[ayso45-refs] pushing before corner kick; player yelling and screaming

[Beau James]

Interesting. Your corner kick issue came up just this week for 
discussion at the Wednesday 10/7 Coach/Ref /Talk-it-out/ gathering.

Brent, your question provoked a flurry of responses. You received them 
all directly, and most were also copied to the referee mailing list.

For the referee mailing list, I'm going to take the liberty of 
consolidating the responses and the Wednesday evening discussion into 
one reply, rather than forwarding each individual response to the entire 
mailing list.  *The contributions of every responder are very much 
appreciated!*  This type of question and community response is how 
referees at all levels support one another and improve our refereeing 
skills.

At the same time, some members of the region 45 referee mailing list 
have requested that the list moderators try to moderate the volume of 
email, especially messages with a significant amount of duplicative 
content. So please bear with your editor, this time ...

Beau


Let's deal with the two issues you raised in your email completely 
separately.

_*Issue #1: player conduct during preparation for taking a corner kick*_

You are correct that the jostling, pushing, and holding that you 
observed, prior to the corner kick being taken, cannot be called as a 
/*foul*/ at those moments. The ball is not in play at that time.

The AYSO referee community generally adopts a few core approaches to 
dealing with this kind of misbehavior. Each approach may be appropriate 
depending on the severity and persistence of the conduct, the age and 
skill level of the players, whether prior warnings have been issued, and 
other factors in the referee's judgment.  Naturally, there are variants 
and blended combinations of each option also available to the referee.

_/Option A: Make extra efforts to prevent/minimize pre-CK misbehavior/_

Vary your position during the setup for a corner kick.  Sometimes, get 
all the way down on the goal line, or right in the heart of the penalty 
area close to the players.  Players generally misbehave less if they are 
aware that the referee is nearby and observant (and disapproving).

At all ages, and particularly in younger divisions such as U10, the 
referee may use verbal warnings to the players *at any time*. Assistant 
referees may also give verbal warnings, especially if they were given 
guidance to do so during the pregame instructions. A verbal warning 
("ladies, keep your hands down!", "gentlemen, stop the pushing!") does 
not require that the referee stop play. A warning may be issued at any 
time while allowing the game to continue flowing.

Use your voice for general verbal warnings or to call attention to 
specific inappropriate behaviors. Use it often and early.  Try to 
preempt the need for formal misconducts (but at the same time, don't 
avoid formal misconducts when appropriate!).

_/Option B: Recognize and deal with the player misbehavior immediately/_

If the referee decides that the player conduct problem is severe and 
urgent enough to warrant a formal misconduct, first decide what is the 
formal misconduct ("unsporting behavior"? "reckless push"?). The referee 
first blows the whistle. The referee indicates to the corner kicker that 
s/he must wait for the referee's signal before proceeding with the CK. 
The referee then administers the caution(s) (including showing the 
yellow card) to the appropriate player or players.

Keep in mind that in AYSO U10, we do not display cards [and very rarely 
in U12].  At those ages, the verbal warning is most appropriate and 
often sufficient. On the other hand, in U16 or U19, the formal caution 
may be both appropriate and necessary for game control.  On-the-scene 
referee judgement is essential!.

/Procedural notes/: the referee does not "award an IFK for unsporting 
behavior". Even if the referee does administer a formal caution in this 
situation, the correct restart/ /will /still /be the corner kick - not 
an IFK.  An IFK restart is used after a caution when /the referee/ /is 
the one who stopped play/ to administer the caution. - not when there is 
a restart already indicated.

_/Option C: Recognize the player misbehavior as a *foul *as soon as the 
ball is kicked/_

If the referee judges that the jostling is not so serious that it need 
be dealt with "instantly", some referees choose to wait until the corner 
kick occurs. Then, as soon as the ball is kicked, the referee blows the 
whistle and indicates (verbally and by signal) the foul that the referee 
has chosen to call. The foul could be pushing, holding, charging, or the 
much-underutilized "impeding", depending on what the referee has observed.

For example, the referee may choose this approach when players are 
marking one another far too closely, perhaps without extensive or 
constant physical contact. An attacker constantly repositioning himself 
directly between the keeper and the corner kick, even when the keeper 
adjusts his position /after /the attacker has taken his position, may be 
guilty of impeding the keeper.

The referee must constantly monitor the "temperature" of the player 
misbehavior to ensure that it is not allowed to escalate. The referee 
also must be clearly aware of which players are misbehaving and to what 
extent. The referee does not want to permit a delay in dealing with the 
initial misbehavior to escalate to retaliation (and thus perhaps to turn 
a corner kick into a penalty kick).

_*Issue #2: player "yelling and screaming"*_

A couple of repeat comments:

- Issue verbal warnings at any time; stopping the game is not required.
- "Unsporting conduct" is a caution, not a foul. The referee does not 
"give an IFK because of unsporting conduct".

In general, the appropriate referee intervention (if any) depends a 
great deal on what is being yelled, and at whom.

Simply yelling "Keeper!", or "I'm open!", may be entirely legitimate and 
expectedin the course of good play.

Is the player screaming at opponents?  At teammates?  At himself or herself?

Taunting or attempting to frighten (typically but not necessarily an 
opponent) certainly deserves a verbal warning, and may deserve a formal 
caution for unsporting behavior (in appropriate divisions).

Foul or abusive language directed at /anyone /definitely deserves a 
verbal warning, and may deserve a formal send-off (in appropriate 
divisions). Even in younger divisions, it deserves censure (verbal 
warning) and may earn a young player a "mental injury substitution" (our 
AYSO euphemism for a sendoff, in young divisions) if not controlled.

Players who yell at opponents with clear intent to deceive deserve a 
verbal warning and may deserve a formal caution for unsporting behavior 
(in appropriate divisions).

==============================

Welch, Brent wrote:
> In a U10B game on a corner kick restart, I saw two players pushing
> against each other shoulder to shoulder with their arms up around
> shoulder level somehow interlocked.  I did not see it start, and while
> I had a good guess as to who probably started things, I didn't see it.
>
> I blew my whistle and told them to stop it.  I did not call any foul.
> The corner kick was taken without any further issue.
>
> What's the ruling?  I belive if anything it would be unsportsmanlike
> conduct because play wasn't restarted?  And, in U10 you basically just
> want to instruct the players about appropriate behavior.  In higher
> divisions it would be a yellow card (if you so judged it) and then
> you restart with an IFK?
>   
> I found this quote on http://www.corshamref.org.uk/corners.htm
> "If players are misbehaving themselves before the corner kick has been
> taken, stop play immediately by blowing your whistle loudly, and strongly
> warn players about their unsporting conduct."
>
> On a related note, especially because it involved one of the same players,
> what about yelling and screaming as you either dribble or charge?  That
> earned a sharp warning from me, but no whistle.  If it had kept up I
> would have given an IFK for unsportsmanlike conduct.  More specifically,
> I would have stopped play, spoken with the screamer, and restarted
> with an IFK. Is that the right ruling?  Should I *always* stop play to admonish
> a player, or can I just tell the screamer "stop it" as play continues?
> --
> Brent Welch
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