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Fouls and Misconduct

It's Often Difficult To Interpret the Rules Correctly!

This is the Fouls and Misconduct Page of the How to Play Soccer-Soccer School on Spain-Football.Org.

Scroll down the page for the rules, tips and techniques, videos, book recommendations and lots more interesting stuff!

Writing a page about fouls, makes me think of an English saying that goes 'Rugby is a game watched by gentlemen and played by animals, while football is a game PLAYED by gentlemen and WATCHED by animals.'

I don't know about you, but there are times when I think it's a game played by animals AND watched by animals.

Direct Free Kicks

Direct free kicks are given when a player has committed one of the following fouls

kicking or trying to kick an opponent
tripping or trying to trip an opponent
jumping on an opponent
hitting or trying to hit an opponent
pushing an opponent
kicking the opponent while in the process og going for the ball
stopping an opponent from moving ie. by pulling his shirt
spitting at an oponent
deliberately committing hand ball

If any of these fouls are committed in your own goal area, then it's a penalty.

Indirect Free Kicks

An Indirect Free Kick is given against the goalkeeper if he has broken the rules in one of the following ways

keeping the ball in his hands for more than six seconds
picking up the ball - after he has put it out - before it has been touched by another player
touching the ball with his hands when a teammate has intentionally passed the ball to him
touching the ball with his hands directly after a free kick taken by a teammate

An Indirect Free Kick when a field player has broken the rules in one of the following ways

dangerous play
stopping an opponent from moving forward ie. by pulling his shirt
stopping the goalkeeper from putting out the ball by using his hands
playing the ball when in an offside position
touching the ball more than once in a kick-off, free kick or penalty

Yellow Cards

The referee should show a yellow card if a player breaks the rules in one of the following ways

he is guilty of unsporting behaviour
he shows disagreement with a decision either verbally or through the use of gestures
he consistently breaks the rules of the game
he wastes time
he doesn't maintain the required distance before a corner or a free kick
he comes on or returns to the pitch without the permission of the referee
he goes off the pitch without asking the permission of the referee
he takes his shirt off or climbs into the stand after scoring a goal

Red Cards

The referee should send off a player if he breaks the rules in one of the following ways

he is guilty of VERY dangerous play
he is guilty of violent conduct
he spits at an opponent or any other person
he stops the opposing team from scoring by committing an intentional hand ball
he uses offensive or obscene language or gestures
he receives a second yellow card in the same game

Did You Know . . . ?

After scoring a goal, most players have their own special way of celebrating.

The Argentinian star, Gabriel Batistuta used to pretend to fire a machine gun.

These days Raúl kisses his wedding ring, Pauleta imitates an eagle, other give thanks to God, do a somersault or a little dance.

The days of taking the shirt off, though, are over - it's punishable with a yellow card and every now and again, a sending off.

Some History

It was the English referee Ken Aston who had the idea of using red and yellow cards, and he got the idea from traffic lights.

The first yellow card was shown against the Russian player Asatiani in the USSR-Mexico game during the 1970 World Cup.

Are You A Player, Coach, Parent or Referee?

As I do more and more research on the Internet on football-related topics I come across an ever increasing number of fantastic resources. Here are a few of the best ones I´ve found so far but with time this could turn into a complete section on different aspects of the art of playing and coaching.

Blast The Ball is quite simply the best video available for learning all about kicking a soccer ball – covers everything from techniques, aerodynamics, parts of the ball etc. The promotional video is certainly worth watching as it is a lesson in itself.

Total Soccer Fitness is a free fitness course that comes in five email instalments and is ideal for players, parents and coaches alike.

Soccer Tutor is a set of 250 Soccer Drills endorsed by Adidas, Umbro and Leyton Orient amongst others. If you coach a youth team and want to work on their soccer skills, this selection will keep you in ideas for season after season as your players advance from beginner to professional. It´s particularly useful if you plan on taking your your FA or UEFA coaching licence and even if you're only interested watch the demo video – it's excellent. The guy that does the voiceover is so obviously a football professional. Game of two halves, innit?

The Fastbreak Soccer Practice Book Although not quite as intuitive as Soccer Tutor also contains Soccer Drills, this ebook is worth having a look at if only for the free Training Schedules available in PDF format.

Elite Soccer Coach is a very handy guide for football coaches and comes with two more ebooks on Fitness and Formations.

Learn How Not To Commit Fouls With Soccer Tutor

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