The other day I was playing in a game soccer and the ball deflected into an empty space. Myself and an opposing player started to chase the ball down when I was called for a foul. We were running shoulder to shoulder when I did what could be described as a "swim move" to establish position. I did not push, grab, or trip the other player. Why was a foul called?
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Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct, Section 1 - Direct Free Kick:
A direct free kick is awarded if a player commits any of the following offences:
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- holds an opponent
Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct, Section 2 - Indirect Free Kick:
... A player may shield the ball by taking a position between an opponent and the ball if the ball is within playing distance and the opponent is not held off with the arms or body.
(while the above section is in the indirect free kick Laws section, it is there to explain the difference between impeding i.e. shielding the ball when it is not in playing distance of either player and holding, which as seen above, is a direct free kick offence)
Applying this to your scenario, you did not grab the opponent, but you did use you arm to hold off the opponent from getting to the ball. Based on this, the referee correctly awarded a direct free kick.
answered May 16 '18 at 6:58
Well, extending your arm and impeding progress of your opponent is a foul. Soccer is not played with your arm.
Edit: It's what the referee observes and if you extend your arm across the body of your opponent... well that's usually seen as "obstruction"
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As Google translates: (in various sports) the action of unlawfully obstructing a player in the opposing team. May 16 '18 at 19:26
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1There is no offence called obstruction in association football. May 17 '18 at 9:06
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I know obstruction is not in The Laws, that's why it's in quotes. Surely you agree that extending your arm (swimming motion - I translated that to a breaststroke style but could be anything) and thus impeding progress of an opponent is a foul. A nice summary of that is "obstruction". May 17 '18 at 18:32
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I guess I'm just confused as to why you uses a word not in the Laws when the words in the Laws are both more descriptive and more authoritative. Now as to whether it's impeding, Law 12 says the following: Impeding the progress of an opponent means moving into the opponent’s path to obstruct, block, slow down or force a change of direction when the ball is not within playing distance of either player. Given that the players were running side by side, it doesn't appear this involved moving into the opponent's path. May 18 '18 at 5:31