On Doppelpass, Foul Interpretation, and Player Safety in Professional Football

I am a big fan of the show Doppelpass. In my view, it is one of the most compelling football TV programmes in Germany, because it consistently discusses German football across a broad and well-differentiated range of topics. In the most recent episode, however, a situation was discussed that, in our view, touches on a fundamental and highly relevant issue: a classic foul in the penalty area against Beier (BVB). In the studio debate, out of six participants, only one person shared our assessment and clearly recognised the contact on Beier in the box as a foul. This is not about a single incident. It is about core standards of one-on-one conduct in football. Those standards affect virtually every match situation:

• every one-on-one duel,
• every dribble,
• every first touch,
• every change of direction with the ball.

What matters is the correct interpretation by referees, because player health and safety depend directly on it. The fouls involving Musiala and Hakimi illustrate just how dangerous incorrect judgments in these situations can be.

What do the three situations shown have in common?

Put simply: the opponent does not play the ball, but instead strikes the ball-carrier’s foot that is already planted on the ground. It should not matter whether the ball-carrier is consciously shielding the ball or not. The only decisive question is:

Who places the foot into that position first?

1. FC Bayern – Paris Saint-Germain: Foul on Hakimi

In FC Bayern vs Paris Saint-Germain, Hakimi was fouled by Luis Díaz. Hakimi gets past his opponent with the ball. While carrying the ball, he keeps his left foot on the ground for a fraction longer in order to shield the ball. At that exact moment, he is struck from behind on the leg.

What is important here:

• The incident occurred roughly in midfield.
• Hakimi could reasonably assume that a foul of this nature would not occur there.

It is plausible that Hakimi would have behaved differently closer to the penalty area—more cautiously, in the sense that he would be more likely to anticipate an attack on his foot in that zone.

2. Borussia Dortmund – Borussia Mönchengladbach: Foul on Beier in the penalty area

In Borussia Dortmund vs Borussia Mönchengladbach, Beier is fouled in the penalty area. In a one-on-one, he controls the ball and moves to the right. While running, he is struck on the left foot.

Decisive points:

• Beier is the player who plants his foot on the ground first.
• Whether he had ball protection in mind is irrelevant to the assessment.

In football, the following applies: when a player is running—even for a very brief moment—with their full body weight on one leg, and in that moment feels the opponent’s foot making contact, the player must go down to avoid a serious injury as quickly as possible. If he stayed upright, the risk of injury would be high—just as in the fouls involving Musiala and Hakimi.

3. Musiala: Dribbling style and the foul by Donnarumma

Before we address the foul itself, a brief note on Musiala’s distinctive style of play.

From our article dated 24 September 2021:

“What is particularly noteworthy about his game: He can dribble extremely efficiently at high speed. In doing so, he consistently looks for the shortest route to his target—often carrying the ball almost in a straight line, without detours. His dribbling technique is reminiscent of the greatest players in football history such as Pelé, Maradona, or Messi. We compare only his dribbling abilities.”

Musiala’s dribbling is characterised by the way he positions his feet while carrying the ball so that the ball is consistently protected. Mentally, he is always one step ahead of his opponent. That exact style contributed to the dangerous situation in FC Bayern vs PSG, in which Musiala suffered multiple injuries to his foot. This was not a typical “football incident,” comparable to a “racing incident” in Formula 1 where no one is clearly at fault. Here, both players are almost simultaneously at the ball—yet Donnarumma drives through both of Musiala’s feet in order to reach it. That means:

• the goalkeeper places his body into a position
• to be at the ball at the same time, or even a fraction earlier,
• while consciously accepting the injury risk to the opponent.

And that is exactly what happened.

Conclusion

Keywords:

Doppelpass football analysis; foul interpretation penalty area; player safety in professional football; one-on-one challenge assessment; refereeing standards and injuries