That wasn't a foul!

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"That wasn't a foul, ref - I got the ball!" 

 

That is a statement heard over and over again on football pitches across the world, from the amateur ranks all the way up to the elite levels of international football.  

 

While many players believe that they are innocent of any foul if they make contact with the ball first, the truth is that they are not always correct in that assumption. If a player is careless, reckless or uses excessive force when tackling, the referee is entirely within his or her right to whistle for a foul.  

 

FIFA quite clear on reckless play

 

FIFA regulations regarding careless play, reckless play and the use of excessive force are as follows: 

 

"Careless" means that the player has shown a lack of attention or consideration when making his challenge or that he acted without precaution.

 

"Reckless" means that the player has acted with complete disregard of the danger to, or consequences for, his opponent.

 

"Using excessive force," means that the player has far exceeded the necessary use of force and is in danger of injuring his opponent. 

 

The difficulty for the referee lies in determining whether a player has acted carelessly, recklessly, or with excessive force.  

 

A perfect example of this occurred a few weeks ago when Toronto FC was playing the Seattle Sounders at BMO Field. 

 

Seattle midfielder Freddie Ljungberg collected a cross-field ball, took a few touches forward and was sent sprawling by a tackle from Toronto midfielder Martin Saric. The referee blew the whistle, as Ljungberg was injured on the play, but didn't feel that the challenge merited a free kick, let alone a booking.  

 

There is no doubt that the challenge was an aggressive one; the debate surrounds the issue of whether or not the challenge was careless, reckless or made with excessive force.  

 

My initial reaction was that Saric was lucky not to receive a card on the play. He did play the ball first, but his follow through was reckless enough to break Ljungberg's leg. Had the Seattle midfielder's left leg been planted, it would have snapped under the force of Saric's challenge. 

 

If presented with such a decision, some referees might have shown Saric a red card on the play, while others might have felt that a yellow card was sufficient. As it happened, Saric received neither, although he did receive a yellow card only a few minutes later for a less aggressive challenge. (Perhaps in part because the referee failed to book Saric for the challenge on Ljungberg.) 

 

Playing ball first doesn't mean you can take a player out

 

This is not meant as a criticism of the referee who called the Seattle game, nor is it meant to attack Saric's sometimes over-aggressive tackling. Instead it is meant to highlight a problem that all referees face; many players believe that if they play the ball first, they will be exempt from any disciplinary action.  

 

Those players believe that as long as they play the ball first, any contact that occurs after the fact is incidental.  They feel that as long as they get a foot on the ball before any other contact is made, they have a free pass to do as much physical damage to their opponent as possible.  

 

That is not the case, and if you are interested in learning more about the rules of the game and their application, the FIFA website has an excellent teaching section for referee's material. 

 

You might find it strange that a former central defender would be advocating awareness when it comes to illegal tackling. After all, finding a way to stop opponents used to be my stock in trade. 

 

But this is an issue that comes up over and over again in football, and a better understanding of the rules - and what does or does not constitute a bookable offence - can only benefit the game.

 

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Got a soccer question for Jason de Vos? Send your question for Jason via email to Soccer@cbc.ca or send him a message on Twitter. Jason will answer your questions in a future blog.

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