The Ref Stop

Two offences 'at the same time'

J

JH

RefChat Addict
"punishes the more serious offence, in terms of sanction, restart,
physical severity and tactical impact, when more than one offence occurs
at the same time" say the laws

It sounds stupid, but do they literally mean the exact same time, or just in a really short space of time?

For example, if A drags B to the floor and B retaliates a second later by punching A - Are you giving a freekick to B for original offence and red to B for retaliation, or just red to B and freekick to A, because it was more serious?
 
The Ref Stop
Caution A for original offence (if warranted) then RED to B & free kick to A for secondary offence of punching.
 
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JH said:
"punishes the more serious offence, in terms of sanction, restart,
physical severity and tactical impact, when more than one offence occurs
at the same time" say the laws

It sounds stupid, but do they literally mean the exact same time, or just in a really short space of time?

For example, if A drags B to the floor and B retaliates a second later by punching A - Are you giving a freekick to B for original offence and red to B for retaliation, or just red to B and freekick to A, because it was more serious?
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They are meant for offences at exactly the same time. There has been a clarification on this in circular 11, Sept 17.

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offences at the same time are generally those committed by the same player with the same act. For example a reckless challenge which is also DOGSO. A second touch after a restart (IFK) which is also a deliberate handball (DFK/Pen). Offences committed by different payers are almost never at exactly at the same time and one happens at least a fraction of a second before the other. But if they are very very close (e.g., two players sliding into a loose ball with studs showing at almost the same time), you may choose to threat them as at the same time if it helps you with match control. Your example though is clearly one after the other and should never be interpreted at the same time. Free kick for original offence is the correct restart.
 
One I wish I had your knowledge in my head for an hour & a half every Sunday morning.
 
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one said:
offences at the same time are generally those committed by the same player with the same act. For example a reckless challenge which is also DOGSO. A second touch after a restart (IFK) which is also a deliberate handball (DFK/Pen).
Click to expand...

I never thought about it this way, I'd always jumped to offences from opposing players. I guess it seems natural that you punish DOGSO rather than reckless challenge etc. This has improved my understanding, thanks.
 
Great learning thread this for the new members!

Never seen this in all my games, Had a double yellow but not a double red!
 
A lot of referees get in a mess over this, and as @one has said it is very, very rare to see a player commit two offences at exactly the same time, normally there is a gap between them even if just milliseconds. Take another example, a keeper comes racing out of his area and punches the ball, but you wouldn't go DOGSO as there are covering players and the attacker wasn't even close to being in control of the ball. However, at exactly he same time as he punches the ball he also kicks the attacker in the chest, or punches him in the head, take your pick.

You have a DFK and potential caution for a handling offence, or you have a clear case of SFP. Clearly the latter is the more serious, so you send him off for that even though the restart would be the same for either offence.
 
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One of the examples from FIFA when this Law change came out was from a Juventus match a couple of years ago.

Play coming down the middle of the pitch, Juventus player passes it wide to a player outside the penalty area (to his left facing goal) and continues to run toward the penalty mark. As that first player approaches the edge of the penalty area, he's pulled down (fully outside) by a defender, just as the player receiving the ball is tackled by another defender.

In that case, the tackle was considered careless, the hold was considered stupid (but not stopping a promising attack). As such, the determination on restart came down to tactical advantage, which is to have a FK right outside the PA dead centre of the goal rather than having it wide, outside of the PA near the corner.

Another example video was two players (opposing teams) holding each other as the play came up. In that case, the defender was deemed to be stopping a promising attack, while the attacker was just a moron. As such, the defender being cautioned meant that the attackers gained the free kick.

It's a situation that doesn't happen much, but when it does, it gets fun and interesting!
 
I never really knew the proper meaning behind the law, luckily it has never interfered with any decisions I've made. This is where refchat comes in handy.
 
RyantheRef said:
I have honestly never seen two offences occur at the same time.
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I'm sure you have. Have you ever seen a tackle that was reckless and stopped a promising attack? That's two offenses at the same time. You punish the more severe one (reckless tackle).
 
RyantheRef said:
I have honestly never seen two offences occur at the same time.
Click to expand...

Yes, you have.

Two players are holding each other before a corner comes in. As soon as the ball is in play there's an offence, and in theory you should be giving a penalty :D.
 
bester said:
Yes, you have.

Two players are holding each other before a corner comes in. As soon as the ball is in play there's an offence, and in theory you should be giving a penalty :D.
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No, because if the players are holding each other before a corner then the ball is not in play yet.
 
alexgr said:
No, because if the players are holding each other before a corner then the ball is not in play yet.
Click to expand...

Unless the two players began holding one another at the same instance, the offences did not occur at the same time.
 
Interesting scenario there. Do the offences begin when the hold begins or when the ball goes in play?

Clearly there are offences where the ball does not have to be in play for it to be considered an offence (e.g. spitting). Ball in play or not have a say in the restart but sanctions still apply the same.

Another example of offences at the same time is a player in offside position interfering with an opponent by carelessly tripping him. You restart according to the careless trip.
 
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