Why do referees not make the "last defender" call?

Numerous times I have seen a breakaway where the last defender sticks his foot out from behind to (accidentally or otherwise) trip the offensive player who out ahead of him with the ball and has nothing but goalie and net in front of him. Yet I have only seen that call made one time in a tournament and never in a Lake Highlands boys or girls game. It's my impression that the call takes some guts, and not enough refs have the guts to make that call. Any other explanations? You always see that called at older ages, but never (in my experience) in LHCL.

jokerswild wrote:Numerous times I have seen a breakaway where the last defender sticks his foot out from behind to (accidentally or otherwise) trip the offensive player who out ahead of him with the ball and has nothing but goalie and net in front of him. Yet I have only seen that call made one time in a tournament and never in a Lake Highlands boys or girls game. It's my impression that the call takes some guts, and not enough refs have the guts to make that call. Any other explanations? You always see that called at older ages, but never (in my experience) in LHCL.

We had that call made against us in Plano Labor Tournament finals a couple of years back. It was early in the match and our defender was definitely in the wrong...Referee showed no hesitation showing him a red card and we played down a man the rest of the match. We were all shocked to see the rule actually applied and so swiftly, but even the red-carded kid's dad agreed it was the right call and the only rule that could be applied in that particular situation. It turned out ok...in the end we won the match. But I agree it's rare to see the rule applied in league play or many tournaments for that matter...I guess because the consequence is so harsh...there's only one...a red card.

Most officials, IMHO don't give a red card because they feel they'd be influencing the game...but in reality they are doing that by NOT giving the red card. When a red card is deserved and not given by the official then they directly influence the result because teams play differently when up a man or down a man and not giving the red is just shameful, it's the job and for some reason too many officials don't have the cajones to do it when it's called for.

Most officials, IMHO don't give a red card because they feel they'd be influencing the game...but in reality they are doing that by NOT giving the red card. When a red card is deserved and not given by the official then they directly influence the result because teams play differently when up a man or down a man and not giving the red is just shameful, it's the job and for some reason too many officials don't have the cajones to do it when it's called for.

Ding ding. We have a winner, folks. By not making the call, the refs ARE influencing the call. In LHCL it's surprising the coaches don't instruct their defense to intentionally trip the offensive player on a breakaway because 99 times out of a 100 cases it won't be called...and the one time it is called requires the offensive to make the PK.

THe call isn't made because overly physical play is allowed in NTX. The refs assume that it was an accident but the reality it is not. Last season BB played a ball in the midfield and the defender came in late, charging hard, slid and wiped him out. The ref runs by and yells "play on- it was an accident" What? Of course it was an accident because if it was on purpose it would be a red card. Accidents are fouls too. Kids here have no idea what is a foul and what isn't. No way the will start calling the last man foul when they don't call most of the others either. The general rule is they are kids and just let them play. Keep the calls and cards to a minimum.

I've only seen this called twice.
Once on a breakaway - obvious call, kid was injured as well.

The other was with about 8 players in the box. The ball was being kicked around, attempted clearances kicked into the backs of players, etc - the ball pushed over to a lone attacker who dribbled once and was tripped from behind. Everyone knew it would be a PK obviously - but the red card was a shocker.

I was walking behind the goal at Richland when this happened, talking to another Dad and we both said we were surprised it was a red. The referee heard us and explained it was the last defender. As it wasn't a breakaway, that never even occurred to us. It was pretty interesting that he even heard us, but he even explained that he had just studied a similar scenario prior to the match. I don't think anyone complained as it was about 7-0 prior to that one.

This was in Dallas Cup (Cal vs Mexico teams) - so, the referees were probably more willing to stick to the letter of the law with all the accessors around.

I also saw a kid intentionally catch a ball with no card given (the score was 10+ to nil, so I'm positive that played into the decision).

There is no law that says a player must be sent off just because he fouls the player from behind. The send off only occurs if the the defender has fouled an attacker who has an obvious goal scoring opportunity. The actual law says "denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick."
Referees will look at the 4 D's to evaluate this. Distance to the goal (it's not going to be called outside the attacking 1/3). Direction of play (the player needs to be going toward the goal, not laterally). Defenders (and location)...example...is there a defender out wide who might possibly be able to get to the attacker? Derriere...was it truly from behind.
Without seeing the play, it's hard to make any judgement, but it really needs to be "obvious". Interestingly, FIFA was/is considering modifying this so that this situation occurring in the penalty area would only result in a yellow. The thought being that a PK, send off and 1 game suspension is too harsh a penalty.

I agree with everything happy said. In addition to those things, here are a couple of slight nuances to consider:

Law 12 says nothing about the fact that the foul must be committed from behind. I think that 90% of the time this will be the case because unless the offensive player has the ball and has cleared the last defender it would be hard to make a case that there is a "obvious goal scoring opportunity," however, I am sure that there are exceptions to this and such a foul can be committed from somewhere other than "from behind." So, if your player gets this call against him, I don't think you have an argument that the foul wasn't "from behind." Argue something different so that you sound like you know the Law.

If advantage is played and a goal is scored, the referee cannot issue a red for denying a goal or obvious goal scoring opportunity. The goal is allowed and a yellow caution may be issued. So, don't argue that you want the goal to count and the player who committed the foul to be sent off. You can't have both.

In addition to the 4 D's happy listed, the laws and their interpretation advise the referee to consider "the likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball." Again, as with whether or not the foul is "from behind," I think this factor goes to whether the offensive player in fact has an "obvious goal scoring opportunity." For instance, if the offensive player has cleared the last defender after a through ball with only the keeper to beat but has yet to catch up to the ball and the keeper has come out to take him on and it appears to the referee that the ball would have been a 50/50 ball between the striker and the keeper had the striker not been fouled, then it should not be a red card (certainly a yellow) as it was not an "obvious goal scoring opportunity." (50/50 is not "obvious").

Finally, none of the above matters if the referee determines that the defender has committed "serious foul play" for which a send off is warranted regardless of whether there is an "obvious goal scoring opportunity" or not. IMO, deliberately tripping a player from behind, especially when that player is running full speed, could almost always be considered "serious foul play."

During a U14 D1 State Cup game this past year. My BB caught player from behind on a breakaway and slid tackled him and got all ball. The player went down and Ref called foul and gave my BB a Red card. They missed the penalty kick and BB has to sit out the first game of State Cup this year. This Ref was not afraid to call it that is for sure.

I saw the same thing happen to Brek Shea at the FCD v Red Bulls game. He got the ball, but also got tangled up afterwards. He, too, was red carded.


This past weekend, I was watching the Man City/Chelsea game and saw the exact play...all ball by the defender and the attacker went face first into the ground as they tangled up afterwards. The call...play on!

soccer23 wrote:
If advantage is played and a goal is scored, the referee cannot issue a red for denying a goal or obvious goal scoring opportunity. The goal is allowed and a yellow caution may be issued. So, don't argue that you want the goal to count and the player who committed the foul to be sent off. You can't have both.

In regards to this...that's nothing in the law that says this. If you deny a player an obvious goal scoring opportunity and the goal is still scored by ANOTHER player that is not law that you're allowed a free pass. In the same way that a referee can play advantage and yellow card a player later once the ball is out of play, he can red card you later. I've seen referees red card a player after a goal is scored for a handball on the line where the ball went in anyway. I don't know if I agree with this or not but I don't really like the "oh you got scored on so there's no penalty for your actions."

You can have both, there's nothing in the law that states otherwise. Referees interpret the law individually but there's no basis for this statement.

txsnowman wrote:

soccer23 wrote:
If advantage is played and a goal is scored, the referee cannot issue a red for denying a goal or obvious goal scoring opportunity. The goal is allowed and a yellow caution may be issued. So, don't argue that you want the goal to count and the player who committed the foul to be sent off. You can't have both.

In regards to this...that's nothing in the law that says this. If you deny a player an obvious goal scoring opportunity and the goal is still scored by ANOTHER player that is not law that you're allowed a free pass. In the same way that a referee can play advantage and yellow card a player later once the ball is out of play, he can red card you later. I've seen referees red card a player after a goal is scored for a handball on the line where the ball went in anyway. I don't know if I agree with this or not but I don't really like the "oh you got scored on so there's no penalty for your actions."

You can have both, there's nothing in the law that states otherwise. Referees interpret the law individually but there's no basis for this statement.

I agree that referees can and do interpret this Law differently but I did have a basis for making the statement. I don't come on here and make statements such as that without support for what I say. And, you are correct that if ANOTHER player scores the goal, the red card may be issued. My basis for the statement is FIFA's interpretation of Law 12 which states:

"If the referee applies advantage during an obvious goalscoring opportunity and a goal is scored directly, despite the opponent’s handling the ball or fouling an
opponent, the player cannot be sent off but he may still be cautioned."

Use of the word "directly" indicates that FIFA's interpretation is that the fouled player is also the player that scores the goal. So, if that is the case, a send off is not appropriate. And, the main reason I wanted to point this out is that if your son is sent of with a red card and the card was inappropriately given by the referee there are avenues to address that through the A&D committee. If my son were sent off for the S-5 violation and a goal was scored by the player fouled, I would appeal the sit-out of the next game to the committee as an incorrect decision by the official based on the above.

I am not trying to argue with you snowman, but I don't want you or anyone else on here thinking I am just pulling stuff out of my hat and posting it on here. There are two different scenarios that must be considered, fouled player scores and fouled player's teammate scores. I think that we are both right. I appreciate you pointing out this difference. I always want to be better informed. It is impossible to explain something to my son, or make a case on his behalf, if I myself don't understand it correctly.

[quote="soccer23"
If advantage is played and a goal is scored, the referee cannot issue a red for denying a goal or obvious goal scoring opportunity. The goal is allowed and a yellow caution may be issued. So, don't argue that you want the goal to count and the player who committed the foul to be sent off. You can't have both.
I/quote]

I believe this is correct. You cannot get a DOGSO red card if you didn't actually deny the goal. I watched a young player grab a handful of the attacker's shirt who had just dribbled past him at the top of the box. The attacker pulled free and scored. No red card. but a deserved yellow after the goal. Now, if the defender had pulled the attacker hard enough to keep him from continuing, then a DOGSO red.

Sorry if I seemed a bit harsh soccer23, my wording was probably a bit too strong for what I was trying to say. I agree, we are both right in our situations and each situation is a bit different from the previous or the next. The fact that the officials in soccer don't enforce but rather interpret the laws of the game makes each game completely different because our game allows for advantage that other sports do not. Anyway I just wanted to apologize if my wording was a little offensive, certainly not my intention but I do like hearing other people's opinions on the matter.

If your teammate gets a red card, DO NOT do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIiaXWq1KHY

txsnowman wrote:
Sorry if I seemed a bit harsh soccer23, my wording was probably a bit too strong for what I was trying to say. I agree, we are both right in our situations and each situation is a bit different from the previous or the next. The fact that the officials in soccer don't enforce but rather interpret the laws of the game makes each game completely different because our game allows for advantage that other sports do not. Anyway I just wanted to apologize if my wording was a little offensive, certainly not my intention but I do like hearing other people's opinions on the matter.

Absolutely no offense taken. Thank you for your comments.