1126: The shoulder push in soccer

                                  (Added February 27, 2025)

 Actually, it is not just the shoulder push but there are so many horrifying things commonly and regularly occur and tolerated in this game like it is not an issue even though they are against the same principle mentioned below. If there is a player to player physical thing allowed it should be only the shoulder push by the player not with the ball to get closer to the ball. The player with the ball is not allowed to put any force or use the arms through any unnatural extending to shield or keep another player away from getting closer to compete for the ball. One could also say that any shielding by the player with the ball that is the result of the arm being extended beyond what that player would have extended it if there were no other player nearby is not allowed. Another test is that if you direct extending the arm at the other player then it is most probably not a valid action.

                                    (Added February 24, 2025)

 I probably would have better supported the conclusion below by referring to how strongly soccer seems to be rooted at directly affecting only the ball not other players. 

And I have just found out that it seems that there is no exclusion for shoulder to shoulder pushing in soccer's law to begin with.    

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                                                (Starting Post)

 Here is a thought for another test to determine valid from invalid shoulder push in soccer and reduce its abuse. Let us first ask why should there be a special distinction for shoulder pushing? Is it to allow unnecessary taking advantage of one's strength and stability in a game that is seemingly that much about moving and maneuvering? I do not think so. Instead, I think that having a rule of shoulder push in soccer shows that the game is so intended to be force free in players contact that it needed to state a rule for such a hard to avoid physical contact. I think that the purpose of this rule is limited to enabling two players to compete for the ball when they are side by side. So starting from this purpose as the root to determine valid from invalid shoulder push we can make the following determination from the onset: The player possessing or controlling the ball is not allowed to do shoulder push, and the player beside him is not allowed to do it with a force leading to destabilize the opponent rather than just the amount of  force needed to stay close enough to compete for the ball.

By the way, why do referee rulings in women's soccer seem to follow the same level of permitted contact intended applied in men's soccer to go along with their harsher nature even though that is more against how soccer is intended to be as a concept?