Question Number: 20058

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 9/24/2008

RE: Competive High School

Andrea Kebort of Conneaut Lake, Pa USA asks...

player chested the ball down to his knees and then down to his feet with no one around him... He would have had a clean shot on goal, but a 'carrying' violation was called. WHAT? I have never heard of this in soccer. The only thing I can think of that would compare would be if a player dribbled the ball the length of the field using only the chest/stomach area thus preventing oppostion from gaining reasonable access to the ball....is there an actual carrying violation recognized in High school soccer? I looked in my husband's rule book ( he is a coach for girls high school) and did not see anything at all about a carrying violation. Can you elaborate if there is anything to elaborate on? Thank you

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Not even in the NFHS version is there a foul called 'carrying'. Looks like we got another creative ref on our hands.

And if a player could get a ball to stay at his chest/stomach area for the length of the field, he's in the wrong sport. He should go out for the Olympic 100 m dash.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Andrea, as long as a soccer player does not touch the ball with his hands he can juggle and keep the ball up in the air as long he likes. The only time I heard the term 'carrying' in soccer is by TV and radio announcers when they refer to a person who is 'carrying a yellow card'.
Here is what I think may have happened: as the player chested the ball, he may have had his upper arm too close to his chest and the ball touched his biceps. This is a hand ball and the referee may well have called that. Then some basketball person on the sidelines said: 'I know that one, it is 'carrying'!
US high school soccer has some very unusual rules, which are not aligned to FIFA Laws of the Game but 'carrying' is not one of them. In Canada our high school soccer rules are in line with FIFA laws.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

MY colleague makes a point that the ball might have been corralled with the arms and was missed by the referee/ARs I suppose it is as good an explantation as any I can only elaborate on the condition there is nothing to elaborate on except that basketball rules do not crossover into soccer laws.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

The ref may have called 'deliberately handling the ball' and if that is the case... now you see why we are so picky about the terminology on this site.

If not, there is no offense known as 'carrying.'

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

I've heard of carrying the ball down the field, in the sense that a player has possession and dribbles all the way down the field or into the penalty area, but juggling is just not the same thing if it didn't involve deliberate handling.

A player can take a ball between his feet and jump into the air with it there; he can juggle it with his head, chest, thighs and feet, and while all of that is carrying the ball about in one way or another, none of it rises to the level of a violation of the Laws of the Game.