You make the call

[neuron1]

The keeper makes a save where he had to dive on the ball. The keeper then grabs the leg of the opposing player standing near his head and pulls him to the ground.

The official gave the keeper a yellow card and then gave his team an indirect kick from that point.

[ssusoccer]

Correct call if that's all that the keeper got was a yellow. Red would have been ejected.

[vballsoccer178]

Could have been a red card, but should have been a penalty kick since it was obviously in the box. We faced a keeper like that this year. We had to dodge swinging arms & elbows & kicks when we got near him.

[Keegan]

Depends on the structure at which the game has been called and the officials you have. Some would have given straight red card, other may have just called a foul. Was a card warranted? By all means yes, Yellow is probably what I would have went with at the minimum. I would have also like to have seen the incident first hand to know what cause or could have built up the situation.

[drrabbit]

I did see it. Nothing really built up to it. There had been no previous interaction between the two players as the one was a substitute midfielder who, in his limited playing time, had not gotten close to the keeper before. But the Referee's ruling was that it was a 'dead ball' foul so there was no penalty kick. The keeper stopped a shot but did not controlled the ball. The two pursued the loose ball before the keeper controlled the ball by scooping and laying on it (stopping active play) and then deliberately reached over and grabbed the ankle and pulled the opponent down as a seperate motion. At that moment the opponent was standing about 18 inches from the keeper but had stopped moving once the ball was controlled. The infracting player deserved his card. Personally I hate to see red cards unless it is egregious. This was pretty flagrant but not dangerous so I was OK with the yellow. I don't know if there really should have been a penalty kick or not but there are too many penalty kicks anyway.

[xb1srw2]

my call -
yellow and PK

[my2cents]

I talked to the ref who made the call at a game later that week and he explained it this way. The goalie had jumped on the ball but didn't have it secure. The burg player then kicked at it as he gathered it back in. The play was then whistled dead, but the burg player was still standing over the goalie. He then reached out and grabbed his leg and pulled him down, which was the yellow card. Since the play had already been blown dead, there was no shot impeded, so there would be no penalty kick. In that case the correct call was made.

[soccernut]

Why was the play whistled dead if the ball didn't go out of bounds and there wasn't a foul yet?

[drrabbit]

I do not remember hearing a whistle until after the foul occurred and I was about 15 feet from the referee but maybe the ball is considered 'dead' once the goalie controls it? After all, it is no longer available for 'play' until he releases it again.

[my2cents]

I didn't hear the whistle either but the ref said the play was whistled dead, which really wouldn't make sense either, for if he had whislted it dead, then the boy from the burg who continued to kick at the ball should have been carded as well.
I think what should have been called was after the ball was dead (even though the goalie never really controlled the ball for more than a second on the ground) if the Burg player attempted to kick it while is was in his grasp, or why he was gathering it back in, he should recieved a yellow card, and then the goalie should have recieved his yellow card for grabbing his feet and pulling him to the ground.

[rxburgfan]

another you make the call. the old ""double whistle by pappa romanello in the burg/minford game. bad officiating to all play to continue. if game was close call probably could have been appealed, but burg wasn't in this one. his partner even gave burg a "touch" pk to even the score. "let's root, root ,root for the home team..." but not if your wearing yellow stripes.

[my2cents]

The games I have seen Romanello call, he has always done an excellent game. Can't say the same for his partner. Romanello had to overrule him at least 3 times on out of bounds ball and had to make a call from 60+ yards away to give a PK to the away team on a foul that took place 15 feet in front of the other ref and he was looking right at it. Romanell's partner that night made 0 calls against the home team the entire night and laughed with a player on the field after he made a poor call and yellow carded a player. Did not set well with the fans.

[soccerfix]

Both of the Romanellos are the class of southern Ohio. Nobody can consistently make a call that both sides agree with, but this father son duo are the best.

[preps_fan1980]

romanello's are good. of course there will always be questionable calls and even missed calls. it's hard to find good refs these days...be pleased with what you get because it could always be worse.

[my2cents]

I didn't know it was a father and son team. Greg Romanello is the one I know and he does a great job. The other ref had short blonde hair. If it was his son, all I can say is you don't inherit knowledge.
I do have a question, especially for the refs in the crowd. Why do soccer refs turn and argue with the fans. I have seen this for years, and only in soccer, do the refs yell up at fans who are questioning calls or complaining. You never (or very rarely) see this in football or basketball (where refs really get hammered), but almost every time fans get onto a soccer ref, they will challenge the fan. I'm not saying I could do the job, but it seems like part of the training would be to ignore the fans.

[vballsoccer178]

The official that has helped Greg most of this year is not his son. I think the one you are referring to is a first year official & he probably appreciates your nice comments. He played soccer & usually young guys that played are not as quick to blow the whistle. They will learn with time if they don't get run off by fans or coaches who criticize them after the game.

[preps_fan1980]

i'm not an official, but i too have seen officials talking to fans. sometimes they are briefly stating why a call was made. other times, it's a little more involved than that. i think it has to do with the fact that there are not as many fans at soccer games, therefore it's easier to hear who's yelling at you and what exactly they are saying. also, fans tend to get a little rowdier during a soccer match and have to be removed from watching the game by the official...and that's just unfortunate.

[rxburgfan]

bad calls get made, and mistakes happen. if they are game changing then the official needs to have "brassy enough ones" to admit to it and take the flak. it did not happen on this call and it was easily resolved. one more point if one official over rules his partner from 60 yds away he better be dead on. it makes the closer official to look bad. it does happen too often. it could be referred to a pulling a "fetty".

[my2cents]

The 60 yard overrule was dead on correct. I see no problem letting the refs know when you think they missed a call. Otherwise they just run up and down the field with the whistle in their pocket. I have seen too many games where one official will go the entire game and make only one call, while his partner does all the work.
As far as the first year reg appreciating my comments, I could care less. Your getting paid to call the game, you should at least be able to follow up on the basic rules. If your too unsure and afraid to blow your whistle, then maybe it's not for you. And other than explaining a call to the coach, there is no reason to talk to the fans, period. As RX said, you need to have "brassy ones".
My biggest complaint is when nothing is called until the game gets so rough that someone gets hurt, then they start calling. Just like in basketball, the refs have to set the standard of play before it gets out of hand.

[soccerfix]

In basketball and soccer I always say "Call the little ones early; then the big ones won't happen late."