Question Number: 18349

Law 16 - Goal Kick 2/8/2008

RE: High School

Akshay S Dinesh of Mattanur, Kerala India asks...

What happens if goal kick becomes goal?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

You COULD score on your opponent if you had the power to send it all the way down field but you can NOT score on yourself from ANY free kick of which a goal kick is one. AND
The ball must COMPLETELY leave the penalty area to be in play! If the ball never leaves the 18 yard penalty area it is always a retake of the goal kick.
HOWEVER
If the ball left the penalty area and say a strong wind blew it BACK into the goal as long as no player from either team had a legal touch of the ball before entering the goal the restart would be a CORNER kick for your opponents!
FINALLY
If the goal kick is poorly taken and an opponent receives it outside the PA and scores a goal it is a kick off. So you better practice that restart at the next practice
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

A goal can be scored directly from a goal kick against opponents. If it is kicked into the kicking teams own goal, then it is a corner kick if ball left the penalty area and a goal kick if ball never left penalty area.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Law 16, The Goal Kick, says specifically in the second line that: "A goal may be scored directly from a goal kick, but only against the opposing team." Which means if a goal kick somehow leaves the penalty area after being kicked and then loops itself back into the goal, the restart is a corner kick (ball last played by a defender and exits over the goal line = corner kick). But, feel free to kick it into your opponents' goal on a windy day!

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 18919