(Originally published on 7/16/17, “Operation Restore”)
Mike, a U-12 and under coach, asks:
A goalie going for the ball on the ground holds on to an opponent’s leg with one hand while also gaining control of the ball with the other hand. Is the goalie considered to maintain possession when the opponent attempts to disengage his foot from the goalie’s hand and, as a result, the ball pops free? With the ball and his leg now free, the opponent kicked the ball into the net. This was a U12 game.
Answer
The events you described, even in a U-12 game, happen rather quickly. In a perfect (and therefore unrealistic) world, the referee’s recommended course of action is easy to describe but difficult to implement.
Here is what should happen. The referee sees the play developing through the point of the goalkeeper grabbing onto the attacker’s leg. This is a holding offense and even goalkeepers are not allowed to do this. The referee should wait no longer than the next play to see what then happens — this is a “silent” form of applying advantage without the usual verbal “Play on!” and swinging upward arm movements. What happens next confirms the wisdom of this choice — the attacker manages to gain control of the ball and scores a goal despite the goalkeeper’s illegal behavior.
The referee should count the goal and either admonish the goalkeeper or show the yellow card to the goalkeeper for unsporting behavior. Under the Laws of the Game, a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (OGSO) is not justified because … well, simply, because the goal-scoring wasn’t denied!
Note that the course of action described above is based on the facts of this case and particularly the fact that, while his leg was being held by the goalkeeper, the opponent did not kick the ball out of the goalkeeper’s possession because this would have been an offense by the attacker immediately following the offense by the goalkeeper. It makes no sense to apply advantage and then have the opponent take advantage of the opportunity by committing a foul himself. However, in this case, play is stopped for the goalkeeper’s offense (because the advantage did not develop, which was the attacker’s fault!) so the restart is a penalty kick and the referee could admonish or caution the attacker for unsporting behavior. This year’s Law changes appear to specify that the goalkeeper be cautioned because a penalty kick has been awarded and the goalkeeper was, in addition to committing a foul, also playing the ball.
And then there is the potential factor of the age of the players. Anytime, with young players, there is a situation involving one or more attackers and defenders (one being the goalkeeper) in close proximity, with one or more fouls being committed under dangerous circumstances, it is often better to get play stopped as quickly as possible to keep everyone safe. The U12 – U14 age group is right on the edge where on the one hand safety is emphasized but, on the other hand, if the players are experienced despite their age, applying advantage may be justified.
