Football Shout-out: Fouls
Football Shout-out: Fouls
Welcome to Football Shout-out from Premier Skills English, where we talk about the language you need when watching a match. Whether you are a super fan or an armchair supporter you won't be able to avoid football on TV this summer. In Football Shout-out, Jack and Rich present useful language to shout at the TV screen when watching a match with or without friends! In this episode, they look at the language you need when a player commits a foul.
Transcript
Jack: Hello and welcome to Premier Skills English - Football Shout-out
Rich: Football shoutout is the series that teaches you the language you need when you’re watching the game.
Jack: Hi everybody my name’s Jack
Rich: and my name’s Rich and welcome to our new series of football English podcasts where we talk about the English you need when you’re watching football.
Jack: This is our second lesson. If you listened to our first lesson, you will remember this:
Jack: Come on ...
Rich: Shoot ...
Jack: Take a shot...
Jack: Yeah!
Rich: Woohoo!
Jack: Get in!
Rich: Come on!
Jack: What a goal!
Rich: What a belter.
Jack: What a great time to score.
Rich: We can get back in this.
Jack: Our first lesson was all about the language we use when our team scores a goal. If you haven’t heard the lesson, there is a link on the side of this page for you to go back and listen and learn lots of vocabulary connected to goals.
Rich: Have you got your breath back, Jack?
Jack: Yes, thanks. Talking about goals involves lots of shouting!
Rich: All of our football Shout-out lessons are about football phrases you can say to friends while watching the match or shout at the TV screen if you are alone.
Jack: And in this lesson, lesson two in the series, we’re going to talk about fouls - what do you say when one player fouls another player.
Rich: Well, that depends, doesn’t it?
Jack: What does it depend on?
Rich: It depends on whether the player that is fouling is on your team.
Jack: Ah yes, of course. Listen to this:
Rich: Referee! That’s gotta be a pen! It’s a definite penalty!
Jack: A penalty? He never touched him! That’s a dive!
Rich: What’s the ref doing?
Jack: It’s going to VAR. Now we’ll see.
Rich: He’s gotta go! That’s gotta be a red. You can’t fly into a tackle like that. Studs up two-footed … horrible
Jack: What are you talking about? He got the ball. It was a fifty-fifty challenge - hard but fair! He went down way too easily!
Rich: What’s the ref given? It’s a penalty! Get in!
...
Rich: Fouls and penalty decisions are often subjective. You usually get two different views and different language from the two sets of fans.
Jack: Yes, it’s always difficult for the man in the middle - the referee.
Rich: Let’s look at some of the language you heard in the example conversation.
Jack: What about … that’s gotta be a red.
Rich: Yeah that’s a good phrase. We use this when we think a player should get a red card.
Jack: You might also hear ‘That’s gotta be a yellow’ which means the referee should give the player a yellow card, or ‘that’s gotta be a booking’ which means the same thing.
Rich: A more difficult phrase we often hear is ‘he’s gotta go for that’ or ‘he’s gotta walk for that’ which means the player should get a red card.
Jack: We often use gotta here, ‘He’s gotta get a red’ rather than ‘he has got to get a red’ or ‘he must get a red’.
Rich: And of course, fans scream for penalty kicks all the time. You might hear ‘that’s gotta be a pen!’.
Jack: Pen?
Rich: It’s short for penalty. You could shout ‘that’s a definite pen’ or a more difficult phrase is ‘that’s a stonewall penalty’.
Jack: A stonewall is a type of wall you find in the countryside. They are very clear and you can see them for miles, so a stonewall penalty is a very, very clear penalty when the foul is really obvious. I don’t think we use stonewall as an adjective in many other situations.
Rich: No, we just say stonewall penalty. But, remember this all changes when it’s your player doing the fouling.
Jack: One common phrase you might use is ‘he never touched him’. This phrase will still be used by fans even if it was a two-footed flying ninja type tackle at a player’s head.
Rich: Or maybe if you’re feeling generous you will change it to ‘he hardly touched him’!
Jack: Fans will also accuse opposition players of diving - pretending they have been fouled and falling to the ground. ‘That’s a dive’ is a common phrase to shout at the television.
Rich: This is sometimes changed to ‘that’s a blatant dive’. Blatant again means really obvious.
Jack: Or another common phrase is ‘he went down far too easily’ or ‘he went to ground too easily’.
Rich: I have a really strange phrase that I think is funny. It’s ‘he went down like a sack of spuds’. This means he dived … he fell to the ground very easily. A sack is a bag and a spud is a potato. He went down like a sack of potatoes … he went down like a bag of spuds. Silly really but I like it.
Jack: Some other phrases you might want to use when your player fouls are ‘it was a fifty-fifty ball’, ‘he won the ball’ and ‘hard but fair’. All of these are phrases we use to say our player shouldn’t be penalised or punished.
Rich: We’ll look at these phrases and a few more in the lesson which you can find below this podcast.
Rich: Listen again. Do you understand everything now?
Rich: Ref! That’s gotta be a pen! It’s a definite penalty!
Jack: A penalty? He never touched him! That’s a dive!
Rich: What’s the ref doing?
Jack: It’s going to VAR. Now we’ll see.
Rich: He’s gotta go! That’s gotta be a red. You can’t fly into a tackle like that. Studs up two-footed … horrible
Jack: What are you talking about? He got the ball. It was a fifty-fifty challenge - hard but fair! He went down way too easily!
Rich: What’s the ref given? It’s a penalty! Get in!
Jack: So, that’s how you talk about fouls in English.
Rich: We’ve got some activities to help you remember the phrases that we’ve been speaking about in the lesson below this podcast.
Jack: We’ll be back soon with our next football English lesson, which focuses on how we talk about the opposition.
Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.
Language
The language you need when a player commits a foul
In the listening, Rich and Jack split the language into two categories:
- When a player on your team is fouled
- When a player on your team commits a foul
When a player on your team is fouled
When you see one of your players fouled on the pitch the first reaction of a fan is often to shout for a free-kick or penalty, or for the opposition player to be punished. Jack and Rich used these examples:
Ref! That's gotta be a pen!
He's gotta go! That's gotta be a red!
These expressions are informal versions of more complete ways to say the same thing. Look at the sentences below can you fill in the gaps?
R _ _ _ _ _ _! That ___ ___ ___ be a p _ _ _ _ _ _!
He ____ ____ __ be s _ _ _ o _ _! That has ___ __ __ a red ____!
What other phrases did you hear that describe what to say when your player is fouled?
When a player on your team commits a foul
When you see one of your players commit a foul on the pitch the first reaction of a fan is often to deny that a foul has happened and to criticise the opposition player and/or referee for awarding a freekick or penalty. Rich and Jack used these examples:
He never touched him! That's a dive!
He got the ball. It was a fifty-fifty challenge.
Did you hear any similar examples? Can you think of more? Write your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Task
Fouls
Do you understand all of the phrases below? Choose two or three of the phrases and write a mini-dialogue.
- It was a fifty-fifty ball!
- Hard but fair.
- He went down like a sack of potatoes.
- That's never a pen! He won the ball.
- He went down way too easily!
- He's got to walk for that.
Write your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page!
Quiz
Please login to take this quiz.
What do you think?
- Were any of these phrases new for you?
- Can you tell us any other phrases connected to fouls?
Write your answers in the comments section below and don't forget to write your answers to the task above.
Leave a comment
Log in to leave a comment
Comments
21/06/2020
points
When a player commits foul involving hard touch / hit / keep it doesn't matter he/she is from opponent or my team I say football match has just finished and "wrestling competition" has started.
21/06/2020 17:48
Tottenham Hotspur
5560
When a player commits foul involving hard touch / hit / keep it doesn't matter he/she is from opponent or my team I say football match has just finished and "wrestling competition" has started.
25/10/2019
points
Easy
25/10/2019 19:05
Manchester City
314
Easy
15/10/2019
points
This so new phrases and I haven't idea of the other phrases for fouls.
15/10/2019 05:50
Leicester City
42
This so new phrases and I haven't idea of the other phrases for fouls.
28/09/2019
points
if one or another sentence I met today
I don't know another phrase to tell you
28/09/2019 16:25
Manchester United
119
if one or another sentence I met today
I don't know another phrase to tell you
20/08/2019
points
I've heard these but almost couldn't know it.
20/08/2019 01:24
Manchester City
309
I've heard these but almost couldn't know it.
16/05/2019
points
These phrases very new and very fun
16/05/2019 23:40
Manchester City
822
These phrases very new and very fun
09/04/2019
points
All the phrases were very interesting but one of them is the funniest. I mean “he went down like a sack of potatoes”.
09/04/2019 21:42
Liverpool
473
All the phrases were very interesting but one of them is the funniest. I mean “he went down like a sack of potatoes”.
15/03/2019
points
Luck: Lucy,do you watched Europa League last night?
Lucy: Ah,yes. I did.Did you liked Eden Hazard pen.
Luck: Oh.No. That wasn't a pen. It was a fifty-fifty challenge and Hazard missed the ball and dived.Ref and VAR couldn't prove it. Chelsea got away with murder!
Lucy: I know you would say that.
15/03/2019 07:59
Chelsea
1749
Luck: Lucy,do you watched Europa League last night?
Lucy: Ah,yes. I did.Did you liked Eden Hazard pen.
Luck: Oh.No. That wasn't a pen. It was a fifty-fifty challenge and Hazard missed the ball and dived.Ref and VAR couldn't prove it. Chelsea got away with murder!
Lucy: I know you would say that.
31/08/2018
points
None of these phrases is new to me.
That goes for red!
31/08/2018 18:05
Arsenal
534
None of these phrases is new to me.
That goes for red!
19/08/2018
points
No, the phrases were not new for me
19/08/2018 17:38
Tottenham Hotspur
256
No, the phrases were not new for me
09/08/2018
points
1) No, the phrases were not new for me
2) That's really unfair.
09/08/2018 01:41
Newcastle United
462
1) No, the phrases were not new for me
2) That's really unfair.
08/08/2018
points
Very good quiz
-Few sentences were new to me
-I do not know many sentences about faults
Mini-dialogue
1.That's never a pen! He won the ball.
2.He went down like a sack of potatoes.
3.It was a fifty-fifty ball!
08/08/2018 23:40
Manchester United
512
Very good quiz
-Few sentences were new to me
-I do not know many sentences about faults
Mini-dialogue
1.That's never a pen! He won the ball.
2.He went down like a sack of potatoes.
3.It was a fifty-fifty ball!
07/08/2018
points
The most of the phrases were new for me.
07/08/2018 21:59
Manchester United
672
The most of the phrases were new for me.
07/08/2018
points
1. Who will win the World Cup?
I think Colombia might have a great chance to be the winner.
2. Which team will have the best fans?
Colombian team.
3. Who's going to win the Golden Boot?
Falcao.
4. Who's going to be the best player from the Premier League?
Eden Hazard.
5. Will anything strange or different happen?
The implementation of the VAR system.
07/08/2018 21:25
Liverpool
754
1. Who will win the World Cup?
I think Colombia might have a great chance to be the winner.
2. Which team will have the best fans?
Colombian team.
3. Who's going to win the Golden Boot?
Falcao.
4. Who's going to be the best player from the Premier League?
Eden Hazard.
5. Will anything strange or different happen?
The implementation of the VAR system.
07/08/2018
points
No, I already knew most.
One sentence said "that's a safe penalty"
07/08/2018 21:07
Manchester United
176
No, I already knew most.
One sentence said "that's a safe penalty"
07/08/2018
points
Some of the expressions are new to me.
Dialogue:
-What a great game we had today!
-Definitely a good match.
-That wasn´t a pen!
- The referee watched the VAR and saw that wasn´t a foul.
07/08/2018 21:07
Liverpool
754
Some of the expressions are new to me.
Dialogue:
-What a great game we had today!
-Definitely a good match.
-That wasn´t a pen!
- The referee watched the VAR and saw that wasn´t a foul.
07/08/2018
points
good test
07/08/2018 04:21
Manchester City
268
good test
07/08/2018
points
In my country, phrases like:
we go with all
your quiet
07/08/2018 03:22
Manchester United
127
In my country, phrases like:
we go with all
your quiet
07/08/2018
points
good quiz
07/08/2018 02:07
Arsenal
375
good quiz
07/08/2018
points
There were a few words new to me.
07/08/2018 01:17
Manchester City
189
There were a few words new to me.
07/08/2018
points
super interesting the test
07/08/2018 01:03
Manchester City
348
super interesting the test
07/08/2018
points
This lesson was very interesting
07/08/2018 00:39
Manchester United
352
This lesson was very interesting
07/08/2018
points
good quiz
07/08/2018 00:33
Chelsea
442
good quiz
06/08/2018
points
good quiz
06/08/2018 23:35
Arsenal
636
good quiz
06/08/2018
points
This activity is great! due to the skills that targets, such as listening, auditory comprehension and language.
1. Who will win the World Cup?
I believe Germany has lots of possibilities since is the current world champion. I think Brazil has a great chance as well, due to its results during the preliminaries. However, currently, there are some teams that are well prepared and have excellent players and game. On the other hand, there are some new teams which are making their debut and they might be a huge surprise to everybody.
2. Which team will have the best fans?
I certainly can say that Colombian fans due to their passion, dancing, encouragement, and joy that they transfer to their team, the rest of the people and the stadium.
3. Who's going to win the Golden Boot?
It might be a European player, but not the one everyone has as a favorite, like Messi, Cr7 or even Neymar, this world cup will be different and unpredictable.
4. Who's going to be the best player from the Premier League?
I think it could be Harry Kane.
5. Will anything strange or different happen?
The VAR for sure, it is the first time that this system will play an important role during the matches.
06/08/2018 20:40
Liverpool
695
This activity is great! due to the skills that targets, such as listening, auditory comprehension and language.
1. Who will win the World Cup?
I believe Germany has lots of possibilities since is the current world champion. I think Brazil has a great chance as well, due to its results during the preliminaries. However, currently, there are some teams that are well prepared and have excellent players and game. On the other hand, there are some new teams which are making their debut and they might be a huge surprise to everybody.
2. Which team will have the best fans?
I certainly can say that Colombian fans due to their passion, dancing, encouragement, and joy that they transfer to their team, the rest of the people and the stadium.
3. Who's going to win the Golden Boot?
It might be a European player, but not the one everyone has as a favorite, like Messi, Cr7 or even Neymar, this world cup will be different and unpredictable.
4. Who's going to be the best player from the Premier League?
I think it could be Harry Kane.
5. Will anything strange or different happen?
The VAR for sure, it is the first time that this system will play an important role during the matches.
06/08/2018
points
In my country Colombia the sportscasters use similar expressions to communicate to the fans when a foul occurs during the matching.
Dialogue:
-What a game we had today! It was a fifty-fifty ball!
-Definitely a tie match.
-That wasn´t never a pen! He won the ball fairly.
-Luckely, the referee watched the VAR and concluded that wasn´t a foul.
-That´s for now the reviews of this great match, until next time folks!
06/08/2018 16:17
Liverpool
695
In my country Colombia the sportscasters use similar expressions to communicate to the fans when a foul occurs during the matching.
Dialogue:
-What a game we had today! It was a fifty-fifty ball!
-Definitely a tie match.
-That wasn´t never a pen! He won the ball fairly.
-Luckely, the referee watched the VAR and concluded that wasn´t a foul.
-That´s for now the reviews of this great match, until next time folks!
06/08/2018
points
Good quiz
06/08/2018 02:17
Manchester United
567
Good quiz
06/08/2018
points
*Yes, many of these I had never heard or read.
* I do not know more phrases.
Task-dialogue:
-Hello, did you watch the match between Colombia vs Brazil?
-He went down like a sack of potatoes.
-That's why our team lost.
06/08/2018 01:41
Manchester United
796
*Yes, many of these I had never heard or read.
* I do not know more phrases.
Task-dialogue:
-Hello, did you watch the match between Colombia vs Brazil?
-He went down like a sack of potatoes.
-That's why our team lost.
06/08/2018
points
Good quiz.
06/08/2018 01:21
Chelsea
362
Good quiz.
05/08/2018
points
1) most phrases I do not know
2) phrases like "is bought" or "that was not a fault, nor do I touch it"
Bye !!
05/08/2018 23:03
Chelsea
778
1) most phrases I do not know
2) phrases like "is bought" or "that was not a fault, nor do I touch it"
Bye !!
05/08/2018
points
1. I had not heard similar phrases, they are new to me and they have a great percentage of truth.
2. The phrases known to me, they named.
And my mini-dialogue is:
-Oh, that's definitely a pen.
•That's never a pen! He won the ball.
-That is not true, he went down way too easily!
•Okey, okey, it was a fifty-fifty ball.
-Yes, i suppose yes.
And language:
-Referee! That is going to be a penalty!
-He is going to be shout out! That has go to be a red card!
These are the only ones that I remember.
And by the way, good quiz.
05/08/2018 18:25
Newcastle United
321
1. I had not heard similar phrases, they are new to me and they have a great percentage of truth.
2. The phrases known to me, they named.
And my mini-dialogue is:
-Oh, that's definitely a pen.
•That's never a pen! He won the ball.
-That is not true, he went down way too easily!
•Okey, okey, it was a fifty-fifty ball.
-Yes, i suppose yes.
And language:
-Referee! That is going to be a penalty!
-He is going to be shout out! That has go to be a red card!
These are the only ones that I remember.
And by the way, good quiz.
05/08/2018
points
Good quiz
05/08/2018 16:51
Stoke City
741
Good quiz
05/08/2018
points
good quiz
05/08/2018 16:32
Stoke City
741
good quiz
05/08/2018
points
This lesson was very interesting.
05/08/2018 14:15
Stoke City
741
This lesson was very interesting.
05/08/2018
points
There were a few words new to me.
05/08/2018 02:56
Chelsea
430
There were a few words new to me.
04/08/2018
points
Yes, most of these phrases are new to me.
I do not know.
04/08/2018 22:48
Liverpool
779
Yes, most of these phrases are new to me.
I do not know.
04/08/2018
points
Yes, but no many
No so I'm not fan of football so I don't know
04/08/2018 21:16
Liverpool
654
Yes, but no many
No so I'm not fan of football so I don't know
04/08/2018
points
1. No, I had heard some of them but not all.
2. I can not think of any at this time.
04/08/2018 19:37
Manchester United
481
1. No, I had heard some of them but not all.
2. I can not think of any at this time.
04/08/2018
points
Excellent
04/08/2018 19:21
West Ham United
367
Excellent
04/08/2018
points
The phrases are new to me.
04/08/2018 18:55
Crystal Palace
687
The phrases are new to me.
04/08/2018
points
- "Hard but fair" and " He got the ball. It was a fifty-fifty challenge".
- "That was a penalty, do not put the red!".
04/08/2018 13:42
Liverpool
471
- "Hard but fair" and " He got the ball. It was a fifty-fifty challenge".
- "That was a penalty, do not put the red!".
03/08/2018
points
Good quiz
03/08/2018 05:21
Manchester City
343
Good quiz
03/08/2018
points
Good I loved it
03/08/2018 04:36
Manchester City
302
Good I loved it
03/08/2018
points
1. Yes, they were all new to me.
2. That was on purpose and very cheeky.
03/08/2018 04:29
Chelsea
640
1. Yes, they were all new to me.
2. That was on purpose and very cheeky.
03/08/2018
points
Yes, some of these phrases.
I don't know more.
03/08/2018 03:29
Manchester City
881
Yes, some of these phrases.
I don't know more.
03/08/2018
points
Yes, some are new to me, with this course I can learn new things.
03/08/2018 02:39
Manchester United
800
Yes, some are new to me, with this course I can learn new things.
03/08/2018
points
-Yes, too many of them.
- Well, we have a lot of ways to expres a foul , like four years ago , in Brazil 2014 " Era gol de Yepes" because we all think that it was a referee's fault.
03/08/2018 02:33
Manchester City
48
-Yes, too many of them.
- Well, we have a lot of ways to expres a foul , like four years ago , in Brazil 2014 " Era gol de Yepes" because we all think that it was a referee's fault.
02/08/2018
points
So e of the phrases I do not know, but thanks to this course I Learned and I want to continue learning more about all the things that this course brings us every day.
02/08/2018 15:19
Chelsea
310
So e of the phrases I do not know, but thanks to this course I Learned and I want to continue learning more about all the things that this course brings us every day.
02/08/2018
points
the word blatand which is a new word for me, a phrase very related to the faults is "he never touched it"
02/08/2018 02:34
Manchester City
641
the word blatand which is a new word for me, a phrase very related to the faults is "he never touched it"
02/08/2018
points
If, in my country, those phrases are very used.
Step over the stick, it was not a goal.
02/08/2018 01:01
Arsenal
732
If, in my country, those phrases are very used.
Step over the stick, it was not a goal.