Making the Case for a Foul Without Any Contact

I just read on the BBC’s website that there seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding the penalty kick awarded to Steven Gerrard during England’s friendly with Hungary. Did Gerrard dive? Was there even any contact?

Well, I can tell you that I didn’t see the game, but I did see a photo of the two-footed challenge by Hungarian defender Czabo Feher and the written reports seem to confirm that it was a reckless challenge that Gerrard managed to narrowly avoid, thus preserving his health and fitness with the World Cup now less than two weeks away.

I can only assume that Gerrard did embellish things a bit, but one thing people have to remember is that there doesn’t have to be any contact to commit a foul. If you don’t believe me, turn to page 25 of the USSF printing of FIFA’s Laws of the Game.

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct - Direct Free Kick: A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following offenses in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless, or using excessive force:

-kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
-trips or attempts to trip an opponent

…and the list goes on.

Having not seen the play in question and basing my opinion solely on a photograph and a written account of the action, the case could very well be made that the defender was both careless and reckless and that although he did not make any contact, the attempt was still there. For had Gerrard not jumped over the defender’s outstetched legs then he surely would have been tripped.

“But referee…I was going for the ball”, is the typical response I hear from the guilty party. Quite simply…you didn’t get the ball…you got the man.

And in the case, it seems that Gerrard would likely have been stretchered off if he hadn’t avoided the reckless challenge. Therefore, from the referee’s perspective, one could reasonably conclude that the only reason the attacker (Gerrard) lost the ball was due to the defender’s errant and reckless challenge.

Now, maybe Gerrard did embellish things, I don’t know not. But even if he did, one could still make the case that he would’ve lost the ball regardless.

So to most people, these situations seem very controversial. But to an unbiased observer who is a student of the Laws of the Game, occurrences such as this seem much more clear-cut.

The lesson here…before you accuse a player of diving or a referee of making a horrible call, take a look at the rulebook. You might just be surprised by what you find in there. And it’ll give you a whole new perspective on the game that you already know EVERYTHING about.

Until next time…

peace,
ac