Nearly everyone is wrong about what is a foul, inc referees.
Gary Lineker, Newspaper journalists, former referee Graham Poll, and everyone else who agrees with the Benteke penalty: You’re all wrong. Not in my opinion, not on what constitutes someone’s right to fall over, but factually, according the rule book, you’re all wrong.
Let’s start with Graham Poll, who wrote today that it was a foul on Benteke because in his words, “Delaney ripped Benteke”. Graham Poll is using the rule-book’s lexicon here, by using the word “tripped”, because a “trip” according to FIFA’s rulebook is a foul. As seen here:
The major problem here is that Graham Poll thinks it is a “trip”. What is a trip? Unless FIFA and football has its own unique definition of the word, a trip in the dictionary is defined in the English language as such:
As is clear, there is simply no definition existing in the language for the word trip in this context that does not require the contact with the foot TO PHYSICALLY FORCE the person to fall to the floor or stumble. This is the key. Someone or thing making contact with your foot, that doesn’t cause you to fall, is NOT A TRIP. Therefore it cannot be classed as a trip. If something contacts with your feet/legs, and you decide consciously to throw yourself over because of it, that is not a trip.
So what definition of trip are people like Graham Poll and other referees using?
If the contact, and the contact alone, with the player did not physically cause the player to fall or stumble, it is simply not even a foul. It is just contact. Essentially, every single time a player dives, the player is usually in full control of his body, therefore is not in the process of being tripped up. On the issue of being “kicked” is a separate one. I don’t think anyone sane is claiming that Deleany “kicked” Benteke.
Benteke simply felt some kind of contact on his foot, and decided to throw himself to the ground. This should not be a foul according to the games rule book.
So one question: WHY ARE REFEREES GIVING FOULS FOR TRIPS THAT ARE NOT TRIPS?
And secondly, why are so many prominent media figures ignoring the rule book, and towing the party line of cheating players?
