Tips and Clarifications

We present a selection of 'Myths' that will undoubtedly be repeated many times
before the season is through... and what should be done about them!

The 50/50 Challenge
This is usually the claim made after a 'bone crunching' tackle that leaves
the victim flat out and requiring the attention of the coach or team medic.
Often when a card is produced by the referee, 'It was a 50/50 ball ref!' is the
explanation heard. There is no foundation in the Laws of the Game, or even
in the 'Spirit of the Game' for this. The only true 50/50 occurrence in a game
is the coin toss, and after that, everything is either fair or unfair, as judged
by the referee.

You can't play the ball while on the ground
Often, a player will fall to ground, and then kick or attempt to kick the ball whilst
down there. This will often be quickly followed by cries of "Hey! They can't do that!".
And the question we must ask ourselves is "Why not?" Again, nothing in the Laws
to make this an illegal move, unless it happens to involve tripping or kicking an
opponent, or playing in a dangerous manner.

"Leave it" or "My ball"
We often instruct players to 'Put a name on it', meaning that they should yell
something like "Fred's ball!" or "Leave it Johnny". This may be good advice to
eliminate any confusion over their intentions, but is not a requirement of the Laws.
If there is no doubt about who is saying "I've got it!", and to whom they are saying
it, then no offence has been committed. If, in the opinion of the referee though,
the call was a deliberate ploy to distract an opponent, then this would have to
be judged as 'Unsporting Behaviour', and penalized with a caution to the
offending player. These are rare calls though.

Deliberate Handball is an automatic card
Not so. Deliberately handling the ball results in a direct free kick (or penalty kick)
to the opposing team, unless the referee decides to apply the 'advantage clause'.
Handball that is not deliberate should be 'no call'. The reason we sometimes
see cards produced on a 'handball' is usually because of an advantageous
opportunity that was taken away from the opponent by the deliberate use of hands.
And of course the colour of the card will reflect what kind of opportunity was denied,
a goal or obvious goalscoring opportunity being the most serious.

Shirt pulling is an automatic card
Pretty much the same as handling the ball - it depends on what is taken away
from the opponent. Of course, most shirts are pulled when the player has been
beat by the opponent, and therefore tend to stop breakaways etc, where the card
is certainly justified.

Throw-ins have to be 'near perfect' to be legal
The taking of a throw-in is not a 'skills competition' where we are asked to judge
and give marks and disallow a large number of throws. The basic requirements
of a throw in are simple - the thrower faces the field, uses both hands, throws the
ball from behind and over the head and has part of each foot on the touchline, or on
the ground behind the line. These requirements are met by the vast majority of throw-ins,
although not all of them 'look' perfect. It is no benefit to anyone to disrupt the game by
awarding throws to the opponent for supposed 'foul throws'. And yet we hear
appeals for this at all levels of soccer.