Question:
I am looking for some clarification on Law 12, Indirect Free Kick foul where the Goalkeeper “touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate.” I referee U10 boys and girls where trickery is not much of an issue and ball control is not yet optimal.
1) If a player has a ball bounce off his/her body and steps away from the ball so the goal keeper can pick the ball, is it a violation of the above law?
2) If a player traps a ball with his/her foot and steps away from the ball so the goal keeper can pick the ball, is it a violation of the above law?
USSF answer (March 27, 2008):
Neither scenario represents an example of “trickery.” Nor is either of these acts an infringement of the Law. Under this portion of Law 12, the infringement occurs only when the goalkeeper actually handles the ball. In the case of your first scenario, there would likely not be any infringement even if the goalkeeper did pick up the ball. The second scenario is a classic example of the indirect free kick foul if the goalkeeper handles the ball and illustrates why the “pass back to the keeper” doesn’t have to be a “pass,” doesn’t have to be “back,” and doesn’t have to be “to the ‘keeper.”
