MLS Eastern Conference Final – MTL 2nd goal was OFFSIDE!

 

The last few weeks have seen a multitude of MLS history in the making. The meeting of Montreal Impact and Toronto FC in the Easter Conference Final meant that for the first time ever, there would be a Canadian team in the MLS Cup Final!  The first leg of this historic event saw Montreal beat Toronto FC 3-2 at home, which meant that Toronto needed a win in the second leg, at home.  The Reds knew that it wasn’t going to be easy.  If Montral scored just one away goal, it would mean that TFC needed to work a little harder to get 2, and the more goals the Impact scored, the harder TFC needed to work in order to win the conference.

The second leg was a bit of a roller coaster and things were looking a little grim as Montreal opened the score line in the 24th minute.  Toronto needed 2 goals to win this series and they began to press…hard!  The light for TFC grew brighter as Armando Cooper leveled it off in the 37th minute, and Altidore bagged his first for the night in the 45th (making him the only MLS player to score a goal in every playoff match thus far).  If the score line remained this way, TFC would have won and gone through to the MLS Cup Final however, just 8 minutes into the second half, Ignacio Piatti leveled the score at 2 in the 53rd minute.  But wait…this goal should not have counted and makes this a major turning point in the match, and in my opinion makes for a Critical Match Incident and should be PRO’s next Play of the Week. 

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Small Addition Needed to “Pass Back” Rule

It would be a far stretch to argue that the LOTG are 100% complete, and without gray areas or debatable topics; just look at the changes about to come into effect and what a huge Pandora’s box of protest and dissent is going to follow.  However, that’s an entirely different topic, and separate post that I will save for another day.  Alas, there are certainly some areas where the LOTG could use a little clarification and possible the odd added word or two just to make things solid and clear for all parties concerned.

One such instance is regarding a deliberate pass from a player to his own goal keeper.  In this clip, white is the defender and plays the ball to his own goal keeper.

Impeding or Holding…or Does it Even Matter?

My fellow referees…first, allow me to apologize for being away for so long;  more precisely, for not posting any topics for a few months.  Things have been quite chaotic for me with football, futsal and being on the board of the director for my local referees’ association.

In case you don’t know, the UEFA Futsal Euro is currently underway (2nd leg of quarter final matches happening today) and there was one particular incident in the group stage match between Portugal and Serbia this past weekend that was particularly interesting to me and burning a hole in my head.  I knew that I had to figure it out for myself and write a post about it as I’m sure it will stir up some conversations within the referee community worldwide.

The incident took place in the last minute of the game and although this is an example for a futsal match, the same rules apply for a football match, as well.

Red #10 has possession of the ball and is attacking the White goal.  A White defender is 2 – 3 yards away, applying pressure and waiting for Red #10 to make a move.  Another Red attacker runs from behind the White defender and stands just to the right side of the defender in a blocking position, as Red #10 moves the ball to the left.  The White defender turns to follow and bumps into the Red defender, and Red #10 is able to get a shot on net.

Football Myths – Part 3: Playing On the Ground

Player:  “REF!  He’s on the ground!!!”

Referee:  “OK….and???”

Sound familiar?  It should, because I hear this at least once or twice every single game.  What players fail to realize is that playing the ball while on the ground isn’t actually against the Laws of the Game.  Every time I hear this protest I challenge players and coaches to find me the reference in the LOTG that says a player cannot play the ball while on the ground.  Since most players and coaches don’t have the LOTG handy, let’s figure it out for them.

Never in My Wildest Dreams: A Lesson in Sporting Behaviour

At times, we often see and discuss match situation where Unsporting Behaviour is concerned.  I’m sure many of us can come up with countless accounts and stories of USB situations that we have all had to deal with at some point in our carerrs.  However, never would I imagine a situation such as this…

DOGSO-H or Offside??? I can’t decide!

In a Bundesliga match between Hertha BSC and FC Nurnberg on February 2, 2014, a rather interesting match situation occurs and I can’t figure out what the correct decision should be.  I’ve been fighting with myself for over 3 weeks and at first I thought I knew the answer however, upon looking at the clip again, I’m starting to second guess myself.  So I ask you all…did the referee get it right in the end?

IDFK and DOGSO??? Whaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?!

Whether we are watching football matches on TV or sitting in on a referee education session, most of the time when DOGSO is the topic of conversation, the clips and examples that are shown are almost always scenarios where the offending player has committed a penal offence, and where the resulting restart is either a DFK or PK.  I haven’t seen any instances or examples of a DOGSO scenario where the restart is an IDFK….until now! 

REPRISE: Players, Coaches and Spectators…Law 11

Back in October I wrote a post about the new interpretation to Law 11.  The original link to the explanation has since then been broken and I think I’ve figured out why…the interpretation (IMHO) was incorrect

It’s called impeding…not obstruction

There are quite a few things that happen in a football match that go uncalled.  For example, many times a goal keeper handles the ball for more than 6 seconds, or a throw in is not taken from the place where the ball left the field of play, etc.  One of the most misunderstood of these is impeding.  That’s right…impeding…not obstruction.  It drives me crazy when players start calling for obstruction.  In my view, every shoulder charge, incidental contact…everything can be considered obstruction which is why it’s called impeding; there is a big difference between the two.

What is impeding and why is it a foul?