PinnerPaul
RefChat Addict
I've seen Anthony Taylor and other UCL refs give advantage for holding someone without it being clearly a promising attack and then going back and caution for USB or showing a lack of respect for the game. IFAB, imo, does give leniency to the referee to use the ethos of the laws to uphold them in 'what football expects'. Wouldn't surprise me to see the laws updated to reflect that deliberate handballs (which were mandatory YCs in Spain for years for being USB- lack of respect) and extra holding/pulling are cautionable offenses. A diving save of course can't be CR/EF and even though it says that SPA-H is a YC, it's never stated other handballs can't fall under lack of respect for the game, which e.g. just catching the ball in midfield can obviously be
Cautioning for a lack of respect for the game, or anything else, is a cop out. The law was changed to bring SPA in line with DOGSO, if you can sell that the challenge was reckless then fine, go for it. But if it was something like a minor shirt pull you can't call that reckless, and the fact that law specifically says that you can't caution after playing advantage for SPA means you would be incorrect in law to make up a "lack of respect for the game" caution. Exactly the same as if you played advantage on a clear DOGSO, you can't go back and red card for it even if you felt the challenge had a lack of respect for the game.
I don't necessarily agree with this particular law change, but it is what it is. Just as I don't agree with the new law about drop ball for the ball hitting the referee, but I still applied it tonight even though it led to a dropped ball on the edge of the defending team's penalty area and a load of grief for me and explaining to do.
Agree Rusty about the laws we don't like, but can't just ignore. Those arguing about the top level examples being for 'lack of respect' - how do you know - unless you have access to referee's report no way of knowing what caution code/reason the referee has used?
On the the flip side, as we know, have discussed and I have personally heard confirmed from a top level referee, the GK six second law IS universally ignored.