Author: Jim Allen

Law 1 - The Field

PURPOSE OF THE GOAL AREA

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Question:
Why is the “goal box” markings required, when all the rules that I’m aware of apply only to the “penalty area”? What special rules apply only to the “goal box”?

USSF answer (October 16, 2009):
There is no “goal box,” but there is a goal area within the penalty area. The goal area has changed shape, size, and role several times during its history. Nowadays its primary roles are to provide a place for the goal kick to be taken and to act as a buffer zone for dropped balls and for opposing indirect free kicks within six yards of the goal.

If play is stopped inside the goal area for some reason other than a foul or misconduct, the referee drops the ball on the goal area line parallel to the goal line at the point nearest to where the ball was located when play was stopped (Law 8).

A free kick awarded to the defending team within the goal area may be taken from any point inside that area (Law 13)

An indirect free kick awarded to the attacking team inside the goal area must be taken on the goal area line parallel to the goal line at the point nearest to where the infringement occurred (Law 13).

A goal kick is kicked from any point within the goal area by a player of the defending team.…

Advice to Referees

FOUL OR NOT?

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Question:
My question is in regards to the keeper, when he punches the ball. During a high level game, the keeper came off his line on a corner kick to play the ball. He jumped to punch the ball out of danger, but instead of punching the ball, he hit the attaching player in the face. I was the AR2 while this happened in front of AR1 and the CR. The CR felt the play was not deliberate and said play on.

The coach of the attaching team felt there should have been a red card for striking and a PK.

Based upon the skill level, feel of the game, etc…. has this play been called striking by the keeper?

USSF answer (October 16, 2009):
We recommend for your reading pleasure this excerpt from the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game” 2009/2010, downloadable from the USSF website:

12.1 WHAT IS A FOUL?
A foul is an unfair or unsafe action committed (1) by a player (2) against an opponent or the opposing team, (3) on the field of play, (4) while the ball is in play. Deliberate handling of the ball is committed against the opposing team, not against a particular opponent. If any of these requirements is not met, the action is not a foul; however, the action can still be misconduct.

Except for a handling offense, it is not necessary for the player’s action to be considered “deliberate” in the sense that the player intentionally set out to kick, push, trip, hold or otherwise foul the opponent. If that were so, the referee would have to be capable of reading a player’s mind. Under Law 12, the referee makes a decision based upon what he or she sees a player actually do – the result of the player’s action – not upon what might be in the player’s mind.

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"Inventive Assessors"

BALL KICKED TO THE GOALKEEPER

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Question:
I believe it’s a little bit silly how many questions there are about the “pass back” violation, given how rarely these situations actually occur. That said, a potential “pass back” situation arose during a recent assessment, and I hope you don’t mind offering a little clarification.

An attacking player kicked a ball forward toward the penalty area. A defending player, under pressure from another attacker, controlled the ball with his upper leg/thigh toward his goalkeeper, and the goalkeeper caught the ball with his hands.

Given the skill of the players, I felt the defender’s action was deliberate, and he knew he was pushing the ball out of reach of the attacker and to a place where his keeper could easily collect the ball. However, the ball never touched the defender’s foot, which I considered a requirement (part of the “iron triangle” described in the 21 May 2008 Memorandum).

After the game, the assessor said that I was not interpreting the term “foot” correctly. He stated, “Any part of the leg is considered, not just the foot.” He did not believe I should have called a “pass back,” however, because he felt the defender’s action was not deliberate: he considered the action more of a mis-directed attempt to clear the ball over the goal line.

Can you offer clarification and guidance? What parts of a defender’s body are included for the purposes of the “pass back” violation?

USSF answer (October 15, 2008):
Sigh! You are correct, there have been and continue to be too many questions about possible “pass back” infringements.

The Law is clear: “An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area, . . . touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a teammate.” Kicking requires the use of the foot. The foot does not include the knee, thigh, or shin.

We cannot read the minds of the players; we can only interpret what we see. In this case no foot equals no infringement.…

"Inventive" Refs

PLAYER KICKS PK BEFORE REFEREE’S WHISTLE

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Question:
The following scenario was told to me by a fellow referee at his game this past week.

The play unfolds as follows:

The referee calls a foul in the penalty area and indicates a PK to be taken. Players line-up outside the PA and the kick is to follow.

The ball is placed at the PK spot, while the referee is walking back to check with the keeper (to see if he is ready), the player taking the PK kicks the ball without the referee indicating so… The keeper makes the save.

The referee decides that the kick was an infringement, and awards the defensive team an indirect kick coming out at the spot of the infringement (PK spot).

My concern is as follows:

Did the ref make the right decision? Should he have had the kick retaken since he did not signal with a whistle. Does he have to blow the whistle for the kick to be taken or not? Should the PK have been retaken, and the ref just admonish the player on proper procedure?

How would you handle such an event and what is the appropriate action to be taken?

USSF answer (October 13, 2009):
Because the referee had not given the required whistle for the kick to be taken, it must be retaken in accordance with the Law, regardless of the outcome of the original kick.…

Advice to Referees

BALL IN PLAY AT A CORNER KICK?

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Question:
I had a question a fellow referee asked me and we both would like some clarification. Please help.
The situation: On a corner kick the attacking player tap the top of the ball and called to her teammate to come and take the kick, her teammate starting dribbling the ball towards to goal.
The referee decided that the ball was not properly put into play with the 1st attacker’s tap; he blew his whistle and had them retake the corner kick.

What is the correct course of action?

USSF answer (October 13, 2009):
This excerpt from the USSF publication Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game (2009) should clarify the matter for you. While it speaks of free kicks, it also applies to corner kicks. The Advice is available for download on the USSF website.

13.5 BALL IN PLAY
The ball is in play (able to be played by an attacker other than the kicker or by an opponent) when it has been kicked and moved. The distance to be moved is minimal and the “kick” need only be a touch of the ball with the foot in a kicking motion or being dragged with the top or bottom of the foot. Simply tapping the top of the ball with the foot or stepping on the ball are not sufficient.

When the restart of play is based on the ball being kicked and moved, the referee must ensure that the ball is indeed kicked (touched with the foot in a kicking or dragging motion) and moved (caused to go from one place to another).  The referee must make the final decision on what is and is not “kicked and moved” based on the spirit and flow of the match.

The referee must judge carefully whether any particular kick of the ball and subsequent movement was indeed reasonably taken with the intention of putting the ball into play rather than with the intention merely to position the ball for the restart. If the ball is just being repositioned (even if the foot is used to do this), play has not been restarted. Likewise, referees should not unfairly punish for “failing to respect the required distance” when an opponent was clearly confused by a touch and movement of the ball which was not a restart.
The referee must make the final decision on what is a “kick” and what is “not a kick” based on his or her feeling for the game-what FIFA calls “Fingerspitzengefühl” (literally: “sensing with one’s fingertips”).

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Injury

WHISTLE FOR RESTART FOLLOWING INJURY?

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Question:
Situation:
There is an injury on the field, and the ball is kicked out of bounds, which stops the game.

The injured player’s coach comes on to the field, the other players all take a knee, some go toward the bench area for a drink and coaching instruction.

Play resumes with the team that had the injured player taking a quick throw in while the other team is out of position, resulting in an easy goal.

No whistle is ever blown to stop or re-start the play.

Is it legal to start the play after the injured player is attended to on the field without a whistle from the head referee?

The head referee stated to the coaches that since the play was stopped on a ball played out of bounds, he does not need to blow the whistle to re-start the play.

According to page 76 of the FIFA “Laws of The Game” a whistle is needed to restart play after an injury, but a whistle is NOT needed to restart play from a throw-in.

Which applies in this instance?

Thanks for your time and consideration.

USSF answer (October 8, 2009):
The International Board has commented that the practice of teams kicking the ball out of play because they believe a player has been injured is a challenge to the referee’s authority under Law 5 to make the sole determination as to whether or not an injury during play is “serious” and warrants play being stopped. USSF’s guidance in 2008, however, is that a team which does this has not broken any Law and thus cannot be punished for it. It is the job of the referee to be seen quickly evaluating injuries and clearly establishing whether play should be stopped or not.

Here, a team played the ball out, which of course stopped play. We presume (even though it is not specifically stated) that the coach entered the field with the permission of the referee to tend to his player. USSF has also stated clearly that any player tended to on the field by a team official is required to leave the field regardless of whether play was stopped for this injury or not. The simple act of calling a team official onto the field for this purpose is enough to trigger the requirement that the player leave the field, not to return (if not substituted for) until play has resumed and the referee’s permission to re-enter has been given.

Because of this, the stoppage for the throw-in automatically became a ceremonial restart which requires a whistle signal to restart play. If the referee follows proper mechanics, the teams should be clearly advised by word and gesture that no restart can occur except by the signal of a whistle. If the restart does occur anyway, it must be called back and retaken properly. Even if the referee fails to follow proper procedures by notifying the teams, the whistle is still required.…

"Only in America!"

FIELD MARKING

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Question:
I was recently officiating a U8 game in a rec league when I encountered a few problems related to field markings. The biggest problem was that there were no penalty box markings on the field (but there were goal box markings). I received several complaints from coaches when goal kicks were being taken because (they said) players from the other team were too close to the ball while the kick was being taken. I am aware that fifa law requires opponents to remain outside the penalty box during the taking of a goal kick, however, due to the lack of a penalty box, I was uncertain what a fair distance would be. Another issue was when a goal keeper picked up the ball outside of the goal box, the coach of the opposing team thought that it should be a hand ball. The goal box however, was much too small an area to be the keeper’s handling area. The rules for the league were identical to Fifa law when it came to this situation, so I was confused on what course of action to take. In the end, In the end, I explained to the coaches that I would allow the keeper to handle the ball apx. 5 yards outside of the goal box, and I would place players from the opposing team 5 yards outside of the goal box during the taking of goal kicks. Please let me know if this was the appropriate action to take when I had a lack of information, or if I should have done something different.

USSF answer (October 8, 2009):
If the game was being played in accordance with the USYSA rules for small-sided soccer, then the field was actually marked correctly (at least in regard to the central question raised here). If your game was a full-sided game, then there is no doubt that problems would have arisen, as the U8 field you describe should not be used for full-sided games.

This situation should be covered in the rules of the competition, in this case the rec league. Most competitions, unless they are held at a neutral field, advise that the home team is responsible for proper preparation of the field. If the home team failed in its duty and you could not arrange for the markings to be correct, you had a choice: Inform the teams that nothing could be done and that they would have to take your decisions as fact — which the Law tells us they are — or abandon the game and report full details to the competition authority.

We suggest you check with your assignor for the rules of the competition before accepting any games you might not be prepared for. And it is the assignor’s job to ensure that you are in fact up to date on the rules for any game to which he or she assigns you.…

"Inventive Instructors"

WHAT CONSTITUTES A DEFENDER “PLAYING” THE BALL?

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Question:
HS Referee’s meeting tonight this spirited debate occurred.

Offensive Player A shot on goal, Offense Player B is in the offside position (not in the play), The shot is saved by the Goalkeeper who attempts to deflect the ball over the bar, the goalkeeper deflects the ball but the ball rebounds off the crossbar to you guessed it Player B in the offside position, who puts it in the goal.

Is the player offside or does the goal stand? The debate surrounded DEFLECTION OR POSSESSION? THAT IS THE QUESTION referring to a similar scenario response date (October 29, 2007). Those who stated they thought the goal should stand believe the goalkeeper was Playing the ball” in these circumstances means that the defender (in this case the goalkeeper) possessed and controlled the ball the others thought it should fall under not being possessed and controlled (in other words a deflection). Thanks, we all appreciate your assistance with this matter.

USSF answer (October 6, 2009):
The U. S. Soccer Federation sees no reason to change its answer of October 29, 2007:

“Deflections by any opposing player do not affect the status of a player in an offside position; the attacking team’s player must be called offside if he or she becomes involved in play (as defined in Law 11). Unsuccessfully ‘making a play’ for the ball does not establish possession. Nor, for that matter, does successfully ‘making a play’ for the ball if it then deflects to the player in the offside position who becomes involved in play.

“Note that there are differences here between ‘being involved in play,’ ‘playing the ball,’ and ‘making a play’ for the ball. (As noted above, see Law 11 for involvement in play.) ‘Playing the ball’ in these circumstances means that the defender (in this case the goalkeeper) possessed and controlled the ball. However, if the defender possessed and controlled the ball badly, it’s still ‘making a play,’ but if it wasn’t possessed and controlled, it wasn’t played in the sense you suggested in your scenario.

“A rule: Being able to use the ball subsequent to contact equals possession; deflection is not possession.”

To this we might add only that it takes seeing the action to make the call correctly, because, as you discovered, the very words used to describe the event are biased toward one or the other possibility…

"Inventive" Refs

BALL IN PLAY VS. SCORING SITUATION

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Question:
Situation: Tournament play, U-11 girls. An IFK is awarded due to the keeper picking up a passback (questionable in the first place as it was a mis-kick in the U-11 age group that went spiraling backwards off a weird bounce, and did not appear deliberate IMHO).

Anyway…as a result, the IFK is about 7 yds out and directly in front of the goal. The CR makes it a ceremonial (of his own accord, but in this age group, ok)and puts the defensive team on the goal line before allowing restart. Meanwhile the kicking team has one player standing with her foot on top of the ball, clearly planning to do a “touch restart” (which is no longer legal of course).

The CR blows the whistle for play, the offensive player does indeed simply touch the ball with the bottom of her foot, and then the second offensive player strikes the ball. The keeper comes up with the ball and saves the goal.

Now, just after the keeper catches the ball the CR blows the whistle.

He correctly asserts that the IFK cannot be restarted with a top touch ubt must instead be “kicked and move”. Therefore – he allows the offensive team a second opportunity at the IFK (one assumes out of thinking that the ball was not put in play). This time they restart correctly, and they score.

Happily this was not a game deciding goal, but it remains on my mind.

The result of allowing the re-take seems wholly outside of the Spirit of the Game, the offense should not receive a second opportunity from 4 yds out because they botched the restart by not obeying the LOTG.

However…the LOTG do say that the ball must be “kicked and move” in order to be in play.

Could one allow that the first player’s light touch did not put the ball in play since it never moved, but that the striking player did then put the ball in play? (becoming the first touch in considering IFK goal scoring) Seems a bit of a stretch and could be unsporting if done intentionally to confuse the defense.

If I were in the CR spot I should hope I would have noticed the obvious intent to do a touch restart and caught this before it developed and became problematic. IMHO the CR blew a second opportunity to avoid this by not whistling hard and immediately when the tap was made. His whistle was late, not coming until the ball was struck and actually in the keeper’s possession…only a second since the kick was so close…but well after the error.

Per the LOTG it seems to me that the CR did what he must by allowing the re-take. At the same time, it seems at odds with the Spirit of the Game. Is this one that could go either way based on the opinion of the CR?

I think if I had made all those errors and got stuck in this spot I would have been inclined to allow the defensive team the possession.

The offense had fair opporunity. If another IFK came up I would have been diligent in informing the team of the correct mode of restart.

Would I be wrong?

In your esteemed opinions…what would be the proper response if one was caught in a situation like this?

USSF answer (October 6, 2009):
In our esteemed opinions, the correct referee action would have been to allow play to continue. Both you and the referee have jumped to the wrong conclusion, confusing putting the ball into play and a situation in which a goal can be scored. The Law requires, as you state, only that a ball is kicked and moved to be in play. That happened. The ball was tapped, which means nothing in a restart, but it was then kicked by a player directly to the goalkeeper. A second touch of the ball — by any player on either team — is required for a goal to be scored, but not for the ball to be in play.…

Law 18 - Common Sense

ROSTER CHANGES AFTER SUBMISSION TO REFEREE

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Question:
Here is something that happened yesterday.
u-16 game I check everyone in..cards and ID all in order… Teams walk onto the field..for the 2PM start time. I check to my left and the see keeper has a unique uniform and count his teammates in front and there are only 9. I look on the opponents side and see that the keeper is dressed correctly and there are 10 in front. I call over to the manager as a courtesy to say you can add one more. and he did… at the half I went over to the manager who had one light…and said as a referee I was under no obligation to advise you that you were accidentally one light… the referee is just concerned about at least 7, but not more than 11 one of which must be a keeper… This youth league is not operating under FIFA rules…

However, — got an interesting question.. if this was a match under FIFA rules, say England vs. South Africa..  2010..WC. Law 3 indicates..a list of the subs must be given to the Ref… — also- does -the ref gets a list of the starting 11…? I assume the Ref checks passports and player credentials in the locker room before the games….

Now, if during the warm ups.. a starting player pulls a hamstring.. may the coach amend the list, by placing this starter on the sub list..and moving the sub to the starting list? Or, does FIFA say…tough luck… at the start of the game.. you need to use a sub since your starter got injured… May the list be amended at the last second for this contingency?

USSF answer (October 5, 2009):
In brief, yes. The Interpretations of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees (2009/2010) tell us:

“Players and Substitutes Sent Off A player who has been sent off before the kick-off may be replaced only by one of the named substitutes.

“A named substitute who has been sent off, either before the kick-off or after play has started, may not be replaced.”

This also applies to injured players.

A full answer depends on what the rules of the competition specify as a time limit for submitting the roster to the referee before the kick-off and whether there is any allowance in the rules for changes after that time.…