Question Number: 16336

Law 1- The Field 8/17/2007

RE: Under 19

Mike Castaldi of Columbus, OH USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 16298

To go along with Ref Voshol's comments about most youth fields not having penalty marks. . .am I the only one who finds it odd that many times a field (even freshly lined) will have the penalty arc - but no penalty mark? It always makes me wonder from what point the penalty arc was drawn.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Goodness. Who needs a penalty mark? We all know it is 12 yards from the center of the goal line, which makes it exactly halfway between the top of the goal area and the top of the penalty area. I can eyeball that very well - I've practiced my ten yard walls enough! And if I'm on my toes, I got there early and did my field inspection, noted the absence and either corrected it, had it corrected, or figured out what to do instead. Like Ref. Fleischer, I've done games with zero to bad lines, and we all did fine - it's all about the game, which is all about the players trusting the referee to do the fair and right thing, which is all about communication! But, one does have to wonder if they got the penalty arc painted, how they missed the penalty mark - good question! Thanks for a laugh!

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

I'm not sure where they measure the arc from, but they do seem to get it pretty close.

If I said we can't play the game because there's no penalty mark, the only person it would come to the attention of would be my assignor. The league would only care in that they would have to reschedule the game. It wouldn't get the spot put on the field.

I've joked with my AR's from time to time, that after we get paid we can just go home because the lines are too wide. When they repainted, the new lines didn't line up exactly with the old, so now they're 7-8 inches.

And I don't know how many games I've done with missing corner flags - or sometimes with just 3 because one got lost or broken somewhere.

I guess my point is that if the field isn't perfect, you'd do best to get on with the game as best you can anyway. Nobody will be happy if you send them all home.

If something is unsafe, that's a totally different story.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Likewise, I've complained often to no avail. Youth leagues simply do not care if ANY of the field lines are marked properly. The only time I refused to start a match was at a youth tournament where you could not see most of both touch lines, penalty area lines, center circle, penalty arcs, and, of course, no penalty marks. Amazingly, the committee was able to find some paint and I had lines within 5 minutes. Were I refuse to start for the local leagues just because of the penalty spot I'd be hurting the players, their parents would probably kill me and I'd get no more assignments. That said, if ANY field is so horribly marked I cannot carry on a game reasonably, I'd refuse to start

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

I have done a men's recreational match with no markings and I did it solo. We did take the time to place four cups full of sand, well off the field to mark the penalty areas, used four highway cones for corner flags and steel drums, again well off the field for the halfway line. The players accepted my decision and things went as well as can be expected. Yes the league got a nasty letter in the match report and yes next time on that park there were lines. A professional or "professional" equivalent match would not start if improperly marked. Youth matches, well were lucky to have a field, much less properly marked.

Regards,