Jack Grealish Criticizes Referee After Controversial Free-Kick Incident
Jack Grealish has expressed his discontent with referee Darren England following the booking of his Everton teammate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for taking a quick free-kick during their 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.
Grealish remarked that he had "never seen that in my life" after Dewsbury-Hall was shown a card for executing the set-piece before the referee was ready.
Everton manager David Moyes also voiced his confusion, stating that he found "some of the decisions really strange." In an interview with BBC Sport, Moyes mentioned, "I’ve played plenty of games recently where teams have taken quick free-kicks without waiting for the referee's whistle."
Incident Details
The incident occurred in the 78th minute when Grealish was fouled by Liverpool's Curtis Jones and remained on the ground. Twenty-nine seconds later, Dewsbury-Hall took the free-kick.
At the time, the referee was not facing the player taking the set-piece and had not signaled for the kick to be taken. Subsequently, he issued a booking to the Everton player.
According to the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which governs the laws of the game, there is no specific rule that penalizes a player for taking a quick free-kick. However, under IFAB's law 12.4, a player can receive a card for dissent or unsportsmanlike behavior.
As of now, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the organization responsible for officiating in England, has not commented on this particular incident.
Guidelines for Quick Free-Kicks
IFAB states that while a referee does not need to blow the whistle for a quick free-kick to be taken, certain conditions must be met:
The kick must be taken from the correct position.
The ball must be stationary.
No player should be injured.
The referee must not have distracted the team taking the kick.
Given that play was halted for Grealish's injury, the referee could argue that Dewsbury-Hall's set-piece required his authorization before proceeding.
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