PLAYER KICKS PK BEFORE REFEREE’S WHISTLE

October 13, 2009 by Jim Allen

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?

October 13, 2009 by Jim Allen

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”).

…

Injury

WHISTLE FOR RESTART FOLLOWING INJURY?

October 8, 2009 by Jim Allen

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

October 8, 2009 by Jim Allen

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?

October 6, 2009 by Jim Allen

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

October 6, 2009October 7, 2009 by Jim Allen

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

October 5, 2009 by Jim Allen

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.…

"Inventive" Refs

PLAYER SENT OFF AT HALF = PLAY SHORT IN SECOND HALF

October 5, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
3:00 minutes before the end of the first half a player gets a yellow card. The referee blows his whistle ending the first half. The player that got the yellow card a few minutes earlier starts to argue with the referee and uses foul language. The referee shows him a second yellow card and then the red card. The player is ejected from the game. At the start of the second half the team from the ejected player starts the second half with 11 players and not short. The referees all agreed that the game period had ended and that he was not a field player at the time of the ejection.

Was that the correct call?

USSF answer (October 5, 2009):
Coach, we recommend that referees, coaches, players, and parents all read the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game.” The 2009/2010 edition is available for download from the USSF website. It contains the following information directly applicable to your question — and establishes clearly that the player who receives a second caution during a break in the game must be sent off for that second caution and may not be replaced:

5.17 DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE GAME
Misconduct committed by a player or a substitute prior to the start of the match, during the match, and during breaks between playing periods is subject to a formal caution or a send-off, as appropriate. Yellow and red cards, which are now mandatory indications of cautions and send-offs, may be shown only for misconduct committed by players, substitutes, or substituted players during a match. “During a match” includes:
(a) the period of time immediately prior to the start of play during which players and substitutes are physically on the field warming up, stretching, or otherwise preparing for the match;
(b) any periods in which play is temporarily stopped;
(c) half time or similar breaks in play;
(d) required overtime periods;
(e) kicks from the penalty mark if this procedure is used in case a winner must be determined.
(f) the period of time immediately following the end of play during which the players and substitutes are physically on the field but in the process of exiting.

Cautions issued prior to the start of the game or during breaks between periods are recorded and they are counted for purposes of sending a player from the field for receiving a second caution during the match. To prevent misunderstandings, the referee should inform officials of both teams before the first period of play begins of any cautions or send-offs occurring prior to the start of the match.

If a player or substitute is cautioned or dismissed for misconduct which has occurred during a break or suspension of play, the card must be shown on the field before play resumes.

If a player is dismissed before the match begins, the player may be replaced by a named substitute, but the team is not allowed to add any names to its roster and its number of permissible substitutions is not reduced.

The referee may send off and show the red card for violent conduct to a player, substitute, or substituted player after the game has been restarted if the assistant referee had signaled the offense before the restart.

Players or substitutes who have been sent off may not remain in the team area, but must be removed from the environs of the field. If this is not practical because of the age or condition of the player, the team officials are responsible for the behavior of the player or substitute.

There can be no “temporary expulsion” of players who have been cautioned, nor may teams be forced to substitute for a player who has been cautioned.

Postgame: Any misconduct committed by players or substitutes after the field has been cleared must be described in the game report and reported to the competition authority. The referee may display cards as long as he or she remains on the field of play after the game is over. Referees are advised to avoid remaining in the area of the field unnecessarily. (However, see Advice 5.13.)

What your question does not include is the statement in the scenario that the player used foul language. In that case the referee’s action should have been a DIRECT red card, not a second yellow. What is not stated directly in the quotation from the Advice, but is still relevant to the question, is that any player who was a “player,” i. e., recognized by the referee as being on the field as a player, at the end of the first half is still a player of record until officially substituted (assuming Law 3 substitution rules) which means among other things that the referee must be notified, must give permission, and the player must step onto the field with that permission. Absent any of these steps in the substitution process, a coach cannot declare someone no longer a player.…

"Inventive" Refs

VIOLENT CONDUCT

October 5, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
Situation: Goalkeeper on ground. Offensive Player on ground on goal line, attempts to kick ball, kicks goalkeeper in face. Continues to kick and kicks ball into goal.

Goal or Foul?

U9 game, the AR said he did not see goalkeeper get kicked in face. She was crying (u9) and had a mark and was removed from game due to injury. Referee counted goal.

My interpretation of Law 12 – Foul and Direct Free Kick –
if a player commits any of the following offenses in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless..etc.
– Kicks or attempts to kick an opponent

USSF answer (October 5, 2009):
As you have reasoned, this player has committed the foul of kicking an opponent. While players are permitted to play the ball while on the ground, they may not place any participant (including themselves) in danger and may certainly not foul an opponent without facing punishment.

Correct referee action: Send-off for violent conduct, followed by a direct free kick for the goalkeeper’s team. This applies even for U9s.

What complicates the decision is that apparently neither the referee (or so it seems) nor the AR saw the incident. What were they doing? Clearly not watching the game very carefully. This issue essentially resolves itself into the extent to which a referee can visit a penalty (direct free kick/penalty kick, yellow/red card) upon a player for something that the referee has not seen but may suspect.

Moral of the story: Pay full attention to what is happening on the field, even at the U9 level.…

Law 13 - Free Kicks

GETTING TEN YARDS

October 5, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
At a free kick when managing the wall for a ceremonial free kick, should the referee pace off the 10 yds or just determine where the 10 yds are and set the wall there? I had been told that the best way was to just determine where 10 yds is and set the wall there (if players were pushing the issue 10 yds could grow). Had a young ref who went to regionals and was told that he should pace off the 10 yds.

Could not find this addressed in the ussf procedures guide.

USSF answer (October 5, 2009):
We had thought this would have been covered in the entry-level referee course.

There are numerous ways to get the ten yards. Each referee must determine which works best for the particular situation. Here are some of the ways to get the correct minimum distance at a free kick — if the kicking team does not make it quite clear that it wants to take a quick free kick.

1. Learn how far ten yards is — radius of the center circle, radius of the penalty arc — and keep it in your mind, asking the players to move back the distance you have determined is correct.
2. Be the “first brick in the wall,” getting there (without walking it off) and instructing the players to be no nearer than your position to the ball.

Under no circumstances may the referee deliberately require the defending team to retire more than the mandatory minimum distance of ten yards. However, ten yards is where the referee says it is (in his or her judgment).…