The Ref Stop

Difference between Reckless Play and Dangerous Play

MarcusSurreyRef

MarcusSurreyRef

Youth Referee
Hi all,

Had my first U16 middle today with two linos.

Game was totally fine in the first half, no complaints, nothing to warrant a caution. Gave a penalty in the first few minutes for a clear trip-up by blue player. Blue team complained but I had perfect view and so did Lino.

Got a few tips from senior Lino at HT but overall said I’ve had a great game.

Second half: a lot more feisty. I felt I kept control as best I could and stayed consistent, but more fouls were flying in and so therefore more complaining. One blue player kept getting pushed or tripped, but not enough for caution again. No persistent infringement really either. 71st minute, someone goes flying in, wins the ball but also the man, clear yellow card, no complaints. 81st minute, blue player on attack, opposition slides her down. Blue coach gets really angry saying she wants to end game now with 1 minute remaining because she wants to protect her players. I say we’ve got one minute left, I’ve given two yellows. And we continue and finish the game.

Coach says to me at end she thinks I could have used cards sooner, but I don’t think any offence warranted one. She said some other things I agree with and I replied “I’m learning as I go. This is my first U15/U16 game”. She’s totally happy with that and I go home and reflect on what I did well and what I should improve on.

Happy for some advice for U16 level but my main question is completely unrelated: what’s the difference between Reckless Play and Dangerous Play?
 
The Ref Stop
Reckless is when a player acts with disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, an opponent and must be cautioned.
Dangerous play is not necessarily a cautionable offence, typically high foot near another player, goalkeeper coming out with knee raised as attacker nears, etc.
 
'Dangerous play' could mean two things:
  • 'Playing in a dangerous manner' - this is when a player does not make contact with an opponent but still threatens injury or causes fear of injury while trying to play the ball. A common situation is when a player goes in to play the ball with their boot high/studs facing the opponent causing the opponent to take avoiding action. PIADM is an offence punishable by an indirect free kick.
  • 'Endangering the safety of an opponent' this is one way to determine that a foul used excessive force e.g. due to intensity, height, point of contact etc opponent's safety was actually endangered and therefore the offender must be sent off for Serious Foul Play. You can differentiate this from a Reckless challenge because Reckless does not actually endanger the opponent but had the potential to due to the disregard shown in the challenge.
 
I’d just add that if there was contact, you are considering careless vs. reckless and playing in a dangerous manner doesn’t come into play. If there is contact and an offense, it is direct free kick offense.

Adjusting to a new age can always be a bit of a challenge as the pace and physicality is different. If both teams are complaiming there should have been more cards, it might mean that your reckless threshold was set too high for the match.
 
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