1. Law 5 U.S. Soccer Federation Referee Program Advantage Update
June 2012

2. ADVANTAGE Advantage – A Core Concept An offense occurs
Stop play or not?
Why are offenses committed?
Slow the pace of play
Give the team time to defend
Break up momentum
Advantage is a fundamental concept in Law 5 which enables the referee to keep play moving when stopping play for an offense would benefit the team which committed the offense. The Law expressly recognizes that, often, the reason an offense occurs is to disrupt the play of the opposing team and, when this is the case, stopping play for the offense can end up supporting that strategy rather than punishing it.

3. ADVANTAGE What Offenses? Traditional View Fouls (Law 12)
Misconduct (Law 12)
Contemporary View
Any offense committed by a player while the ball is in play
The traditional view limited the offenses to which advantage could be applied to fouls and misconduct described in Law 12. Modern usage has expanded that to cover any offense committed by a player while the ball is in play.
If player A10 tripped opponent B32, the referee needed to decide if stopping play would benefit Team A (or harm Team B). If either was the case, the referee could signal clearly that play should continue.

4. ADVANTAGE This is not about What criteria should be used
How to signal advantage
What to do if the advantage does not continue
Coming back for misconduct even when advantage is applies
Etc.
This presentation is not about advantage itself. USSF training materials, as part of becoming a new referee or participating in in-service training to expand referee skills, should be reviewed for concrete guidelines on how, when, and where advantage should or should not be applied. These materials also deal with such important secondary issues as the mechanics for giving the advantage signal, what to do if the advantage does not materialize or continue, how to handle misconduct which has been delayed by an advantage decision, and many other details.
Most of what follows assumes a basic understanding of these guidelines.

5. ADVANTAGE This is about
Explaining how the advantage concept has expanded
Providing concrete scenarios which help referees understand the expanded concept
The following materials use concrete scenarios to help explain where the expanded advantage concept applies and where it does not.

6. ADVANTAGE What is needed? Offense committed by a player
While the ball is in play
There are two key phrases in this contemporary view – “offense committed by a player” and “while the ball is in play.”
“Player” means anyone listed on the roster (if there is one) who is permitted on the field during play – in other words, “player” does not include substitutes. The focus here, therefore, is only on violations of the Law which are or can be committed by a player. There are violations of the Law which are not committed by a player – not having corner flags, for example – and are obviously not covered by advantage.
The requirement that the ball be in play removes a number of violations that are committed by a player. First of all, it means that advantage doesn’t apply to things that happen when the ball is not in play or for offenses committed by substitutes or team officials, but it also means that it doesn’t apply to things that happen in the process of putting the ball into play – i.e., on restarts.

7. ADVANTAGE “Ball in play” Advantage cannot be applied to any restart
Restart requirements exist prior to the ball going into play
Example: Throw-in
When is the ball in play regarding each of the seven ways to start or restart a game? For example, at a throw-in by the Blue team, the ball is thrown into the field from the wrong location but possession is gained by a Red player who turns and begins attacking the Blue goal. Advantage cannot be applied because Law 15 requires that the ball must be thrown in from where it left the field so the correction location of the throw-in is a requirement that exists before the ball is in play. Even though the Red team has benefitted from the Blue player’s offense (throwing the ball in from the wrong location), the illegal throw must be whistled and the restart given to the opposing team even though the Red team may have preferred to have been permitted to keep possession of the ball from the original restart.

8. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 1
Red #4 takes a throw-in and violates Law 15 by having one or both feet completely within the field of play. The ball goes to a Blue player.
Advice 1
Advantage is not applied in situations involving a violation of a restart requirement. In this case, the throw-in is given to the opposing team.
These scenarios are official indications of where advantage should and should not be applied in accordance with this clarification. They cannot cover all situations of potential interest but are sufficiently detailed to provide clear guidance.
In this case, the player committed a violation of Law 15 by having one or both feet completely on the field prior to releasing the ball into play. Accordingly, the offense was committed before the ball was in play – which is why advantage cannot be given.

9. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 2
The Red team is taking a goal kick but the kicker does not hit the ball squarely so it only travels six feet and stays inside Red’s penalty area. The kicker runs to the ball and kicks it again, this time causing it to leave the penalty area but coming directly under the control of a Blue opponent.
Advice 2
Advantage is not applied in situations involving a violation of a restart requirement. In this case, the goal kick must be retaken.

10. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 3
Blue #23 performs a goal kick. The ball leaves the penalty area but is blown back toward the Blue goal. The Blue goalkeeper handles the ball but the ball continues into the goal.
Advice 3
Advantage should be applied in this situation (the violation is a foul under Law 12 and would be covered under previous guidelines anyway). No advantage signal should be given and the goal should be counted.
The offense is “pass back” violation – the goalkeeper handled the ball directly from a deliberate play of the ball from a teammate’s foot). The advantage signal is not needed because a goal immediately resulted from the offense and the application is obvious since the goal is being allowed. It is also not needed because USSF training guidelines specify that an overt advantage signal is not given for a defender’s offense occurring within the penalty area.

11. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 4
Blue #23 performs a goal kick. The ball leaves the penalty area but is blown back toward the Blue goal and Blue #23 attempts to kick the ball away. The ball goes into the net anyway.
Advice 4
Advantage should be applied (the violation is not a foul and is described in Law 16 – a 2nd touch offense). The advantage signal should not be given as counting the goal makes the decision clear.
Experienced referees may recognize this scenario (or one like it) as often appearing in tests of their knowledge of the Laws of the Game. Prior to this year, the correct answer would have been that advantage could not apply to this Law 16 violation and so play would have to be stopped with no goal counted and an indirect free kick for the 2nd contact directly by the player who restarted play. As of now (and this will be reflected in USSF testing materials), the correct answer would be to apply advantage and give the goal.

12. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 5
Red #11 takes a free kick and then kicks the ball again but inadvertently delivers it to a Blue opponent who is able to begin a credible attack on the Red goal.
Advice 5
Advantage should be applied (the violation is not a foul and is described in Law 13 – a 2nd touch offense) and the advantage signal should be given as it is necessary to make clear that play will not be stopped.

13. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 6
Blue #35 is in an offside position when a teammate passes the ball in her direction. She makes contact with the ball but the ball then goes directly to Red #9 who appears to gain clear control. Red #9 takes a step or two but misplays the ball to a Blue opponent.
Advice 6
This situation is governed by the “wait and see” concept and, though advantage is being initially considered, no advantage signal should be given. When it is evident that Red’s control is not maintained, the offside offense should be called.
Not only is this scenario instructive as regards the newly clarified advantage concept but it also highlights the fact that, as with other, more familiar advantage situations, the referee is expected to return to and stop play for the original offense if the advantage does not develop or continue over the next several seconds.

14. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 7
The referee drops the ball to restart play and Red #18 kicks the ball into his own or the opposing team’s net before the ball touches the ground.
Advice 7
Advantage is not applied in situations involving a violation of a restart requirement. In this case, the dropped ball restart must be retaken.

15. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 8
Blue #35 is in an offside position when a teammate passes the ball in her direction. She turns and shoots on goal but the Red goalkeeper takes clear control of the ball and makes a long punt downfield.
Advice 8
Advantage is applied but, in the special case of offside, no advantage signal should be given. The “wait and see” concept is used to ensure that the element of control by the opposing team is reliable and demonstrated by the opposing team being able to maintain an active, credible attack on the goal of the team which committed the offside violation. If the evidence of advantage is not convincing and maintained, the offside offense should be called.

16. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 9
During an attack on goal by Blue #46, a Red substitute runs onto the field and tackles the ball away the attacker. However, the ball then goes to Blue #30 who appears able to maintain the attack.
Advice 9
In this situation, advantage cannot be applied because the violation has not been committed by a player. Play should be stopped the moment the Red substitute interferes with play and, after dealing with the substitute’s misconduct, play is resumed with an indirect free kick where the ball was when play was stopped (for the illegal entry of the substitute).

17. ADVANTAGE
Scenario 10
Red #2 takes the kick-off for her team after a goal but gives the ball only a glancing strike. It travels forward only a few feet and Red #2 kicks the ball again. It goes to Blue #29 who begins dribbling the ball downfield toward the Red team’s goal.
Advice 10
Advantage could be applied in this situation (and, if so, the advantage signal would be given) if, in your opinion, Blue #29 is able to maintain a credible attack on goal. If this is not the case, the second touch violation would be called and play restarted with an indirect free kick where the second touch occurred.
This scenario emphasizes a common element in all advantage decisions – an evaluation of the “4 Ps” – Possession, Potential, Personnel, and Proximity. In this case, Possession is established but the decision as to Potential (the ability to maintain a credible attack on goal) remains up in the air and requires “waiting” to see what develops. Personnel is likely not an issue but Proximity (distance to the goal) is clearly in the grey area. As a result, the advantage decision here could go either way depending on the referee’s assessment of the player’s ability to maintain a credible attack.