Question:
Our team was awarded a drop ball free kick without an opposing player after time was suspended for an injured player. Our player was on a breakaway with no other opposing players between our player and goalkeeper when the injury time suspension was called. We scored off the direct kick (drop ball; the Ref dropped the ball in front of the player). Was that the correct decision?
Answer (April 28, 2014):
The conditions for scoring on a dropped ball were changed in July 2012 so as not to allow a goal on a dropped ball kicked directly into the goal after the ball hits the ground.. Here is what Law 8 has to say about it:
If the ball enters the goal:
• if a dropped ball is kicked directly into the opponents’ goal, a goal kick is awarded
• if a dropped ball is kicked directly into the team’s own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opposing team
In this case, as The FA put it in their explanatory note for proposing the 2012 change:
Reason
There have been a number of occasions where goals have been scored from “uncontested” dropped balls. This has put a great deal of pressure on the referee as he has to allow the goal to stand. We then have the unseemly situation where the opposition allows the team to score from the kick-off without any players trying to stop them in order to rebalance the game.”
Thus, this turns the dropped ball into an indirect kick, from which a goal may NOT be scored directly.
