thermopylai
Active member
Add to this the habit - and almost everyone does it - of running a few paces holding the ball after conceding a free kick or throw in. Of course its a tactic to prevent a quick throw/kick by the opposition, but it really p***** me off. Should be treated like a deliberate hand ball - which it is - and be a straight yellowThere are many ways to eat up time.
Legitimate ways are to keep possession, play to the corners.
Even slowing the pace down by taking an extra second or two to take a goal kick, throw in or free kick is valid.
What gets my goat are the obvious ones.
The 'tiny steps' walk off the pitch when substituted.
The 'where shall I place the ball for the goal-kick' fake prevarication of goal keepers.
The 'I am going to pretend to be the one taking this throw in or free kick for a while even though I know another team mate will rock up to actually take it once we've wasted enough time'.
Then, worst of all, the out of possession ones.
Not stepping away from a free kick.
Going down 'injured' yards away from the action to try and force the ref to stop opposition play.
Add to that the tactic I saw Cheltenham use three times on Saturday.
Claim to be injured then, if that doesn't work, put your hands to your head to turn it into a 'head' injury.
The obvious examples of micky taking listed above should be punished as soon as they occur in a game.
I don't want football to be stifled with new rules or punishments.
The rules and punishments are there already for the referee to apply.
There's a wider issue in that these tactics payoff for the teams that use them.
We know from our own attempts to play fair a few seasons back that it actually worked against us in terms of decisions given.
All games are filmed in their entirety and 4th officials are observers.
The evidence is plentiful and clear guidance to referees is long overdue.