Two-footed Challenges Are Considered Serious Foul Play

When two opponents are both within playing distance and challenging for the ball, referees must be alert that a player flying in with two feet off the ground and with studs exposed is using excessive force. This is what happened during the Premiership league match between Chelsea and Stoke on Sunday 25 April 2010. The match finished 7—0.

[Stoke’s Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen suffered a dislocated right elbow following a two-footed challenge by Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou]

Unfortunately, referee Steve Bennett allowed the goal to stand and Kalou to escape sanction. The following are some freeze frames of the incident from 3 different camera angles.







The two-footed challenge, viewed from whichever angle, tells the same story. That is, the Chelsea player (blue) used excessive force and should have been sent off for serious foul play.