A defender challenges an attacker for the ball and raises the leg above head level. The defender kicks the ball and their foot narrowly misses the attacker’s head/face but there is no contact with the opponent. What is the correct decision?

THE DECISION

The referee stops play and awards the attacker’s team an indirect free kick (as there was no contact with the attacker). The defender is: * cautioned (yellow card) if the challenge was reckless or stopped a promising attack * sent off (red card) if the defender endangered the safety of the opponent/used excessive force or denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity