Sliding into in goal and avoiding a tackle

[Accylad]

Watching torrential rain fall yesterday afternoon I found myself musing on a scenario, and a look at TLOTG left me unsure as to the correct interpratation in law....

Imagine this - blue player running flat out towards goal line. Several red players are between him and the goal line preparing to tackle. The pitch is very wet indeed and blue decides to hit the deck and slide into in goal from some distance out, say 4/5metres. As he surfs towards the line red players find him impossible to tackle and he slides over the line.

LOTG say in Law 14 that a player who is not tackled but who goes to ground while holding the ball.....must act immediately and get up, pass or release it.

So, try or penalty kick for not complying with Law14?

I have given many tries for a short slide in, but this feels different. A momentum try of course only applies following a tackle made short of the line.

 

[Dickie E]

Nice question. My first thought was to allow the try but, you're right, momentum is only referred to in Law 15

 

[Adam]

I'm giving the try every time. If it looks and sounds...

 

[Taff]

... LOTG say in Law 14 that a player who is not tackled but who goes to ground while holding the ball.....must act immediately and get up, pass or release it.

I would vote for a try too.

In my book, he did act "immediately" (for however long it took him to slide 4-5 metres) - he grounded the ball in-goal.

In fact I thought that sliding into in-goal was a coached technique if a tackle was imminent.

 

[ddjamo]

if you guys allow a ball carrier to intentionally go off his feet to avoid a tackle and allow a 5m slide - do you allow the defenders to jump on the sliding ball carrier in attempt to stop him?

 

[Simon Thomas]

Try awarded, using the wet conditions to extend his slide-in to score is fine with me.

 

[Dixie]

if you guys allow a ball carrier to intentionally go off his feet to avoid a tackle and allow a 5m slide - do you allow the defenders to jump on the sliding ball carrier in attempt to stop him?

And that is indeed the question. Equity above law, and all that.

IMO, the grounded player only neesd to act "immediately" once his momentum has stopped. I have no support for that, but I think it would be a can of worms to argue otherwise. However, the spirit of the game is all about the contest for the ball; I can't accept that the Laws require a player 5m out to have an uninterrupted passage to the goal line.

It seems to me that you either penalise the ball carrier for not releasing before he's come to a halt (wouldn't that release almost inevitably result in a knock-on due to momentum ?), or you allow the defence to engage with him to try to arrest his momentum, and/or divest him of the ball.

Tough one. Hope it never happens!

 

[OB..]

Tough one. Hope it never happens!

It already happens - but for much shorter distances. However the principle is established that you can slide into in-goal. If you then try to set a distance limit .... unrealistic.

What would be fun would be a player judging the distance wrongly and stopping a few inches short. Like players who dive over the dead-ball line to "score" etc.

 

[Ciaran Trainor]

the only way to stop it would be to kneel down or lie down.
Could be dangerous if defender decides to slide towards the ball carrier.

 

[Pinky]

You could legally try and grab the ball as he slides past, and if he doesn't let go, then PK. He is off his feet and only has rights to the ball if noone else is trying to play it.

 

[didds]

but how "long" is a grab in this regard. As a player slides past the defender at (say) 13 mph, with that defender standing still is the fraction of a second he can lay a fingertip on/near the ball (which will likely be under the slider, or at least to the side away from the nearest defender) sufficient to say that the defender had a "right" to that ball?

If so, then in normal tackle situations a defender only would have to touch the ball for it to be an immediate PK if not already released?

Which is clearly not the case.

didds

 

[Ciaran Trainor]

Well as I write this it is p*ssing it down, I wonder if I get one today

 

[Davet]

Well as I write this it is p*ssing it down, I wonder if I get one today

Down here it's sunny, dry, light wind, about 12 deg C in the shade, slight soft underfoot after recent rain but still firm enough to run properly on and spot on for a good game.

Lovin' it!

 

[Buck1969]

I had one a few weeks back in absolutely horrendous conditions - no rain on the day, but the pitch was an absolute mud pit. Player had a breakaway but got caught from behind at least 5 meters out, if not more, and with the momentum slid well into the in-goal. Try awarded, with a big smile on my face as it looked damn fun.