A&H

Players shouting "leave it"

Ref Luke 2203

Ref Luke 2203

Active Member
Level 5 Referee
Where do you stand when a player shouts "leave it"?

I have referee'd a few matches recently where a player has shouted to another member of his own team to leave the ball. I see this as giving an instruction and it would only be unsporting behaviour if it is said with the intention of putting off an opposition player.

I have had complaints from teams regarding inconsistency in how this is enforced and have seen other referee's give IDFK for a player instructing his own team mate to "leave it".

I have been refereeing for about a year now so still learning as we all are. I know what my interpretation of the law is, just interested to see what others think.
 
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I stand with the LOTG :)

'Leave it' is a myth. That probably started off from 'mum and dad' coaches teaching kids to always use a name, and somehow it went from there. For some reason, way too many people still think it's an offence.
Even players who have been playing for as long as I've been alive somehow think it's an offence. Doesn't help that the occasional ref does too!
Unless it's clearly done to put another player off, it's not an offence. And that's very, very rare. It's rare enough for it to happen - even rarer to catch it and be certain!

In fact, awarding an IFK without a yellow card for this is very strictly AGAINST the LOTG. There's just no option in the LOTG for this. The closest is the 'stops play for any other reason to give a card', which is the same clause you use when you stop play to book a player for dissent. That means there's a card.
A referee awarding an IFK for this has made an error in law and really needs to read Law 12 before they continue to falsely claim match fees.
 
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I wouldn't say they are falsely claiming match fees.

I've given an indirect free kick once in the 17 years of refereeing and that was, to me, a clear impeding of the play.
Basically, the match was level with minutes to go (cup fixture) and as a long ball had been played, the defender running back shouts, loudly, in the direction of the attacker "leave it!".
I felt that this action was unwarranted as there as no other defender in playing distance, and this call also made the attacker leave it. He told me he thought it was because he was offside and that a team mate was telling him to leave it although I never blew my whistle to stop play.
I cautioned the player for unsporting behaviour (verbally distracts an opponent during play or at a restart).

The manager of the player cautioned had no complaints.
 
CapnBloodbeard said:
I stand with the LOTG :)

'Leave it' is a myth. That probably started off from 'mum and dad' coaches teaching kids to always use a name, and somehow it went from there. For some reason, way too many people still think it's an offence.
Even players who have been playing for as long as I've been alive somehow think it's an offence. Doesn't help that the occasional ref does too!
Unless it's clearly done to put another player off, it's not an offence. And that's very, very rare. It's rare enough for it to happen - even rarer to catch it and be certain!

In fact, awarding an IFK without a yellow card is very strictly AGAINST the LOTG. There's just no option in the LOTG for this. The closest is the 'stops play for any other reason to give a card', which is the same clause you use when you stop play to book a player for dissent. That means there's a card.
A referee awarding an IFK for this has made an error in law and really needs to read Law 12 before they continue to falsely claim match fees.
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OP - Its an urbal legend. It only becomes an offence for verbal distraction offences i.e. they do it in an attempt to deceive their oponent to "leave it". At which point a caution and idfk would be appropriate.

Capn? Do u mean ifks for this offence are cautions? meaning or do u mean ALL IFK offences period must carry a yellow. If the latter I must disagree.
 
JamesL said:
Capn? Do u mean ifks for this offence are cautions? meaning or do u mean ALL IFK offences period must carry a yellow. If the latter I must disagree..
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Does that mean I can caution someone for being offside ;):cool:
The game wouldn't reach a natural end :)
 
Also consider the level, age and ability of the players. If it's hobby league, mixed ability, and an attempt at verbal distraction that has no impact on play, I will clearly warn all players - the first time.

If it's higher level, shouting "leave it" or "aaaaarg" at an opposition player to distract them is an easy YC IDFK. This happens so rarely that players will try to make it seem like a big deal - it's not. Easy YC IDFK. Don't get sucked in to arguing it. Move on with a smile:)
 
Ashleigh Goodall said:
I wouldn't say they are falsely claiming match fees.

I've given an indirect free kick once in the 17 years of refereeing and that was, to me, a clear impeding of the play.
.
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Just to be clear, this is not impeding play. Very different offence. Sounds like you made the right decision though.
JamesL said:
OP - Its an urbal legend. It only becomes an offence for verbal distraction offences i.e. they do it in an attempt to deceive their oponent to "leave it". At which point a caution and idfk would be appropriate.

Capn? Do u mean ifks for this offence are cautions? meaning or do u mean ALL IFK offences period must carry a yellow. If the latter I must disagree.
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No, only in the context of this discussion. Added a few words for clarity
 
As above, its a myth. Only time I'll penalize it is when they are trying to deceive an opponent. If it's somebody saying it to a team mate because they want the ball, or if its going out of play etc then its play on!
 
What you say matches my interpretation. I haven't given a free kick for this in a game because I have never seen a deliberate attempt at distracting a player. I have occasionally heard it said but never interpreted it as anything other than an instruction to another team mate.

I was watching my brothers match the other day and it was there a fairly experienced referee that gave the decision. The player said leave it to instruct a team member to let the ball go out of play. No opposition player was near the ball so no chance of a distraction. No caution but a free kick was given with a warning for the player (understandable as it was U15's). After a recent match where there were a few protests from players at half time confused I hadn't given any free kicks for a player merely saying 'leave it', I just wanted a sanity check! Thank you all for your responses.
 
Ref Luke 2203 said:
What you say matches my interpretation. I haven't given a free kick for this in a game because I have never seen a deliberate attempt at distracting a player. I have occasionally heard it said but never interpreted it as anything other than an instruction to another team mate.

I was watching my brothers match the other day and it was there a fairly experienced referee that gave the decision. The player said leave it to instruct a team member to let the ball go out of play. No opposition player was near the ball so no chance of a distraction. No caution but a free kick was given with a warning for the player (understandable as it was U15's). After a recent match where there were a few protests from players at half time confused I hadn't given any free kicks for a player merely saying 'leave it', I just wanted a sanity check! Thank you all for your responses.
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That is part of the problem. I'm not sure why but some referees (and a large number of players) seem to think that 'leave it', 'mine' 'let it go' etc should be fouls but there's nothing to support that, unless of course you are obviously trying to deceive an opponent. For some reason, majority of players think its only acceptable by the LOTG to put a name on it
 
Ref Luke 2203 said:
What you say matches my interpretation. I haven't given a free kick for this in a game because I have never seen a deliberate attempt at distracting a player. I have occasionally heard it said but never interpreted it as anything other than an instruction to another team mate.

I was watching my brothers match the other day and it was there a fairly experienced referee that gave the decision. The player said leave it to instruct a team member to let the ball go out of play. No opposition player was near the ball so no chance of a distraction. No caution but a free kick was given with a warning for the player (understandable as it was U15's). After a recent match where there were a few protests from players at half time confused I hadn't given any free kicks for a player merely saying 'leave it', I just wanted a sanity check! Thank you all for your responses.
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Sanity check: yup, that's nuts. Ref perhaps had deja vu or just a glitch!
 
Ref Luke 2203 said:
What you say matches my interpretation. I haven't given a free kick for this in a game because I have never seen a deliberate attempt at distracting a player. I have occasionally heard it said but never interpreted it as anything other than an instruction to another team mate.

I was watching my brothers match the other day and it was there a fairly experienced referee that gave the decision. The player said leave it to instruct a team member to let the ball go out of play. No opposition player was near the ball so no chance of a distraction. No caution but a free kick was given with a warning for the player (understandable as it was U15's). After a recent match where there were a few protests from players at half time confused I hadn't given any free kicks for a player merely saying 'leave it', I just wanted a sanity check! Thank you all for your responses.
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To be pedantic, I don't agree that it's understandable to not be issuing a caution if you stop play. If you don't want to give the caution, don't stop play - U/15 is plenty old enough to have the law applied.
There's discretion on whether you choose to stop play and caution, yes - but not discretion on whether to caution if you stop play.
Heck, there used to be a local first grade referee in my old area that I've seen award an IFK for a player doing this with nobody around - and nobody complained!!!

Used to be brilliant when I, as a young looking 18 year old, would try to tell O/25 players that no, it's not an offence and never has been....(maybe I should have tried telling them it's not because there's a law change this year? :p)
 
I agree that this is a myth. The only time I do give an IDFK is when it is said, by one player, with both sets of players close to each other and especially if in the penalty area.
 
CapnBloodbeard said:
To be pedantic, I don't agree that it's understandable to not be issuing a caution if you stop play. If you don't want to give the caution, don't stop play - U/15 is plenty old enough to have the law applied.
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Yes, yes and thrice yes!
 
Let's be clear here, giving an IDFK without cautioning is 100% incorrect in law. You are stopping play for an act of misconduct, so without the caution you have absolutely no grounds to stop play. The only place you will find verbally distracts in the laws is under the list of cautionable offences.

You really don't want to be doing this on a game I'm observing on as it is a BIG bugbear of mine. Referees perpetuate the myth by penalising "not putting a name on it" and make life that much harder for next week's referees, and the week's after, and so on.
 
Geoffrey Sharpe said:
I agree that this is a myth. The only time I do give an IDFK is when it is said, by one player, with both sets of players close to each other and especially if in the penalty area.
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I hope you mean that the only time you caution a player for this, and then restart with an indirect free kick, is when ... etc.

If you mean you are just awarding the kick without cautioning, that is not permissible. Also, the area of the field doesn't really matter and while this offence, if it happens (which is rare) more normally happens with the players relatively close, they don't necessarily have to be in close proximity either. A player could be 10 or 20 yards away from an opponent and still verbally distract them, by yelling loudly at them, for instance.
 
This topic, like a few others, resurfaces every year, which is not a bad thing because the laws change slightly every year.
The 17/18 version of the lotg, for the first time that I know of, has specifically listed verbal offences under IFK restarts.

"An indirect free kick is awarded if a player:"
" Is guilty of dissent, using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures or other verbal offences" Law 12 page 98

However as mention above, verbal distracting is also listed as an offence punishable by a caution (like dissent). What happened is either an offence or it isn't. If it is then you apply both the IFK and caution. If it isn't you do neither. Of course you have the choice of applying advantage and issue a caustion at the next stoppage as provisioned by another part of the law.

just like dissent or OFFINABUS you don't get the choice of awarding a free kick without a sanction.
 
I wonder why we are given the option to caution for hand ball offenses and we aren’t given that latitude on this?

I’m sure if you asked a player what stirred his juices more a blatant handball or something that most consider to be banter I can pretty much guess the answer.
 
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