Play of the week: DAL vs LA and CHV vs COL

PRO Training & Development Manager Paul Rejer reflects on two denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) situations from Saturday April 13th, in week 7’s Play of the week.

Paul draws upon incidents from FC Dallas’ match with LA Galaxy, and Chivas USA’s encounter with Colorado Rapids.

He explained: “Firstly, the referee has to decide if a foul has occurred. He then has to consider: 1) The distance between the offense and the goal; 2) The likelihood of the attacker keeping or gaining control of the ball; 3) The direction of the play; 4) The location and number of defenders.

“One example was seen in the FC Dallas versus LA Galaxy game, when Leonardo of LA fouled Perez of Dallas from behind. If you consider the criteria: 1) He is close to goal; 2) He has possession of the ball and would have kept control if not for the foul; 3) He is moving towards goal; 4) There are no other defenders around. Therefore, this incident fulfills all of the conditions of a DOGSO offense.

“In the Chivas USA versus Colorado Rapids game, Eric Avila of Chivas fouled Deshorn Brown of Colorado. This instance also meets all of the criteria of a DOGSO offense, although all of the conditions are not as blatant.

“A good way to arrive at the correct conclusion is to actually take the offending defender out of the picture, in which case it becomes clearer as to what would have happened. In this play, the attacking player has a clear pathway to goal and would have had an obvious opportunity to shoot at goal before the nearest defender would have reached him.

“Therefore, both of these incidents fulfill all of the criteria of a DOGSO offense.”