Contested drop balls

[aggi]

Drop balls have been a bit of a farce for a while but I've just noticed that the rule changes this year are getting rid of contested drop balls altogether.

•If play is stopped inside the penalty area, the ball will be dropped for the goalkeeper
•If play is stopped outside the penalty area, the ball will be dropped for one player of the team that last touched the ball at the point of the last touch
•In all cases, all the other players (of both teams) must be at least 4m (4.5yds) away
•If the ball touches the referee (or another match official) and goes into the goal, team possession changes or a promising attack starts, a dropped ball is awarded

I wonder if this means they'll just end up being treated as a free kick now.

[ClaretTony]

I used to like the traditional bounce up. You rarely see it now.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

So next season if the ref gets in the way and alters play then we get the ball back?

[dpinsussex]

So next season if the ref gets in the way and alters play then we get the ball back?

Correct

Happened last night in the lionesses game.

Hit the ref and created a promising attack for Spain. Drop ball England

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Ok, I think that's good, if enforced properly because there are always instances throughout a season where teams end up on the back foot when it's hit the ref and possession has switched.

No doubt for some it will be something else that ruins the game

[Dougall]

No remedy though for when the ref impedes a Burnley midfielder who's about to intercept an advancing opponent, who then proceeds unchallenged, leading to a goal?
Thought not!!

[dpinsussex]

Interpretation of a promising attack will be the debatable point

[dpinsussex]

No remedy though for when the ref impedes a Burnley midfielder who's about to intercept an advancing opponent, who then proceeds unchallenged, leading to a goal?
Thought not!!

Works both ways

[Falcon]

Interpretation of a promising attack will be the debatable point

I expect most times the possession changing hands bit will cover most situations leading to a 'promising attack'

[ClaretTony]

No remedy though for when the ref impedes a Burnley midfielder who's about to intercept an advancing opponent, who then proceeds unchallenged, leading to a goal?
Thought not!!

And that was the one crucial instance last season

[houseboy]

Will all these dropped balls make better men of everyone?




Well, someone had to lower the tone.

[dandeclaret]

Never let it be said that football doesn’t tackle the hard hitting major issues. I for one am glad that this item that threatened the very survival of the game has been tackled. Were it not for a radical change to this and the kick off, football could be at risk. Ignore the nay sayers who tell you that the fit and proper person test is pointless, that Diving is at epidemic proportions and that racism is creeping back into the game, and that youth development routes are totally blocked forcing the best players to move abroad. As long as the drop ball is sorted, the game should survive for another 240 years.

[Foulthrow]

Last person I heard contesting dropped balls was Michael Jackson.

[Dougall]

And that was the one crucial instance last season

That was my point, Tony - it's a bit like the arguments over handball.
In many/most instances it could be argued that the decision makes little difference, but in the penalty area it's critical.
Similarly, in many cases, the ref getting in the way might be inconsequential, but in the case I was hinting at, it determines where the points go!!
As things operate at present, I'd be pretty confident that the application of the rule will not be consistent - much like decisions on penalties.

[Tricky Trevor]

Correct
Happened last night in the lionesses game.
Hit the ref and created a promising attack for Spain. Drop ball England

And was disputed by players who didn’t know the rule.

Re:refs getting in the way. David Jones suffered from this regularly. The number of times he received the ball and the first man he had to beat was the ref were uncountable. The poor ones run their diagonal with no appreciation of the game going on around them.

[wilks_bfc]

And was disputed by players who didn’t know the rule.

Re:refs getting in the way. David Jones suffered from this regularly. The number of times he received the ball and the first man he had to beat was the ref were uncountable. The poor ones run their diagonal with no appreciation of the game going on around them.

Could it be that they weren’t aware that these laws were being enforced in last nights game?
It was announced these laws were coming in/changed for 19/20 so changing during this season may have caused confusion

[Tricky Trevor]

Could it be that they weren’t aware that these laws were being enforced in last nights game?
It was announced these laws were coming in/changed for 19/20 so changing during this season may have caused confusion

Probably correct but the managers should have been informed and it would fall on them to tell their squads.

[timshorts]

It's a nice way to slow down play in the last minute or two and a goal up. Deliberately play it at the ref in the centre of the park and then hoof a long ball away before he stops play

[dpinsussex]

It's a nice way to slow down play in the last minute or two and a goal up. Deliberately play it at the ref in the centre of the park and then hoof a long ball away before he stops play

And given that referees are negatively assessed if the ball hits them you will see referees even further from play making it more difficult to be credible I decision making. Tough times ahead my fellow clarets