The Ref Stop

Player pole-axed - fairly?

Murri O

Murri O

Well-Known Member
http://www.foxsports.com.au/video/football/ffa-cup/mitch-austin-flattened!639327

Comments on this hit from an FFA fixture last night. (Our equivalent of your FA cup. Round of 16 match.)

Facebook commentary varying from perfectly fine to red card.

Personally I think he's won the ball clean, stood his ground and there's no foul.....BUT....the defender could have easily toe-poked that away and avoided the collision.

To me it's pretty obvious the player had an intention to take the ball and clean the player up so just wondering if that should have any impact on the decision.

From what I've read the referee gave a yellow card.
 
The Ref Stop
But I got the ball. My opinion is in real time there is a foul after the event and a caution needed because he does seem to get the ball but was reckless in the manner of how he got it. is it a red? thats another discussion.
 
Needs more context to make a decision, and interesting to see from other angles.

I'll stick my neck out. That doesn't look like a genuine attempt to play the ball. It looks like a genuine attempt to flatten a player. The defender runs at the player, not the ball, even if the defender does touch the ball. I can justify a red card for excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent.

(I also do not like the reaction of the defenders. It's a deeply unpleasant thing to see fellow professional sportspeople crowd an injured player in order to try and cheat the referee into being lenient.)
 
I'm torn, don't like the way he went in for it particularly kind of shoulder first seemed unnecessary but then again he tackled cleanly with his feet there was always going to be a collision. Depends if any previous in game etc
 
santa sangria said:
I'll stick my neck out. That doesn't look like a genuine attempt to play the ball. It looks like a genuine attempt to flatten a player. The defender runs at the player, not the ball, even if the defender does touch the ball. I can justify a red card for excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent.
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I'll join you in sticking my neck out. I think the player is more intent on charging the opponent rather than making a tackle for the ball.
 
TopCat said:
I'm torn, don't like the way he went in for it particularly kind of shoulder first seemed unnecessary but then again he tackled cleanly with his feet there was always going to be a collision. Depends if any previous in game etc
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It's in the 15th minute, so that's fairly unlikely?

He's definitely gone directly for the player, so that rules out it simply being careless for me. My instinct was a yellow, but the more I think about it, the more I think it fits the definition of "excessive force" perfectly...
 
GraemeS said:
It's in the 15th minute, so that's fairly unlikely?

He's definitely gone directly for the player, so that rules out it simply being careless for me. My instinct was a yellow, but the more I think about it, the more I think it fits the definition of "excessive force" perfectly...
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He's gone for the ball knowing he will get the player as well that isn't the same thing as just going for the player. I think having thought about it a bit further it's reckless for me.
 
TopCat said:
He's gone for the ball knowing he will get the player as well that isn't the same thing as just going for the player. I think having thought about it a bit further it's reckless for me.
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I think it's quite the opposite in all honesty - he's gone for the player and the contact with the ball is almost incidental. The players top priority is stopping the opponent there, not the ball.
 
That's a blatant body check. He's run straight at the opponent and planted his shoulder in the opponent's chest / face - any contact with the ball is purely accidental. He's not looking at the ball as it comes towards him - he's looking at the player. The player's body language as he looks scornfully at the crumpled heap on the ground as he trots away says it all.

Unfortunately the opponent isn't looking ahead so runs into him flat out. That should be a straight red for endangering the player's safety. Hopefully he's ok, because he could have been seriously hurt.

Having said that, in my local league players would have been arguing the toss about it being a fair shoulder barge!
 
Clearly gets the ball and doesn't handle the attacker, momentum is what brings the attacker down there was no way for either the defender or the attacker to move (see attached).
 

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Think @GraemeS has this right - the ball contact is incidental - and anyway we know getting the ball doesn't exclude a foul. First view I actually thought red with an elbow coming up but watching it a few more times I think it's orange and probably yellow. Almost the definition of reckless - he knew he was going to hit the attacker, he could of avoided it, and he didn't. At least yellow.
 
boulderdomb said:
Clearly gets the ball and doesn't handle the attacker, momentum is what brings the attacker down there was no way for either the defender or the attacker to move (see attached).
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It is worrying that ANY referee could think that this is not a foul. He has won the ball, so what? You sound like a player, as @GraemeS and @WilliamD have said winning the ball is irrelevant! It is reckless at best, the force he hits him with would make me seriously consider SFP or even Violent conduct.
 
Is it not arguably reckless to run head down in that fashion with the ball not under any sort of close contro and a opposition player 10 yards in front of you? Just saying...
 
If he ever had any intention of winning the ball, he certainly had no regard for his opponent's safety through his actions. He had the time and space to make any other type of tackle that could have less of an impact, but you can see it in his stance and how looks back at his opponent. I know we are not supposed to judge intent, but by God that surely looks like he very much intended on 'making a mark' on his opponent.

Personally I believe this is a nasty bit of foul, Yellow and I would be leaning very much towards red
 
TopCat said:
Is it not arguably reckless to run head down in that fashion with the ball not under any sort of close contro and a opposition player 10 yards in front of you? Just saying...
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foolish and naive maybe but not reckless as defined by the LOTG
 
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