South West Claret. wrote:I only saw it on m.o.d last night but it was clearly accidental and not deliberate, perhaps if we have a qualified ref on here he or she maybe able to give their judgment on the issue?
Without the benefit of knowing the strick FA interpretation I would guess a yellow but I don't know for sure.
There's two separate questions here.
1. Was it a foul? To be a foul, Keane had to have acted carelessly, recklessly, or with excessive force. My own view is that it was a pure accident and Keane was not careless. (I think we can all agree he wasn't reckless or using excessive force. He just fell over.) But the referee decided that it was a foul in accordance with the laws of the game.
2. If it was a foul, did it prevent an obvious goalscoring opportunity? The ref decided Keane got the benefit of the doubt.
"Impeding with contact" is a red herring, because Keane tripped Bamford. If an offence was committed, it was a trip - variations on the old obstruction law can be ignored.
The new rule about getting a yellow if your foul occurs while making a genuine attempt to get the ball, can also be ignored. That only applies in the penalty area.
Here's the rule about tripping being a foul:
1. Direct free kick
A direct free kick is awarded if a player commits any of the following offences against an opponent in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:
• charges
• jumps at
• kicks or attempts to kick
• pushes
• strikes or attempts to strike (including head-butt)
• tackles or challenges
• trips or attempts to trip
If an offence involves contact it is penalised by a direct free kick or penalty kick.
• Careless is when a player shows a lack of attention or consideration when making a challenge or acts without precaution. No disciplinary sanction is needed
• Reckless is when a player acts with disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, an opponent and must be cautioned
• Using excessive force is when a player exceeds the necessary use of force and endangers the safety of an opponent and must be sent off
Then there's the rule about whether a foul should be a sending off for preventing a goalscoring opportunity:
Sending-off offences
A player, substitute or substituted player who commits any of the following offences is sent off:
• denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (except a goalkeeper within their penalty area)
• denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the opponents’ goal by an offence punishable by a free kick (unless
as outlined below)
• serious foul play
• spitting at an opponent or any other person
• violent conduct
• using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures
• receiving a second caution in the same match
And the bit "as outlined below", which is the new rule:
Denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity
Where a player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a deliberate handball offence the player is sent off wherever the offence occurs.
Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area which denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offending player is cautioned unless:
• The offence is holding, pulling or pushing or
• The offending player does not attempt to play the ball or there is no possibility for the player making the challenge to play the ball or
• The offence is one which is punishable by a red card wherever it occurs on the field of play (e.g. serious foul play, violent conduct etc.)
In all the above circumstances the player is sent off.
The following must be considered:
• distance between the offence and the goal
• general direction of the play
• likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball
• location and number of defenders
The underlinings are mine to show the most relevant bits. Full rules here' law 12, pages 81, 86 and 87.
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/footbal ... eutral.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;