At what point does sheparding the ball out for a goal kick become obstruction?

[Fitzcarraldo]

Some particularly skilful sheparding from their 6 today. Out of reach of the ball he just moved across into one of the wingers paths with his elbows up to be doubly sure there is no slipping past. Quality sheparding. Or is it a foul?

It seems to me to be a real grey area of the rules of football. Anywhere else on the pitch what you can get away with whilst you are sheparding would be obstruction or a plain old foul. But so long as you are guarding the ball as it slowly rolls out for a goal kick, nae bother.

 

[drew]

Some particularly skilful sheparding from their 6 today. Out of reach of the ball he just moved across into one of the wingers paths with his elbows up to be doubly sure there is no slipping past. Quality sheparding. Or is it a foul?

It seems to me to be a real grey area of the rules of football. Anywhere else on the pitch what you can get away with whilst you are sheparding would be obstruction or a plain old foul. But so long as you are guarding the ball as it slowly rolls out for a goal kick, nae bother.

No grey area at all. Exactly as you say, obstruction anywhere else but ok if it's going out for a goal kick. Ridiculous interpretation by refs but then always has been. But then ref's are like that. Look at the decision not to send Dier off to day. Would love to hear from the ref how he justifies that decision.

 

[Hampster Gull]

I hate It

 

[patchamalbion]

on a slightly unrelated note their number 23 took 'if in doubt, boot it out' to a new level today,

borderline funny how he plays Championship football

 

[Fitzcarraldo]

No grey area at all. Exactly as you say, obstruction anywhere else but ok if it's going out for a goal kick. Ridiculous interpretation by refs but then always has been. But then ref's are like that. Look at the decision not to send Dier off to day. Would love to hear from the ref how he justifies that decision.

But where does it switch from regular rules to jail rules? ONE metre from the line? TWO? What happens if it looks like it is going to roll out so Preston's 6 (let's say) starts a particularly skilful shepard. Nowhere near the ball. Both elbows out, stuck in the wingers faces. But then the ball doesn't actually have enough momentum to go out. Does it suddenly switch from masterful sheparding to a silly free kick (or penalty) to give away?

The laws on it are a FARCE

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

I hate It

I'm with you there. I'm sure someone once told me that the rules for what would be considered obstruction do actually allow for the defensive blocking to take place, though whether that's correct is anyone's guess.

 

[Garage_Doors]

I hate the "sheparding" and was under the impression that obstruction had been removed as an offence hence the ref can't penalise it.
In the old days to be in control of the ball the player had to have touch it then he was deemed to be shielding it, but it he was shielding without touching it,it was obstruction.

 

[studio150]

While we on silly ruled another one that always gets me is when a forward runs straight into a defender who is standing a few feet in front of the forward. Forward falls down and expects a free kick which they usually get. But why should the defender have to get out of the way.

 

[Gwylan]

It seems to me to be a real grey area of the rules of football. Anywhere else on the pitch what you can get away with whilst you are sheparding would be obstruction or a plain old foul.

It's not a grey area at all. Shepherding the ball like that is not an offence no matter where it's committed. It doesn't happen in other parts of the field as there's a danger someone else could nick the ball.

Let's have a look at what the law says. "Impeding the progress of an opponent means moving into the path of the opponent to obstruct, block, slow down or force a change of direction by an opponent when the ball is not within playing distance of either player.

All players have a right to their position on the field of play, being in the way of an opponent is not the same as moving into the way of an opponent.

Shielding the ball is permitted. A player who places himself between an opponent and the ball for tactical reasons has not committed an offence as long as the ball is kept within playing distance and the player does not hold off the opponent with his arms or body. If the ball is within playing distance, the player may be fairly charged by an opponent.”

Every time I've seen a defender shield the ball, he's not run into the opponent's path and he's not outside playing distance.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

It seems to me to be a real grey area of the rules of football. Anywhere else on the pitch what you can get away with whilst you are sheparding would be obstruction or a plain old foul. But so long as you are guarding the ball as it slowly rolls out for a goal kick, nae bother.

But players are allowed to shield the ball anywhere on the pitch.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

It's not a grey area at all. Shepherding the ball like that is not an offence no matter where it's committed. It doesn't happen in other parts of the field as there's a danger someone else could nick the ball.

Let's have a look at what the law says. "Impeding the progress of an opponent means moving into the path of the opponent to obstruct, block, slow down or force a change of direction by an opponent when the ball is not within playing distance of either player.

All players have a right to their position on the field of play, being in the way of an opponent is not the same as moving into the way of an opponent.

Shielding the ball is permitted. A player who places himself between an opponent and the ball for tactical reasons has not committed an offence as long as the ball is kept within playing distance and the player does not hold off the opponent with his arms or body. If the ball is within playing distance, the player may be fairly charged by an opponent.”

Every time I've seen a defender shield the ball, he's not run into the opponent's path and he's not outside playing distance.

Quite. I'm slightly puzzled by this thread.

 

[Bodian]

Shielding the ball is permitted. A player who places himself between an opponent and the ball for tactical reasons has not committed an offence as long as the ball is kept within playing distance and the player does not hold off the opponent with his arms or body. [/I]”

"Does not hold off the opponent with his arms or body" - this is where it get's subjective. Because sticking your backside out and backing into the attacker (which is what happens a lot of the time) seems to me to be holding off your opponent with your body. And yesterday he clearly stuck his arm out to stop his opponent getting round him to the ball. I thought it was more than mere shepherding or obstruction to be honest - looked a foul regardless of any of the shielding laws.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

No grey area at all. Exactly as you say, obstruction anywhere else but ok if it's going out for a goal kick. Ridiculous interpretation by refs but then always has been. But then ref's are like that. Look at the decision not to send Dier off to day. Would love to hear from the ref how he justifies that decision.

How many ties have you seen the ref blow up for a free kick when a player shepards the ball out of play to win a throw in higher up the pitch? - i'd go with never

 

[GT49er]

While we on silly ruled another one that always gets me is when a forward runs straight into a defender who is standing a few feet in front of the forward. Forward falls down and expects a free kick which they usually get. But why should the defender have to get out of the way.

100% this - there is no requirement that I know of in the rules for a defender to get out of the way; they aren't breaking any rules if they just stand still - but forwards run into them, hurl themselves to the ground, and expect to get a penalty - sadly they often do.

 

[GT49er]

It's not a grey area at all. Shepherding the ball like that is not an offence no matter where it's committed. It doesn't happen in other parts of the field as there's a danger someone else could nick the ball.

Let's have a look at what the law says. "Impeding the progress of an opponent means moving into the path of the opponent to obstruct, block, slow down or force a change of direction by an opponent when the ball is not within playing distance of either player.

All players have a right to their position on the field of play, being in the way of an opponent is not the same as moving into the way of an opponent.

Shielding the ball is permitted. A player who places himself between an opponent and the ball for tactical reasons has not committed an offence as long as the ball is kept within playing distance and the player does not hold off the opponent with his arms or body. If the ball is within playing distance, the player may be fairly charged by an opponent.”

Every time I've seen a defender shield the ball, he's not run into the opponent's path and he's not outside playing distance.

And there is my nomination for a rule that hasn't been applied in some younger fans' living memories!

 

[Barry Izbak]

Look at the decision not to send Dier off to day. Would love to hear from the ref how he justifies that decision.

I have a decent sized list of decisions I would like to hear from that ref about.
Probably the worst was not to book the guy for fouling Godson, and indeed not even to stop play until the cross was about to land on the head of one of two strikers?
He managed to upset both sets of fans in the same play.

You know there's something up when all four sides of the ground are singing "you don't know what you're doing"

 

[Bodian]

I have a decent sized list of decisions I would like to hear from that ref about.
Probably the worst was not to book the guy for fouling Godson, and indeed not even to stop play until the cross was about to land on the head of one of two strikers?
He managed to upset both sets of fans in the same play.

You know there's something up when all four sides of the ground are singing "you don't know what you're doing"

Don't think he thought it was a foul - probably out of his sight. He didn't give us a free kick for it, just made Stockdale hoof it up to their keeper.

 

[Barry Izbak]

Don't think he thought it was a foul - probably out of his sight. He didn't give us a free kick for it, just made Stockdale hoof it up to their keeper.

I agree. How neither he nor that pathetic lino missed it we'll never know.
I'm relieved he stopped it when he did, but would have been incandescent had I been a home fan with the timing of that whistle

 

[Fitzcarraldo]

It's not a grey area at all. Shepherding the ball like that is not an offence no matter where it's committed. It doesn't happen in other parts of the field as there's a danger someone else could nick the ball.

Let's have a look at what the law says. "Impeding the progress of an opponent means moving into the path of the opponent to obstruct, block, slow down or force a change of direction by an opponent when the ball is not within playing distance of either player.

All players have a right to their position on the field of play, being in the way of an opponent is not the same as moving into the way of an opponent.

Shielding the ball is permitted. A player who places himself between an opponent and the ball for tactical reasons has not committed an offence as long as the ball is kept within playing distance and the player does not hold off the opponent with his arms or body. If the ball is within playing distance, the player may be fairly charged by an opponent.”

Every time I've seen a defender shield the ball, he's not run into the opponent's path and he's not outside playing distance.

How many times a game does it happen and how many times watching football have you EVER seen the ref blow up for it? Whilst those may be the rules, I would venture to say that they are NEVER actually applied. At least once or twice a game, either for or against, there will be one where the defender is clearly out of reach of the ball and he just moves across with his arms up blocking the opposition player off as the ball runs out for a goal kick.

 

[Diego Napier]

It's not a grey area at all. Shepherding the ball like that is not an offence no matter where it's committed. It doesn't happen in other parts of the field as there's a danger someone else could nick the ball.

Let's have a look at what the law says. "Impeding the progress of an opponent means moving into the path of the opponent to obstruct, block, slow down or force a change of direction by an opponent when the ball is not within playing distance of either player.

All players have a right to their position on the field of play, being in the way of an opponent is not the same as moving into the way of an opponent.

Shielding the ball is permitted. A player who places himself between an opponent and the ball for tactical reasons has not committed an offence as long as the ball is kept within playing distance and the player does not hold off the opponent with his arms or body. If the ball is within playing distance, the player may be fairly charged by an opponent.”

Every time I've seen a defender shield the ball, he's not run into the opponent's path and he's not outside playing distance.

However, "shepherding" the ball out of play has certainly become more prevalent over the years. I can't remember the last time I saw a ref blow up for obstruction.