Question Number: 19522

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 6/26/2008

RE: Adult

John J. O'Hara of Deptford, New Jersey USA asks...

In high school I was a 'keeper'. I'm now an old man who has become addicted to the game. Some 'duh' questions- I read that cards were adopted in 1968- What did referees do before that as far as penalizing players ? When were gloves first allowed to be used by keepers ? Finally- I read about a rule affecting keepers that was instituted in or around 1992-ring a bell ? I actually am a fan of referees ( retired cop ! ) and hate to see them bad-mouthed by Gray and Smyth.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Before the referees had cards, they actually had to talk to the players and tell them they were cautioned or sent off. Which come to think of it they are supposed to do still today before the card is shown, a certain referee in Euro2008 not excepted. The only time we quickly flash cards is if we think there could be retaliation, and the immediate showing of the card would head that off.

Obviously in some international games language could be a barrier. The reason cards came about is that one player found out he had been cautioned after he read about it in the newspaper the next day. A referee (the great Ken Aston as I recall) was driving down the road and thinking of how to avoid that problem in the future, when he pulled up to a traffic signal. Thus red and yellow were chosen (no green cards needed on the field, as soccer/football is always go until told to stop by the referee.)

I'm not familiar with when keepers were first allowed use additional equipment such as gloves and kneepads.

A Law change around 1992, that would probably be the prohibition of the keeper handling the ball with his hands after it was delberately kicked to him by a teammate.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Thanks for the support, John. It is always appreciated!!! A good referee is much like a good policeman - it's all about knowing the law and how to manage people - fitness doesn't hurt either...

An English gentleman referee by the name of Ken Aston came up with the cards system to communicate to players who were not familiar with or did not speak the Queen's English so they would know when they had crossed a line and when they needed to leave the field. He got the idea from a stop light! As Ref Voshol notes, before that, the player was told of the infraction, his number, the time and the offense noted in the referee's book (thus the term 'a booking').

The rules affecting keepers have undergone a series of changes. Because keepers had a propensity to gather in a ball and then diddle daddle with it, wasting time, since no one could challenge them for the ball, first FIFA and the IFAB said the keeper could take no more than 4 steps once they had the ball. Then they decided that wasn't speeding up the game, so they added the six second rule. That meant once the goalkeeper had possession and was capable of distributing it, he had 6 seconds to get rid of it. Penalty for failure to do so was an indirect free kick against his team from where he was when he passed the time limit (unless he was in the goal area).
And along with the six seconds, they decided the keeper could not handle a ball deliberately kicked to him by a teammate (heading, chesting, kneeing are okay), he could not handle a throw-in from his own team, and he could not handle a ball again after he had released possession of it until it was touched by another player (bouncing the ball and throwing it up in the air and catching it were still considered possession not released). They didn't occur in that order, but all of these changes were in place by 2000, most of them occurring in the mid 90's.
Tommy Smythe is a piece of work, I agree. I do wish he would make the effort to learn a little about the Laws of the Game before he spouts off - it makes him sound ignorant - unfortunate for someone who is supposed to know the game. Tsk.