During the Match Day 8 game between USA and Mexico, a corner kick by USA in the 49th minute led to a goal.  Referee Courtney Campbell took an unusual position inside the goal area, and appeared to be ready to whistle for a foul and resulting penalty kick just before the goal was scored.  While this position isn’t often seen, it demonstrates that referees must remain flexible and adaptable when staking out the best positioning for set pieces.

As he had all game long, USA midfielder Jermaine Jones took a position directly in front of MEX goalkeeper Jose for the corner.  And as he had all game long, MEX defender Carlos Salcido marked Jones tightly.  Before the corner was taken, Referee Campbell stepped in and had a word with both Salcido and Jones about the pre-kick jockeying and contact that was taking place.

As the corner kick was delivered, Referee Campbell retreated only as far as the edge of the goal area and kept his eyes fixed on the tussle between Jones and Salcido.  In the freeze frames, the referee can be seen raising his whistle, ostensibly to call a holding foul on Salcido, who had his arm wrapped around Jones’ torso.

Since a goal was scored from the corner, the whistle was unnecessary and Campbell lowered his whistle and pointed towards the center circle to indicate the restart.

As we have seen before, a non-traditional position on a corner kick can pay dividends for the referee, especially when there has been a lot of tussling previously in the match.