The advantage rule or Play On!
This rule is actually in place to prevent a team that has possession of the ball and an advantage, from losing that advantage by a foul committed by their opponent. When a team loses the possession because of the foul or loses their advantage, the referee stops play and calls the foul. If however the foul does not negate an advantage the referee at their discretion may allow the game to PLAY ON. The referee may wait to see how the foul impacts the game before whistling the play to stop. It is never considered a mistake by a referee to allow the game to continue for a few seconds to see if an advantage materializes or is neutralized. If he signals Play ON, the game continues. Many parents and coaches get upset thinking the referee has missed the call.
An example would be a midfielder while advancing the ball forward is fouled as he makes the pass. The pass creates a scoring opportunity for the team. If the referee whistles for a stoppage of play, the advantage is lost and the team committing the foul actually benefits.
Referees usually do not negate the foul by signalling a Play ON, but can still address unsporting behavior after the play.
Adding more fog to the situation is the fact that the fans start screaming and yelling at the referee who eventually makes the correct call seconds later and is accused of letting the screaming fans influence the call. When in fact he was correctly managing the game by the rules.
Hopefully this adds a little clarity to the rule, and even though the calls do not always go our way, the advantage rule has its place in soccer.
