Question:
While team A is attacking, the ref blows his whistle and shows a yellow card to a player on team B. The infraction is loud dissent over a call made 5 minutes prior. When the ref whistled for play to stop, the cautioned player was 40 yards from the ball, and farther from the goal that team A was attacking.
The ref restarted play by awarding Team A an indirect kick from the spot where the cautioned player was standing when the whistle was blown.
Was the restart handled correctly? Correct spot and correct method of resuming play?
Answer (July 24, 2014):
Your answer is found in Law 12:
• An indirect free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if, in the opinion of the referee, a player:
• plays in a dangerous manner
• impedes the progress of an opponent
• prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
• commits any other offense, not previously mentioned in Law 12, for which play is stopped to caution or send off a playerThe indirect free kick is taken from the place where the offence occurred (see Law 13 – Position of free kick).
This is analogous to what happens if, during an attack on the opposing goal, the attacking team’s goalkeeper fouls one of the opposing team’s players back in the attacking team’s penalty area, no matter that it might be 80 yards down the field from where the current attack is occurring: the restart there is a penalty kick.
