AboutJohn Cummings Expertise Do you have a call made by the referee in last week`s match puzzling you? Are you a referee who may not be certain that what was done was the right thing to do? I shall be glad to entertain any questions about officiating soccer. The more the players, coaches and supporters understand the referee and his/her decisions, the more fun we can have on the pitch.
Experience After coaching my son's travel team, I have been USSF State Referee, State Assessor, Assignor and State Instructor in addition to having been a college NISOA referee,a NISOA clinician, a NISOA assessor and a high school referee.
Question Today i was playing in a coed rec league game and our ref made one of the most bizarre calls i have ever seen. He called a foul against my team where one of my teammates fouled another one of my teammates. The official call was a dangerous play where the one players foot was too high and close to my other teammates head. Now there is no question he could have called a dangerous play if the second player was a member of the opposing team, however, no opposing player was within ten yards of the ball or either of my teammates. I was unaware such a call could be made and to top it off he gave the other team a free kick which makes the situation even more confusing. So, in general, my basic question is whether or not it is possible to foul your own teammate.
Answer It all depends.
Under what rules were you playing?
Under FIFA or USSF, dangerous play, as you noted, is committed against an opponent. It can not be committed against a teammate.
However, under High School rules, dangerous play CAN be committed against a teammate. I guess its part of the in loco parentis mentality of keeping the kids safe.
Hope you have a great season and have fun on the pitch.
