Question:
I am having this discussion about futebol (soccer) from Portugal regarding deliberate trickery to circumvent Law 12 Decision 3.If a player receives the ball, lifts it to his head, chest or knee, then heads, chest or knees it back to the goalkeeper and gkeeper catches or touches the ball the ball.
Referee would then call an IFK, ball spotted at where infraction occurred, if inside the goal area it would come out to the 6 yard line, is this correct?
Answer (August 29, 2007):
When considering the possibility of trickery, the referee must decide if the action was natural (a normal sort of play, the sort of thing you would see in any sequence of play) or contrived (an artificial, unnatural play, which, in the referee’s opinion, is intended solely for the purpose of circumventing the Law and preventing the opponents from challenging for the ball).
The call is always in the opinion and at the discretion of the referee, who is the only person capable of making the judgment as to the nature of the kick. If there is any doubt in the referee’s mind as to the nature of the play, then common sense should prevail. Unless the referee believes plays like this to be trickery, there is no need to make a call.
