Spot on!In terms of foul recognition, "hands in the back" isn't actually a foul. It's not a non-contact sport, it's perfectly legal for a player to use their hands to feel out the position of an opponent while looking for a high ball. So don't get conned into giving soft ones for every contact, because that creates a really difficult standard to consistently uphold.
What I'm looking for is the action of straightening arms from bent, which is the giveaway for a push - of vice-versa for a pull if they happen to have a handful of the opponent's shirt. Bent arms or straight arms that remain the same are almost always going to be legal when challenging for a high ball.
The easiest way to improve your recognition of this is to get side-on, it's much easier to see this from the side of the two competing players and you should be targeting getting in this position from every long GK and defensive FK as an absolute minimum. It's a little harder to reliably be in this position during open play, but still not impossible and still worth going for every time the ball goes up high.
Remember that the ball in the air cannot commit a foul, so when it does go up, take a quick glance to work out where it's going then focus on the ground in the drop zone. Players there are where you'll need to make a call, quite possibly before the ball even arrives, so there's no point looking elsewhere.
In terms of explaining it, my go-to shout is "No push there, he's allowed to feel where he is" - doesn't make much sense written out! But in context that's usually clear to the players.
I like this way of thinking about it.Look for displacement that disadvantages an opponent. (That’s a bit of a basketball mindset, but I think it gets at when the pushing crosses a line.)
I always try and be mindful of what the player who claims he's being pushed in the back is doing.Hi All
Something I struggle to get consistency with, the line between a defender pushing an attacker in the back versus right to stand ground (prompting shouts of hands in the back ref!).
Any advice on this please, what tips or general rules do you use?
Another good way to think about itI always try and be mindful of what the player who claims he's being pushed in the back is doing.
Often, their opponent will place their hands in the small of their back simply to avoid their toes/instep being trampled on by a player who is backing into them. A painful injury as I know to my cost.
If I see an innocuous but clear push in the back and I think it's impacted the "pushed player's" ability to collect, control or play the ball then for me that's careless and I'm giving it.
Over a meter away seems like a good general rule of thumb for good shielding vs illegal obstruction.I see the same situation when a defender is sheperding the ball out and is probably within a meter of the ball. Except when a attacking player comes in and they push or block access to the ball over a meter away until its gone out. Now you never (or rarely ever) see this on TV but I've always thought that as soon as you move over kicking distance away from the ball I call it as obstruction.
Is this correct or should I be letting it go (like they do in professional games it seems)?