Peter Grove
RefChat Addict
Not so quick there. This is very, very close to one of the two specific sets of actions that the IFAB ruled as deliberate tricks to circumvent the law when this amendment was brought in. According to FIFA circular 488:Shocked people are even considering giving this. Absolutely nothing wrong
What I would say is that while it's not as clear an example as the player who, with a ball that is stationary or hardly moving, actually gets down on all fours and heads the ball along the ground, it's fairly close to it. I think what would be the player's saving grace for me here, is the further provision in the circular that:Examples of such tricks would include: a player who deliberately flicks the ball with his feet up onto his head in order to head the ball to his goalkeeper; or, a player who kneels down and deliberately pushes the ball to the goalkeeper with his knee, etc.
In this particular incident, I think it's difficult to be totally convinced as to what the player's motive was. On balance, I'd say it maybe wasn't done solely with the motive of circumventing the law (partly because there probably wasn't enough time for him to really consider it) but I don't think it's quite as clear-cut a case as some are making it out to be.the referee must only be convinced that [circumventing the law] was the player’s motive.
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