Play of the Week 10: DOGSO
May 14, 2014
In the 10th edition of PRO’s Play of the Week, Paul Rejer discusses DOGSO (Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity).
PRO’s Training & Development Manager Rejer looks at the implications of playing advantage in the penalty area following penal offenses and in particular when a player is guilty of DOGSO.
Rejer said: “We had two plays over the weekend that I would like to examine further and compare the two situations.
“The first one is from Montreal Impact vs. Sporting Kansas City, when the Impact’s Collen Warner deliberately handles the ball on the goal line and prevents Oriol Rosell an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
“I wouldn’t normally advocate playing advantage in the penalty area as a PK is usually scored. However, on this occasion, referee Jair Marrufo delayed awarding the PK and I believe for all the right reasons.
“Jair knows that once he blows the whistle he has to send off Warner for DOGSO but, if SKC score, then it is only a yellow card offense and would have saved the Montreal defender from an early exit.
“Just at the time when Marrufo has played reasonable time to make the PK award credible, he blows his whistle and SKC put the ball in the goal. The referee has no choice but to send off the Montreal player.
“The other play comes from the Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake match when Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall pulls RSL’s Devon Sandoval to the ground when he has an obvious goal scoring opportunity. This is further evidenced when he actually puts the ball into the goal.
“Referee Allen Chapman blew his whistle to stop the game so the goal didn’t stand and the PK was correctly awarded.
“As I mentioned earlier I would not normally advocate playing advantage in the penalty area as a PK is usually scored but, on this occasion, the ball went into goal quickly after the foul. I fully understand why Allen blew his whistle because, as Sandoval went to ground, it would appear it was unlikely that he would score.
“I would like to reiterate that the award of a PK does not mean that a goal scoring opportunity has been denied under the current Laws of the Game. And Chapman, as Marrufo did, should have produced the red card for DOGSO.
“A slight delay of the whistle – as in the previous play – would have prevented a mandatory red card and a yellow card would have been appropriate.”