Soccer Rules Question

S

Stuck_At_Work

1,000+ Posts
My co-ed soccer team was up 3-2 with a couple minutes left in the game.

One of our defenders was on the ground in the penalty area. As he was pushing himself up, an incoming shot came his way. Still on hands and knees, he braced himself and headed the ball in an attempt to clear it. As the ball bounced off his head, it hit one of his hands which was clearly planted on the ground. Both teams continued to play on... but the ref blew his whistle and called a hand ball in the penalty area. Both teams were in shock.

A girl scored the penalty... giving them the game in the final minutes (4-3).

I used to be a ref and it would have never crossed my mind to call that. 1) his hand was planted on the ground in an attempt to get up 2) he had no intention of hitting the ball with his hand, and 3) you just don't give away a win like that in the closing minutes...

What is y'alls take on this?
 
Refs often consider the difference between "ball to hand" and "hand to ball" when judging a hand ball offense. It sounds as though your team was screwed. In Co-ed soccer the ref should also allow the females to protect their chest with their arms/hands, like guys can protect their package on free kicks.
 
The rule you should be bitching about is giving 2 points for a girl making a PK. That's crap.
 
The loss was pretty big for us... it was the difference between us moving up a division and staying in our current division.

Oh well. It is only co-ed... we do it just for fun.
 
You got screwed.

If the hand/arm was idle and the ball hit it, that's generally not a handball, and never when there wasn't even enough time to move the hand/arm out of the way.

You seriously might consider appealing, if your league does that sort of thing. If it was some regular season game and didn't affect playoffs or anything, I wouldn't appeal it, but since it apparently affects what division you're in, I would.

I too was once a ref.
 
From USSF "Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game"

"Moving hands or arms instinctively to protect the body when suddenly faced with a fast approaching ball does not constitute deliberate contact UNLESS there is subsequent action to direct the ball once contact is made. Likewise, placing hands or arms to protect the body at a free kick or similar restart is not likely to produce an infringement unless there is a subsequent action to direct or control the ball. The fact that a player may benefit from the ball contacting the hand does not transform the otherwise accidental event into an infringement."

As long as the player did not make a secondary motion to direct the ball then it was a bad call.
 
Horrible call. You wuz robbed!

rant.gif
 
Technically, the foul is called "handing" the ball. It is not a foul if the ball hits the hand unless it is intentional or the hand "moves" the ball. If the ball hits the hand, it is not a foul. If the hand moves and the ball moves in any direction because the hand "moves" it, it is a foul.
 
Welcome to the world of recreational refs.

We had a game two weeks ago in which one of our defenders CLEANLY put a perfect slide-tackle on a forward on the other team. Now, I know that slide-tackles can be very subjective; however, this one was picture perfect. He completely got the ball well before any body contact, it was from the front, at an angle.

We really weren't even sure what the call was when the whistle blew. Anyway, the ref defended his PK call in the 92nd minute by stating, "even if the player got the ball first it's still a foul because the forward fell over the defender's outstretched legs after the ball was knocked away."

Which was a weird (and incorrect) call because he hadn't called a foul the entire game on any slide tackles.
 
Nothing shocks me when it comes to refs. Shumacher doesn't even get a stern talking talking to after what he did to Batiston in Sevilla, but other refs hand out red cards like Jehovah's witness pamphlets. I can only imagine what it is like in the rec leagues.
 
Bad call. You might say you get what you pay for with those refs although they are making $40 a game, some of them reffing 5-8 games a day.

Coed league is fun but its a joke.
 
I understand how hard it can be to ref a game. And, yes, I do realize that they get very little pay and often have to work multiple games in one day. I also understand the subjectivity of many calls and, what I see, may be different than what a ref sees.

That being said, the majority of refs in our league are pretty good.

All I'm asking for is that they understand the basic rules of the game. We have about 2 female linesmen out of about 40 in the league. Neither of them has a clue regarding the rules of offside. Not even close.
 
Rec league story. My indoor team is playing in the championship game and have no subs. We go down three goals and our goalie, who is a great field player as well is switching w/someone else and changing shirts.

The ref blows the whistle to start play and we kick off. The ref looks at the guy changing, who is putting the jersy on his head and gives him a blue card.

Great we are down a man, down three goals, so basically game over. Our player blows his top and is booted from the joint. The ref says it's against the rules to begin play w/out his jersey all the way on.

I asked him why he blew the whistle to begin play, and he didn't have an answer.
 
I have one from my indoor league..
We are playing a team made of guys from Bosnia. They are top of the league 2 games in having scored 23 goals in those 2 games. We come out all guns blazing and staying right there with them and you could see they are getting pissed. They trip one of my teammates to the ground and while he is down, the guy kicks him. A full blown kick to the stomach. The ref gives him a yellow card!!! Bad enough but it doesn't end there. My teammate is walking away and that same guy who kicked him the first time comes after him and kicks his butt. This time the ref gives him a red. We restart the game and then we realize, the other team is still playing full strength. When we pointed it to the ref, he told us, "they will play a man down the next game."

What the **** is that?? That is not the rule of the league. The worst part..they scored a goal with a minute left to win it 8-7.
 
Reasons above why I stopped playing intramural indoor. ******** refs that can't tell futbol from football.
 
Shoot.... if 3 torn ACLs, 1 torn MCL, a torn ligament in my ankle, a broken wrist, and both ankles seriosuly in the need of athroscopic surgery hasn't stopped me from playing... I doubt a bad refs will....

Let me tell you... I'm tired of hearing my Orthopedic surgeon crack the same joke every time I see him: "You are putting my grandchildren's grandchildren through college".
 
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