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It’s been a few years since I hung up the referee’s shoes, socks, shorts, jersey, cards, score sheet, watch and whistle. It was lots of fun, if you can ever call at least one team and their supporters yelling and hurling abuse at you fun.
I was never one of those jerk referees who took great joy in the handing out of cards and the arrogant sending off of players, to then go and compare notes with your referee friends as to how many cards you got to give out this week.
And I tend to avoid talking about refereeing decisions, as the referees generally do okay and know a lot more than those making ill-informed comments on websites.
But I decided to talk about this incident from the Sydney FC v Brisbane Roar contest on Friday night – in which Brisbane’s Besart Berisha was red carded for a challenge on Seb Ryall, who received a yellow card for retaliating – because I think it’s important that people understand why decisions were made and why this one was wrong.
One of the commentators on the TV coverage for the game said, “That’s a yellow card. It’s not a red. That’s a terrible, terrible decision by the referee. And we see too many of them. He did dive in but [a tackle like that is] never a red card.”
The commentator was right. And here’s why.
What are the circumstances in which a player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour?
Well, it occurs if a player commits in a reckless manner “one of the seven offences that incur a direct free kick”.
The laws of the game state that a “direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following seven offences in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force: kicks or attempts to kick an opponent; trips or attempts to trip an opponent; jumps at an opponent; charges an opponent; strikes or attempts to strike an opponent; pushes an opponent; tackles an opponen.t”
Thus the case can be made that both Ryall and Berisha kicked and tripped an opponent in a careless and reckless manner.
What do these terms mean? Careless means “that the player has shown a lack of attention or consideration when making a challenge or that he acted without precaution”. The award of a direct free kick is necessary if a challenge is only careless.
“’Reckless’ means that the player has acted with complete disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, his opponent A player who plays in a reckless manner must be cautioned.”
The difference in the initial challenge is that Ryall goes around the ball with his tag first left foot and it goes into Berisha’s leg. His tags are up and his challenge went for the player more than the ball.
Conversely, if you look at Berisha all the way to the challenge he is aiming for the ball. And he pulls back the left leg to minimise the damage to the other player.
However, both players in this challenge acted in a careless and reckless manner by disregarding the danger to and consequences for the opponent . Both players jump in at the ball with insufficient care and concern for the other player. Both players connect with the other player.
To be fair, both seem to be going for the ball. But this is not relevant, as the reckless behaviour of both could easily result in severe injury of the other.
Thus in this case, the appropriate remedy was for the referee to decide that both players’ challenge was a careless and reckless kicking and tripping of an opponent, so both should have been shown a yellow card for the initial challenge.
Importantly, both were trying to play the ball, but in doing so threatened injury to someone. By playing in a dangerous manner where there is physical contact involved, it becomes an offence punishable with a direct free kick or penalty kick.
In the case of physical contact, the referee should carefully consider the high probability that misconduct has also been committed.
The disciplinary sanctions are clear. “If a player plays in a dangerous manner in a ‘normal’ challenge, the referee should not take any disciplinary action. If the action is made with obvious risk of injury, the referee should caution the player”.
It’s only in a case where a player “denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by playing in a dangerous manner” that the referee should send off the player.
A tackle only warrants a send-off if the player has not just exceeded the necessary use of force in a tackle but far exceeded it and because of the excessive force is in danger of injuring his opponent.
While a player who uses excessive force must be sent off, a player is guilty of serious foul play only “if he uses excessive force or brutality against an opponent when challenging for the ball when it is in play”.
The only player in the tackle who it could be argued “lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent” and thus is “guilty of serious foul play” could be Ryall.
And I do not even find that argument convincing, let alone that Berisha was guilty of that.
Ryall’s unwarranted assault on Berisha after the challenge was a textbook case of violent conduct, which is a red card.
After the tackle, Ryall gets up and shoves/punches Berisha in the head, which ends up in Broich’s knee, through no fault of Berisha or Broich. This was common, uncalled for, unprovoked assault for which there is no excuse and the rules could not be clearer on how to treat it.
Violent conduct is an offence that demands a red card be given if awarded.
“A player is guilty of violent conduct if he uses excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball.” He did and he no longer was.
Ryall should have been sent off. Berisha should not have been.
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