Stopping a Promising Attack (SPA)
‘Stopping a promising attack’ occurs when a player commits an offence against an opponent that results in the loss of an opportunity that may have been likely to produce a shot on goal.
How do I know if I have a SPA?
A SPA offence is committed when some of the following criteria are met during a foul against a player of the attacking team.
Close distance – What was the distance between the offence and the opponent’s goal?
Goal-bound direction – Was the attacker going DIRECTLY towards the opposition goal?
Low number of defenders – How many defenders were there between the ball and the goal, and could any of them make have made a fair challenge?
Active control – Was the attacker in control, or likely to gain or maintain control of the ball?
A ‘professional foul’ usually falls into the domain of ‘SPA’.
If all 4 criteria are met, the offence is DOGSO (see post on DOGSO).
SPA is punishable with a yellow card in almost all instances, with the exception of SPA inside the penalty area, where no sanction is given.
Common sense should be applied when issuing sanctions, it must be clear in the referee’s mind that the attacking team had a good opportunity to have a shot on goal before the foul was committed.