The Rational Ref | Soccer referees urged to take action over obstruction at set pieces
Players are so set in their ways at set pieces that referees have to pull together to get rid of holding, pushing and blocking
The trouble with set plays is that players are set in their troublesome ways. At corner kicks, players are so conditioned to holding, pushing and blocking that they have inadvertently contributed to the problem of obstruction. So what happens when push comes to shove?
Over the Christmas period some English Premier League referees attempted to clamp down on holding, pushing and blocking. The change was sparked by an earlier match when referee Mark Halsey's non-intervention led to Everton's Marouane Fellaini headbutting Stoke's Ryan Shawcross, who had been obstructing throughout the entire match.
So within 10 seconds of kick-off at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, referee Phil Dowd signalled his intention by awarding a free kick against Aston Villa over an off-the-ball incident where Chelsea's Juan Mata was obstructed when racing towards the penalty area. Players instantly got the message because there was very little grappling at set pieces during the match.
Despite this proactive intervention by referees, former player-turned-commentator Martin Keown believes players are now used to being held and blocked because match officials have let so much go.
"There will always be shirt-pulling in the box. Sometimes it's just a natural instinct. You use it as a brake to slow down an attacker," said Keown, who draws the line at what he calls wrestling. "I never put two arms around an opponent like Shawcross does. It's not defending, it's tag wrestling. I was on the receiving end of a player like that, too. It was a game against Lazio and Alessandro Nesta was wrestling me to the ground at every free kick and corner. I tried to tell the referee but he did nothing."
The problem is that at the highest level of the game, top referees rarely penalise players for holding at set pieces and if they do, it is usually in favour of the defending team. It is always safer to give a free kick to the defending team as opposed to a penalty for the attacking team. Unfortunately many referees all over the world resort to this soft-option form of officiating.