Question Number: 21553

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 6/17/2009

RE: Rec/Select Adult

Joe Iano of Seattle, WA USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 21548

This ball kicked to goalkeeper rule confounds me.

Advice to Referees says 'not kicked deliberately to the goalkeeper or a place where the goalkeeper can easily play it'. But any time the keeper picks up a ball, can't we assume that it was kicked to where the keeper could play it? I cannot envision a scenario where the ball is played to a place the keeper cannot play it, yet then he or she does.

And what does the Advice mean by 'easily play'? Is it OK for the keeper to handle a ball that was hard to get to, but not one that was easy to get to?

I tend to agree with Referee Richard Dawson. Often a ball is played backward because of pressure from the opposing team. Such kicks are deliberate, but some are not always accurately kicked due to the pressure on the defender. But neither would I call them misdirected. And many roll toward where a keeper can play them. It's certainly not time wasting, but does the law allow the keeper to pick up such kicks?

If I whistle all such 'back passes' I'm sure many players, coaches, and spectators would feel I was playing gotcha referee. But if I don't, am I ignoring the laws of the game?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

You've made a good start by calling it the 'ball kicked to the keeper' rather than 'back pass' or 'pass back.' The infringement is for handling a ball deliberately kicked by a teammate.

Kicked means with the foot.
Deliberately means it wasn't a miskick. Did it appear that the ball went where the defender intended it to go?

The rule doesn't require a 'pass', that it go 'back' or that it go 'to the keeper.' If the teammate miskicks the ball or only deflects a ball to a spot outside the area, the keeper can dribble it into the penalty area and handle the ball. The focus isn't on the keeper, but the kick. If the ball appears to go where the kicker intended, the keeper cannot handle it. Otherwise, the keeper may.

One key to calling the foul is understanding why it is an indirect free kick offense. There was an incredibly dull international match where the keeper would release the ball to the defender and the defender would then kick the ball back to the keeper--over and over again. It wasted time and was a tactical decision to keep the opponents from being able to challenge for the ball. If there is any doubt about whether the kick is deliberate, consider whether the action meets the purpose of the rule. If it is not for delay or to prevent an opponent from being able to challenge for the ball, resolve doubts in favor of the ball being a miskick.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

For each of these situations, the referee has to evaluate what he saw happen. Not what the player wanted to do with the ball, but whether or not the player did something deliberately. The easiest non-qualifier is if the ball was obviously miskicked or deflected - it went off at an angle that is contrary to how a well-played ball would normally go. No deliberate kick, no offense by the goalkeeper is considered. Next to consider is a ball that was deliberately kicked, but without any particular direction, for example a defender kicking the ball away from an opponent, any direction, it doesn't matter, just get the ball away. Again it is a stretch to say that ball was deliberately kicked to the goalkeeper, even if it happened to go in the general direction of the keeper. The offense that is to be punished is when the teammate of the keeper makes a clear deliberate play of the ball which goes in a direction that can be assumed to be the way he wanted it to go. Not mindreading; we don't really know what the player wanted to do, but can see that what happened did have some logic to it. In that case the goalkeeper cannot pick up the ball, even if it didn't go directly toward the keeper, even if the keeper dribbles the ball before handling it.

It's also wise to remember USSF's instruction on this in Advice to Referees, especially the second footnote:

12.20 BALL KICKED TO THE GOALKEEPER
A goalkeeper infringes Law 12 if he or she touches the ball with the hands directly after it has been deliberately kicked to him or her by a teammate. The requirement that the ball be kicked means only that it has been played with the foot. The requirement that the ball be 'kicked to' the goalkeeper means only that the play is to or toward a place where the 'keeper can legally handle the ball. The requirement that the ball be 'deliberately kicked' means that the play on the ball is deliberate and does not include situations in which the ball has been, in the opinion of the referee, accidentally deflected or misdirected.

NOTE: (a) The goalkeeper is permitted to dribble into the penalty area and then pick up any ball played legally (not kicked deliberately to the goalkeeper or to a place where the goalkeeper can easily play it) by a teammate or played in any manner by an opponent. (b) This portion of the Law was written to help referees cope with timewasting tactics by teams, not to punish players who are playing within the Spirit of the Game.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

My colleagues handle this well and you would be well advised to read and re-read what they say. But, there are always going to be differing views as to whether a particular incident warrants a whistle. This is because of the wording of the infraction and the sometimes contradictory guidance we are given by the powers that be. Personally, I think FIFA absolutely meant the ball had to be directed towards the keeper for this to be an infraction. Why else would the infraction be put into Law due to keepers and teammates playing catch with each other. This simple concept of 'no, you can't keep playing the ball to and fro with the keeper' has morphed where we have referees penalize a keeper for handling a ball that was kicked by a teammate towards his open net! The ball was deliberately kicked but obviously misdirected and going back to 1992, surely FIFA didn't have in mind penalizing a keeper for saving an own goal! But, I'm going by what it says in Advice and keep in mind the concept of miskicked or misdirected.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Joe,
This theme has repeatedly cropped up and as I answered in 21552
You are not wrong to think that it could , just not right that it must. As the referee of the match your opinion will reign supreme but I ask you to consider the effect of awarding an uncontested ball possesion to a scoring opportunity. To work on understanding the spirit of the laws. The meaning of fair play and the concepts of trifling and doubtful as they apply to the overall match!
Cheers

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

See Question: 21665

See Question: 33729