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[quote=Anonymous][quote=RantingSoccerDad][quote=Anonymous]Somewhat of a soccer neophyte here.

How do refs interpret contact with the keeper?  I get that a 50/50 ball is just that, and fair game (and a goalie presumably has a responsibility to protect him/herself).  Too often, though, particularly at the younger ages, there is no doubt that GK will get to the ball first, yet the attacking player will come in full bore on the chance that the GK misplays it (as taught by the coach to "follow up"), and when the keeper goes to play it cleanly (either by hand or foot), he/she gets taken out.

FWIW, I come from the hockey culture where the rules recognize that GK is almost always in a vulnerable position and the rules are designed to protect the keeper. I'm curious whether soccer refs follow the same thinking.   [/quote]

Refs generally do protect the keeper a good bit -- sometimes to the dismay of TV commentators.

The goalkeeper cannot be challenged when he or she has the ball in hand, and the definition of "in hand" is more expansive than people realize. If the ball is in an outstretched open hand, it's in hand. If the ball is between the hand and the ground (or the hand and the ground), it's in hand. (The latter came up in one of my games. The coach said, "Had to have both hands on it last I checked, but OK." I wonder when he last checked.[/quote]

Parent of a GK here.  My player is much bigger and stronger and (here’s the unusual part) faster than most of the other kids on the field at any given time. I’ve found that my GK gets carded a lot more than is fair IMHO.  The size difference between the speedy little striker and the also speedy big GK often results in refs favoring the striker instead of the GK in making calls.  And yet when those same strikers intentionally drop a shoulder or don’t pull up their run to avoid the collision, when it’s clearly a foul, the striker doesn’t get carded. So they do it again the next time.  It’s really nerve-wracking as a parent. [/quote]

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