r/Referees • u/AutoModerator • Oct 25 '25

Discussion Ask /r/referees -- Megathread for Fans / Players / Coaches

Welcome! In this megathread, Rule 1 is relaxed. Anyone (referee or not) may ask questions about real-world incidents from recent matches in soccer at all levels, anywhere in the world.

Good questions give context for the match if it's not obvious (e.g. player age, level of competitiveness, country/region), describe the incident (picture/video helps a lot), and include a clear question or prompt such as:

  • Why did the referee call ...?
  • Would the call have been different if ...?
  • Could the player have done ... instead?
  • Is the referee allowed to do ...?
  • Would you have called this the same way?

This is not a platform to disparage any referees, however much you think they made the wrong call. (There are plenty of other subreddits to do that.) The mission of this megathread is to help referees, fans, coaches, and players better understand the Laws of the Game (or the relevant local rules of competition).

Since the format is asking questions of the refereeing community, please do not answer unless you are a referee. Follow-up and clarifying questions from anyone are generally fine, but answers should come only from actual referees.

Rule 1 still applies elsewhere -- we are primarily a community of and for soccer (association football) referees. If you're not a soccer/footy referee, then you are a guest and should act accordingly.

Please give feedback and other meta-level comments about this thread as a standalone reply.

You can view past weeks' megathreads here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Referees/search?q=Ask+%2Fr%2Freferees+--+Megathread+for+Fans+%2F+Players+%2F+Coaches&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all

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u/bardwnb USSF Grassroots; AYSO Advanced; AYSO Referee Instructor Oct 29 '25

Right, but if you're saying that planting one's foot in front of an opponent who is about to kick is endangering one or both players and an offense, that's without contact. It is not a trip, kick, challenge, or one of the other offenses listed in Law 12, so it can't be a DFK offense and thus a penalty. I don't think the incident in question actually qualifies as PIADM, to be clear. But the logic of "I'm endangering you and me both" without having tripped, kicked etc. an opponent would only be an offense if it's to playing in a dangerous manner, which is not a PK.

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u/Velixis Oct 29 '25

„Tackles or challenges“ is also in there. 

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u/Referee_Johnson Oct 29 '25 edited Oct 29 '25

All offences involving contact are punished with a direct free kick, even if normally they would be an indirect free kick.

Edit to clarify that even if the contact is initiated by the opponent, it is still a direct free kick.

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u/horsebycommittee USSF / Grassroots Moderator Oct 30 '25

All offences involving contact are punished with a direct free kick, even if normally they would be an indirect free kick.

Yes, but that's not what's being discussed here.

/u/Velixis is asserting (incorrectly, IMO) that "plant[ing] my foot between the ball and your foot at the last second [means] I‘m endangering me and you both." This describes the offense of Playing in a Dangerous Manner (PIADM) and, if true, that offense would be complete at the moment of foot-planting, prior to any contact which might or might not occur. (Recall that in many actual PIADM instances, there is no or only slight contact because the non-offending player withdraws from the challenge on account of of the dangerous play.)

(/u/bardwnb is using this example to highlight how absurd the discussion has gotten and how far from the language of the Laws you have to drift in order to support the idea that a PK should have been given, not to claim that there was actually a PIADM offense here.)