A&H

Threshold for Violent Conduct (kicking)

O

OllieC

New Member
Step 7 Saturday game between home team (red) and away team (blue). Red player moving towards goal line alongside blue defender goal side of him, both go down, I give a free kick to the defending team, no complaints here.

Once both players have got to their feet, the blue player blatantly kicks the back of the red players leg. There is absolutely no doubt here that it was an intentional kick by the blue player- I issue a red card for Violent Conduct. As I called the blue player over the red player checks that I am calling the blue player over in relation to the kick and while taking a name, the blue player acknowledges that he reacted with a kick so at this point both players have acknowledged that the kick has occurred.

As I explain to the player that it is a sending off offence and pull out the red card, this is met by surprise from both players, who evidently thought a yellow would have sufficed. At the time of the incident, I didn't think there was much force in the kick and the red player, although acknowledging that it happened, didn't react dramatically by throwing himself on the floor or losing his temper.

Despite the lack of force, my opinion was that kicking a player intentionally in the back of the legs several seconds after the whistle should not happen on a football pitch and letting it go could set a dangerous bar for the rest of the game. My question is should this always be a red card even if it lacks the force to potentially injure a player?

It's probably worth adding that although this was a close 1 goal game at the time (red 1-0) the game hadn't seen any reckless/dangerous challenges up to this point.
 
The Referee Store
If the intent was there (which it does reading your post) I would say Red - it is one of those where you really have to see it and potentially for more details - time of the foul, were they time wasting etc, had something been said to cause they to retaliate (no excuse I know!!) ?, being a newer ref myself (2nd season) I have my own demons for cards issued, however only you can control your game and manage it to the best of your ability within the LoTG
 
You have to decide whether the player kicking out did so with excessive force or brutality. If you think they did then red is correct, if you don't then a caution for adopting an aggressive attitude might be more appropriate. As it is written I'm not sure it ticks either of those, although you could argue any force is excessive as there was no need to kick out, but you were there so your call is all that matters.
 
RustyRef said:
You have to decide whether the player kicking out did so with excessive force or brutality. If you think they did then red is correct, if you don't then a caution for adopting an aggressive attitude might be more appropriate. As it is written I'm not sure it ticks either of those, although you could argue any force is excessive as there was no need to kick out, but you were there so your call is all that matters.
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If neither of those, usb, shows a lack of respect for the game?

In fairness AAA could work, the attitude the player adopted was aggressive shown by the kick.

That's my thinking.
 
RustyRef said:
You have to decide whether the player kicking out did so with excessive force or brutality. If you think they did then red is correct, if you don't then a caution for adopting an aggressive attitude might be more appropriate. As it is written I'm not sure it ticks either of those, although you could argue any force is excessive as there was no need to kick out, but you were there so your call is all that matters.
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This was really the only reason I doubted whether the red was the right course of action:
Was there excessive force or brutality? No
Should any player stay on the pitch after kicking another player? In my opinion no but I was interested to see what others though

AAA would have been my go to caution offence here had I gone the other way I think
 
Just to support your decision to go with the red card, I had a similar incident when an attacker had a 'petulant' kick at a defender who had laughed at him for claiming a corner. As soon as he realised I had seen the contact the striker said 'Is that a red'.......I went with yellow for AAA because I saw the kick as half hearted and more of a childish trip...... 10 minutes later the defender takes the attacker out in full flight and I end up with a mass con and parents on the pitch getting involved (it was an U17s game).

After the dust settled, and it took awhile, I was the one getting the blame for the second incident because I never issued a red card to the attacker originally.

So as others have rightly said in the LoTG you were right and the player only has himself to blame
 
st john said:
Just to support your decision to go with the red card, I had a similar incident when an attacker had a 'petulant' kick at a defender who had laughed at him for claiming a corner. As soon as he realised I had seen the contact the striker said 'Is that a red'.......I went with yellow for AAA because I saw the kick as half hearted and more of a childish trip...... 10 minutes later the defender takes the attacker out in full flight and I end up with a mass con and parents on the pitch getting involved (it was an U17s game).

After the dust settled, and it took awhile, I was the one getting the blame for the second incident because I never issued a red card to the attacker originally.

So as others have rightly said in the LoTG you were right and the player only has himself to blame
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I had one earlier in the season. But it was about 4 ’petulant’ kicks from the floor but they increased in velocity each time. Was just stupid.

I’d accept a yellow for AAA if it were once and very light, but as soon as it looks like they are angrily and violently striking them, it generally meets the threshold for an “off you pop” card!

I think you know if you are there!
 
If we send off for some of the "headbutts" we see at all levels (thinking the soft tap of the head that results in a player hitting the deck dramatically), then this kick should be a red
 
For anything other than a light, "childish" kick out, you should be thinking RED first. The very action of kicking out,by default, is VC. Also, it leads as others have said to potential revenge tackles by the defender, which create bigger problems.

In you own mind, you need to consider why it would be yellow rather than RED. The temperature of the match, the teams involved, closeness of the match, game time left are all factors but principally "if you don't send off, will your match control suffer" is the question to be answered.
 
Had one of these as well, attacker knew he was gone the moment he realised I'd seen it. He'd been fouled during a promising attack and kicked out retaliation. No issues from anyone there, seems you handled it correctly
 
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