Just because a foul has no further impact doesn’t make it not a foul

If a defender picked up a ball in play in the penalty area, and there were no opponents anywhere near him and no advantage to be gained, it would still be handball. A player running to try to get on a break, who is nowhere near the ball, pulled down by an opponent is still a foul.

It was a foul. At that moment when the foul was committed, the defender didn’t know if Hirst would reach the ball, nor did the ref. Hirst got lucky. As someone posted yesterday, there should be more penalties given, especially at corners. The number of times you see free kicks given in safe areas of the pitch that would never be given in the penalty area is frustrating and inconsistent in the extreme. Give the penalties, stop the fouls.

Posted By: APB, Apr 20, 12:23:11