AYSO Region 206 Website

Hey Ref, Why Call A Foul If I Have The Ball?

AYSO SHORTS • October 2007

Many players & coaches have the mistaken belief that a player challenging for possession or control of the ball (tackling) is never guilty of a foul if that player makes contact with the ball, that is, the player "gets the ball". The purpose of this article is to distinguish between challenges that are fair & challenges that are foul where the challenging player makes contact with the ball. First, under Law 12 a challenge or tackle is foul & not fair when the challenging player makes contact with the opponent before touching the ball.

Second, even where a challenging player touches the ball before making contact with the opponent, a challenge or tackle is foul if the challenging player also commits a foul at the same time as or immediately following the challenge. Examples of such fouls are: (1) A player runs at a player dribbling the ball, makes contact with the ball first but also strikes the opponent in the chest with an elbow causing opponent to fall backwards; (2) A player challenges an opponent dribbling the ball with a sliding tackle. The challenging player's lead foot, at ground level, makes contact with the ball first, but his trail foot, at shin level, trips the opponent causing the opponent to fall; (3) A player challenges for the ball by kicking at it. While making contact with the ball first, as a result of uncontrolled follow through, the kicking foot ends up making violent contact with the opponent's knee; (4) A player challenges an opponent dribbling the ball with a sliding tackle making contact with the ball first but her momentum carries her hip into the knees of the opponent knocking the opponent down.

It is equally important to recognize a fair challenge when the ball is touched first and there is no accompanying/subsequent foul.

Examples of such fair challenges are: (1) A player challenges for the ball by making a firm but not excessively forceful block tackle, touching the ball first, and the opponent trips over the ball and falls. (2) A player challenges for the ball by poking the ball away from an opponent with a foot and leg extended at ground level, contacting the ball first, and the momentum of the opponent carries the opponent forward to stumble over the extended foot and falls.

There are some types of challenges where impropriety or the chance of physical harm to an opponent is sufficiently high that a referee should treat them with a high level of scrutiny and in appropriate circumstances issue a caution or a send off even where a balls first contact is followed by contact with the opponent. These are: (1) Where contact is made with an opponent with the bottom of the challenging player's shoe whether the challenging player is sliding, jumping or kicking at another player, a studs-up tackle; (2) A scissors tackle where a challenging player traps an opponent's foot, ankle, shin or knee between the challenging player's legs; (3) Any challenge where the opponent is struck forcefully by an elbow especially to the head or neck area; and (4) A reckless or excessively forceful challenge where the trail foot, or even the follow through of the lead foot which made contact with the ball, makes contact in a location on the opponent's body away from location of the ball.

One general guideline in determining that a challenge involving contact with an opponent is fair is that contact is made with the ball before (or even at the same time) contact is made with the opponent and the challenge is made in a careful manner with only the amount of contact or force necessary to dispossess the opponent of the ball and the contact in not careless, reckless or with excessive force.

Ultimately, as with all fouls, this determination is based on the judgment of the referee, which all play-