit if it did, it was despite my actions, not because of it.

Any thoughts welcome. Here goes:

Blues v Whites, OA, 4-4 with circa 10 mins to go. White corner, I position myself on or around edge of box. Blues win the ball, hoof it up field, a rapid break is on.

I'm sprinting to get up with play. Blue attacker & white defender are chasing the ball, white keeper comes out to clear (everyone else is still in the blue half).

Mix up between white defender & keeper. Keeper (out of his box - level with edge of D, perhaps) throws up his hands, touches ball, but it falls beyond him (between him and goal) and blue attacker races onto the ball. He's still got a bit to do (bring ball under control & shoot) but in my mind, he's going to (has to) score. I'm still sprinting to keep up (get up with) play.

Blue attacker about 10 yards out and about to roll the ball into the net when the white defender makes a fantastic covering tackle and clears the ball the behind the goal, the ball passing a yard from the post. I immediately signal for a corner. All this has happened in seconds - the time it has taken me to sprint from one box to the other.

The blue attacker is looking a bit quizzical "what is it ref?" "Corner" I reply. My initial thoughts were that he was angling for a penalty for the challenge from the white defender. It was a great covering tackle, no penalty.

In all the excitement and sprinting, I'd completely missed that the keeper handled out of his area! (I was probably just into the attacking half when this happened)

So what should I have done? As I see it, there are few options:

1. Play on, I really did think that blues were going to score (although I'll be honest, I wasn't playing advantage, didn't call advantage or signal it. I was too busy sprinting and wrapped up in the moment. I think that if the ball hadn't broken for blues the keeper's foul would have been obvious and I'd have blown up - it was the fact that play continued as breakneck speed that made me miss it.) Blues had an excellent opportunity to score, but didn't. Restart with a corner. This is what happened.
2. Blow up when the keeper handled the ball. Red card for dogso; restart with direct free kick outside the area. I think the blue striker might have been miffed that I robbed him of a good goal scoring opportunity - he'd have more likely scored from the free play than the free kick, although sending the keeper off would have mitigated this.
3. Allow play to continue, restart with a corner once missed. Yellow card for keeper.
4. Allow play to continue, go back to the handball when defender cleared (no advantage accrued), restart with DFK, Yellow for keeper.

And an additional thought - if blues had scored, should I still have Yellow carded the keeper for the handball?

I admit, I made a mistake today - missing the handball (or more accurately, where the keeper handled the ball). It was a good natured pre-season friendly played by two footballing sides that ended 4-4 and at the end of the game no-one was too bothered about my **** up: home team managers (blues) were more than happy and hope to see me again in the season(!) But I appreciate that in a close league encounter, the outcome could have been very different.

Sorry for the long post - probably taken you longer to read than for the whole event to unfold, but as ever, I'm keen to learn, so would be happy to hear opinions, advice and suggestions.

 

[Pierluigi]

100% number 3. The keeper didn't deny an obvious goalscoring opportunity as there was still a great opportunity to score presented, however there was a deliberate handball for which the GK must be punished. As a sequence of events:

Handball - PLAY ON ADVANTAGE - Tackle - Corner - Caution keeper - Restart play

Plus: Yes, had blue scored in law the keeper should still have been cautioned.

 

[DB]

Reading this, I would say you got it right. You believed that an opportunity to score existed, so you didn't blow. Good call. I wouldn't call it DOGSO.

Yes, you could have (and maybe should have as a sign of acknowledgement of the offence) booked the goalkeeper for handball.

 

[JamesL]

My two pence...

If you were playing advantage, which it sounds like you were, albeit without the correct signals, how long had passed between the handball and the covering challenge? Was it a short enough time that you could have gone back to the offence? The way I read your post is the advantage you should have been playing didn't accrue and therefore you are within your rights to penalise the offence still.

I'm still with caution as it sounds like it wasn't the keepers actions that denied the DOGSO as that OGSO sounds like it was presented to the attacker still anyway.

It all depends on timescales really and if you feel the attacker did reap the benefitsof the "advantage".

 

[DB]

In this situation would you not say that an advantage did accrue but the attacker failed to make the most of it? Personally, if I think a player has a good enough opportunity to score but fails to take it, I won't be giving him/her another bite of the cherry.

 

[JamesL]

In this situation would you not say that an advantage did accrue but the attacker failed to make the most of it? Personally, if I think a player has a good enough opportunity to score but fails to take it, I won't be giving him/her another bite of the cherry.

Depends on reaction times for me. Did he reasonably have enough time to take the ball under control and actually get an effort on goal? Is it fair that the defender was able to react quicker and prevent him from having an advantage. Based how quick @RefJef says this all happened I'd lean towards that the advantage didnt accrue as opposed to the advantage was wasted. Just because he had to score does t neccessarily mean his shortcomings were the reason for failure to.
Suppose you had to be there sure refjef will fill us in. I do agree though if its the latter and its wasted, corner and caution.

 

[DB]

Good response there Those were my thoughts also. Definitely a "YHTBT" scenario

 

[RefJef]

Thanks for all your replies so far - really useful.

I like that idea that I was playing advantage, albeit unconsciously. I'm sure that if the ball had cannoned away harmlessly from the keeper everything would have slowed down, I'd have noted the position of the keeper (out of his area) & blown up. Play continued because everyone (well, the defender, keeper & attacker - everyone else was still on the other half!) just kept playing.

I thought one of two things was going to happen - blues would score, or white defender would foul him (now in the box) thereby giving a penalty (a better outcome than DFK outside the box.)

I definitely could have sold going back for the free kick, but I do think that they had a good opportunity (advantage) so a corner was the correct restart (but I should have carded the keeper).

A shame we don't have any video footage, it would, I suspect, have made an interesting learning tool.

 

[ref craig]

I'd gone 3 then come back with caution

 

[Sheffields Finest]

Don't worry, if they didn't spot it then its not an on-field error. Obviously its a time thing as they can't have a great chance to score and then go back for a second stab... Good one to discuss though!!

 

[Goldfish]

Hi
Had something similar a few seasons ago. GK fouls attacker outside penalty area on a one on one, ball falls nicely to a team mate who carries the ball on some 7/8 yards and on his weaker foot hits the side netting. I restarted with a goal kick and left it at that. Focus on attention was on the poor miss. I felt that if I cautioned the GK I was in some way escalating that foul into something more than it was which an attempt to tackle for the ball before advantage. Elsewhere it would not be a caution. Without the "advantage" it would have been a DFK and a red card for a DOGSO.
As described in the OP it has to be one of those YHTBT moments when without the attacker actually getting to the ball first because the actions of the GK (which has allowed the defender to get back to cover) then GK has denied the obvious GSO so it is a red card and a DFK. The gap in the description is whether the attacker actually played the ball after the DHB or was the tackle the only play of the ball?

 

[santa sangria]

From your explanation it sounds like you were "waiting to see if the advantage accrued"... because the defender made the tackle before the attacker got a chance to score, you should have then blown for the DFK and RC.

You are describing a RC offence that you clearly saw. In the ideal case, I think you were "correct" to see if the advantage would accrue here, as at first glance it seems like it was a guilt-edged goalscoring chance.

Even if you had signalled or started to signal advantage or were thinking advantage, you could still call it back. This discussion has been had before. No one likes to bring back the play after the advantage signal, and it won't make you popular, but sometimes you have to IMHO because of the timing of incidents.