Unlike most sports, soccer fouls are a little hard to define. For example, American football gives a name to every type of penalty, and basketball has a lot of names for foul types. Not so for soccer. Instead, fouls are given for specific actions and are grouped by the type of benefit given to the fouled team.
Direct free kicks
Direct free kicks are the most common type of benefit given out. In a direct kick, the ball is placed at the spot of the foul, and a designated player from the fouled team gets to kick the stationary ball wherever they wish, without direct interference from the opposing team. The fact that the kick is stationary and uncontested allows for much greater accuracy and planning when placing the kick. The opposing team can attempt to block the kick but must remain at least ten yards away from the ball while the kick is occurring. The usual defensive tactic for a free kick is for the defending team to create a wall of three players, lined up in a row, between the ball and the goal, to try and block a goal. The person taking the free kick then has to bend the ball around the wall, or over it, in order to get it close to goal. A team may choose whoever they wish to take the free kick when awarded; the player fouled does NOT have to take the kick, Some players are designated experts at the free kick, and are very good at scoring goals on them.
Free kicks are handed out for the following infractions:
- Kicking an opponent, or attempting to
- Tripping an opponent, or attempting to
- Jumping into an opponent
- Charging an opponent
- Hitting an opponent
- Pushing an opponent
- Tackling an opponent, and not going for the ball
Players are allowed to get tangled up with opponents in an attempt to retrieve the ball; this is called a tackle. However, if the referee judges that the player isn't going for the ball, but rather trying to knock down the opponent, a foul is awarded.
Direct free kicks are also handed out for:
- Holding an opponent
- Spitting at or on an opponent
- Intentionally handling the ball
The last thing to know about these fouls is that if any of them are committed by a defending player inside of his own penalty area, a penalty kick is awarded, instead of a free kick, which is much more dangerous.
Indirect free kicks
Indirect free kicks are rarer and given less often. The difference between an indirect free kick and a free kick is that the indirect free kick must touch one other player before scoring. That is, a player who takes an indirect free kick cannot score the ball from the kick, it must go to another player first, or else it is disallowed if it makes it into the goal. There is still potential for danger here; the offside rule doesn't apply on the kick, so a player can put the ball very close to the net in order to allow one of his teammates to put it into the net for a goal. Because the ball is stationary and the kick is uncontested, it allows for greater planning and accuracy when taking, just as in a direct free kick,
Indirect free kicks are awarded when:
- A goalkeeper holds the ball in his hands for longer than six seconds
- A goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands after dropping it, but before it has touched another player (Meaning the keeper can't just hold the ball for a six count, drop it, pick it up again, hold it for a six count, etc...)
- A goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands after a teammate passes it to him (The keeper can only use his hands when defending shots, and when redistributing the ball after defending a shot)
- A goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands after receiving a throw-in.
Non-goalkeeper infractions that result in an indirect free kick are:
- Given when a player acts in a dangerous manner (e.g., trying to start a fight or going in on a tackle with his cleats up in order to spike an opponent)
- Impedes the movement of another player (No screens in soccer)
- Prevents the goalkeeper from dropping the ball with his hands in order to force a violation of the six second rule
- Any other offense that might result in a sending off
Note that in some cases, particularly violent conduct can result in a penalty kick, instead of the above.
One other note about free kicks - generally if one of the above fouls is committed by an attacking player against a defending player in the defending player's half, the goalkeeper takes the kick so that his teammates can get forward, and since there is relatively little danger of being scored on in this situation.
Yellow and Red Cards
Yellow and red cards are handed out by officials in order to indicate that the play of a member of a team has crossed the line in someway. Yellow cards are warning cards, given for cautionable offenses - they're meant to tell the player they should watch themselves. Red cards are ejections, given for sending off offenses - they're meant to tell they player they've gone too far and have to leave the game. Players can be given either a yellow or a straight red, depending on the offense. If they already have a yellow and receive a second, it's converted to a red and they are sent off. Typically leagues hand out suspensions for reds and yellows. For example, a player might get a five match suspension after accumulating five yellow cards across a series of matches. Generally a red card means an automatic suspension of at least one match, and possibly more depending on the offense.
Traditionally, referees carry a small notebook with them in which they write down the names of any players who have been cautioned or sent off, along with the reason why; this has been kept up even today, when the multitude of match recordings probably makes this unnecessary. Their notes about the reason for the cards determine what kind of suspensions or fines are handed out afterwards. Because of this, when a player receives a yellow card traditionally we describe that as saying that the player has been booked.
Yellow cards are given out for:
- Unsportsmanlike conduct, broadly construed (like cursing out fellow players, for example)
- Dissent by word or action (Most officials are willing to tolerate players talking to them, but get too much in their face or lay hands on them and you're going to get booked)
(Di Maria probably should not have pulled on this officials shirt, getting his second yellow for dissent)
- Persistent rule infringement (If an official believes a player keeps committing fouls from the lists above, he can book a player for persistent fouling. This is up to the discretion of the official, there is no minimum number of fouls that you have to reach before the card).
- Delay of game
- Failing to respect the proper distances on set pieces (like trying to stand too close to your opponents on a free kick)
- Entering play without notifying the ref, or leaving play without notifying the ref.
Red cards are much more serious, and as a result are usually given only for much more serious infractions:
- Serious foul lay (Like trying to injure a player with a tackle, for example)
- Violent conduct (Punching opponents, fighting, kicking someone when they're down, etc.)
- Spitting (Which is taken very, very seriously in the footballing world)
- Denying a goal scoring opportunity by the use of hands (The most serious type of handball offense.)
- Denying a goal scoring opportunity by fouling, even if that would normally result in a free kick or penalty (For example, if an attacking player has a clear field between himself and the goalkeeper, and a defending player tries to knock him down from behind to prevent a goal-scoring chance, the defender would get a red)
- Using offensive or insulting language or gestures (This has become a point of emphasis in some parts of the soccer world, in particular trying to cut out racial or homophobic slurs. Using one can get you banned for awhile).
- Receiving a second yellow card
A player who receives a red card is said to have been sent off. After a sending off, his team is allowed to make substitutions, however they must play the rest of the match a man down. If a player receives a red, his team must play the rest of the match with 10 men. If there are 10 men and another player has been sent off, they must play with 9, etc.
Penalty kicks
We'll close with a brief description of the penalty kick. A penalty is awarded when a defending player fouls an attacking player in their own penalty area (If the attacking player causes the foul, a goal kick is awarded). The penalty is taken from a spot marked on the pitch that is 12 yards in front of the dead center of the goal. During a penalty kick, no other player may be within 10 yards of the person taking the penalty. The ball is placed on the spot, and kick is taken from a stationary position. The goalkeeper can try and stop the penalty from scoring, but no one else on his team can help. The player taking the kick can take a lead up run to the ball, and can place the ball wherever they'd like in order to try and get it into the net; the goal is try and trick the keeper so that the keeper goes one way while the ball goes the other. Once the penalty taker kicks the ball, he may not kick it again until it either is in the net or bounces off the keeper or goal; in other words, the penalty taker can't kick the ball multiple times in succession. As with free kicks, the team chooses who takes them; the player who takes the kick does not have to be the player who received the foul.
We'll finish out this opening series next time with a brief discussion of the other ways to restart play: The throw-in, the goal kick, and the corner kick.
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