Question:
game u13g a player is desinated to kick all free and goal kicks. in doing so she constanly would use her heel of her boot to dig a hole so she would place the ball next to the hole so she would get a good lift on the ball
I could not find any thing on the FIFA rule book that is ok, or not.
USSF answer (July 15, 2009):
Creating a hole either behind the ball or to mound up dirt to create a “tee” is illegal. While you will find nothing specific to this particular situation in the Laws of the Game, it must not be permitted, and there a number of reasons for that.
The first is the established principle that players may not make unauthorized marks on the field. Although this is aimed mostly at goalkeepers who scuff lines around their area to assist them in “locating” themselves, there is no functional difference between scuffing lines and digging holes. Second, digging a hole is potentially dangerous, unless one assumes that the player becomes responsible for immediately “replacing the divot” after the kick is taken. So for safety reasons this is not allowed. Third, creating such a hole and tee is a form of “artificial aid” to assist play — and that is considered misconduct (using a teammate’s shoulders, hanging on the crossbar to make the save, trapping the ball with the shirt, etc.). Fourth, though a bit more of a stretch of logic, if a player cannot move or remove a corner flag for the taking of a corner kick, why would we allow the digging of a hole (or stubbing the toe into the dirt to create a “tee”) for the taking of a free kick? Fifth, would we allow this for the taking of a penalty kick? If not, then why would it be allowed for other kicking restarts?
