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Slide Tackles
Referee Information for Slide Tackles
What is a Slide Tackle?
In soccer, the term "tackling" means an attempt to win the ball from an opponent by using your feet. Therefore "tackling" is a normal part of play and is generally acceptable. "Slide Tackling" means attempting to win the ball from an opponent using your feet while you are sliding on the ground. This method of winning the ball has a certain amount of risk associated with it in that, if done improperly, the tackling player may make contact with their opponent and trip them (a foul) or worse, contact them in a way that causes injury.
For this reason and in the interest of promoting player safety, many leagues do not permit "slide tackling". In Washington State, slide tackling is not permitted in any U10 or younger match.
How is a "legal" slide tackle accomplished?
A player may win the ball from an opponent using a slide tackle if their tackle, in the opinion of the referee, is "safe". As a simple guideline, a foul has not occurred if, IN THE OPINION OF THE REFEREE, (a) the sliding player contacted the ball FIRST; and (b) the sliding players legs were "down" on the ground (neither leg is lifted up off the ground any higher than needed to contact a rolling ball); and (c) if the player with the ball went down, they either tripped over the ball OR the momentum of the player that had the ball caused them to make contact with the sliding player's legs.
Slide Tackles from Behind
It is a common misconception that all slide tackles that originate from behind a player are, by definition, fouls, and subject to serious penalty. This is not correct. The laws of the game do not forbid a slide tackle from behind. However, directives to referees require that referees pay particular attention to challenges from behind because challenges from behind carry an increased risk of injury to players.
The previous section describes what constitutes a "fair" slide tackle. When sliding from behind, it is extraordinarily difficult to contact the ball before contacting the player - after all, the legs are in the way. Even if you do contact the ball before the player, it is highly likely that the momentum of the sliding player will carry them into the legs of the player with the ball, resulting in a tripping foul. The player with the ball cannot see this contact coming and can take no action to avoid being taken down, so they often will fall hard to the ground if contacted.
FIFA directs referees to treat any foul from behind as a serious matter. When sliding from behind, a highly skilled player may be able to hook their leg around to the front of the running opponent, make contact with the ball, and not follow through to make contact with the opponent. It is possible, but very very difficult. If they do make contact, the referee may treat the matter as anything from a simple foul to "serious foul play" and send off the sliding player. Only the referee can make the final decision:
Was this merely a "misjudgment" by the sliding player who made minor contact with the opponent? In this case, a simple foul may be sufficient.
Was this a "reckless challenge" - a challenge with a significant likelihood of contacting the opponent or without regard to the possible consequences of blindly tripping the player? Issuing a caution, in addition to the normal direct free kick, is certainly called for.
Did the player come in for their tackle at high speed, in a manner that any reasonable person would recognize would result in significant and dangerous contact between the sliding player and the running player? Such use of "excessive force" may warrant showing of red card, followed by the direct free kick.
In youth matches, in particular young youth matches, the referee faces the added challenge of dealing with the lack of skill of opponents. For recreational players "misjudgment" and "careless" actions are generally far more common than the aggressive challenges that are sometimes seen in older (U14+) and more competitive (Crossfire Select and Crossfire Premier) matches and which may merit a send off.
Hopefully, it is apparent that there is significant room for judgment by the referee in the above situations. Therefore, the player that slides from behind is taking a risk that it may well be their last play of the game. While referees must try to balance whether the harsh action of sending off a player is really called for when a recreational player makes a "mistake", the referee should not hesitate to remove from the match any player who clearly has no regard for the safety of their fellow athlete. Fortunately, the sort of tackles that would be considered 'dangerous/excessive force' fouls are extremely rare in younger recreational matches.
