Question Number: 13937

Law 18 - Common Sense 9/27/2006

RE: Travel Under 15

Joe Sereno of Gaylord, MI USA asks...

First of all a great thank you for educating us on the rules of the game.

This past weekend at a local tournament the old "kicking the ball on the ground" rule was brought up. A player fell with the ball 10 yards from any other player. She then passed the ball to a player from the same team. The other team's parents and coaches started yelling, "You can't play the ball on the ground." Can you give us the guidelines and what the principles are for this to make the correct call in these situations? Thank you very much.

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

No such thing. It can be a dangerous play if they kick it on ground with an opponent near ball. This is an example of uneducated parents that probably listened to the world cup announcers too many times.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Joe,
we thank you fror the kind words.
This myth is one that lingers as a safety issue.

A player on the ground has no restrictions other than to play fair.

Despite the disadvantage of not getting a powerful kick that ball is still playable
Even if a player falls on top of the ball the player is not held responsible for a foul or infringement provided that player reasonably gets back off of it to play it FAIRLY.

PIADM(playing in a dangerous manner) is the applicable infringement ONLY IF the criteria is met.

Playing in a dangerous manner must be dangerous to someone (including the player himself), there must be an
an opponent within the playing distance vicinity who is disadvantaged by the dangerous actions and that opponent must cease to actively challenge for the ball as he could injure the player or himself by participating in the dangerous play. In such a case an INDFK is awarded to the offended team.


Two opposing Players challenging for the ball one player falls on top of the ball.
Should we blow the whistle ? No. Falling on the ball is not an infringement . The player on the ball has a responsibility to play the ball fairly and it is expected he must get up off the ball in a reasonable timely manner. However he does not have to ensure his opponent has easy access to the ball. Since a player on the ground has the ball within playing distance (the distance a player can cover in aproximately two strides or three at the speed of play) that player is still entitled to shield the ball from an opponent, still entitled to kick it to a teammate or even a shot at goal

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

I demonstrate this in entry level classes. I assume a kneeling position and place the ball in front of my knees then put both hands on the floor. There I am with the ball between my arms and legs.

I ask for a "player" to volunteer to be a team mate of mine and position him about 20 feet away. Then I invite any other person in the class to take the ball from me any way he can. About the time the challenge comes in I hit the ball with a knee, through my arms to my team mate.

Then the class is invited to tell me if this is legal. Most say you can't play the ball on the ground because it's dangerous. Then we talk about how something becomes playing in a dangerous manner. A dangerous act, an opponent, and the opponent gives up play for the ball because of the dangerous act. This is what US Soccer's Advice to referees says we must consider before whistling to stop play.

I ask the gent challenging me if he stopped his play for the ball because I was in danger or because the ball was no longer there? I ask my team mate if he cares how the ball got to him, head, foot or knee. Then I ask the class if my colleague collects my pass and scores a goal if I care about getting hurt. About that time everyone agrees that me playing the ball on the ground is fine. Ref Dawson discusses when playing on the ground becomes playing in a dangerous manner, and I agree with his point.

Appreciate the opportunity to educate you in the past and I hope we can continue doing so in future. Regards,