I see some degree of obstruction or impeding progress in almost ever match but it is rarely penalised, myself included. This past Saturday I had an instance that was so blatant I felt I had to penalise. Yellow played a long ball into space between last red defender/yellow attacker and red goalkeeper. The yellow attacker gave chase but the red defender clearly wanted the ball to run through to his keeper - he halted his own run, looked over his shoulder to see where the attacker was then took a step to the side to block the attackers run. At the time the ball was equidistant between the attacker/defender and the keeper. It would have been difficult to script a better example of obstruction. I blew the whistle and awarded a free kick to yellow to almost universal shock and uproar from the red team. Reflecting after the game I was satisfied that I had made the correct decision and the reaction to my decision was, in part, due to the scarcity with which obstruction is penalised.
What are your thoughts? Is obstruction common in the game? Should it be penalised more?
What are your thoughts? Is obstruction common in the game? Should it be penalised more?