A defender trips an attacker in a reckless manner outside the penalty area. What is the correct decision if this foul denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO)?

THE DECISION

The referee stops play and awards a direct free kick to the attacking team. In terms of disciplinary sanction, the referee punishes the more serious offence, so it is a red card for the DOGSO offence, not a yellow card for the reckless foul.