Question Number: 22392

Law 5 - The Referee 10/29/2009

RE: Rec Under 14

Rich Bryant of La Fayette, Georgia USA asks...

Is it ever legal for the opposing team to enter the circle on a kick off before the kick has been made?

I had a referee tell me that because they didn't have an advantage he would not autorize another kick. I submit that when we have to rush and hurry to kick, we ARE at a disadvantage and the other team should be warned not to enter the circle and we should re-kick. He claimed it's in the rules and called trifling but I can't find it anywhere.


Thanks for the explanition...

Trying to teach by the rules.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Now lets look at the mechanics of the kick off. The referee arranges that both teams are in their own halves and that the opponents are 10 yards away from the ball outside the centre circle. He then blows the whistle. The ball is in play when it is kicked forward and only then. If the team taking the kick off does not kick the ball and the opponents rush in, the kick is retaken.
What has become custom and practise in the game is that the kicking off team are ready for the whistle so that both really happen together. Whistle, kick, play. Opponents anticipate this and move on the whistle, so team need to be alert at KO. If they don't want to start play then don't touch the ball.
It is the same as any other restart on the whistle, say a free kick. The referee blows the whistle but the ball is not in play until it is kicked and moves. What the referee would do in that situation where he blows and the defending team rushes forward before the ball is kicked is that he would order a retake. No different at the KO.
Now as regards determining if the KO should be retaken say on a movement of a few yards that is a judgement the referee has to make. He can decide that it did not make any difference to the team kicking off and probably 99.9% of the times it does not as the ball is played backwards or sideways to a team mate. The advice not to call trifling infractions is not in the Laws but in the Advice to Referees the ATR.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

In a sense, you're both right.

It's never legal for the opposing team to enter the circle before the ball has been kicked, however the laws of the game also instruct the officials to ignore trifling or inconsequential breaches of the laws.

Ultimately whether or not a breach is trifling is up to the referee's judgement.

I'm having a hard time understanding why you were rushed to kick though and I don't see what that has to do with the opponent's encroaching, unless they encroached and your team panicked and took the kick when that happened.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Rich,
You are to be commended for trying to research and understand the laws of the game to better serve your team and the game overall.
In direct answer to your question: NO! The opposition have no basis in law for being inside the centre circle at the kick off!
Now lets decipherer what the referee can or could do and what is advantage and disadvantaged in context!


Rules are codes of conduct; laws are what the players must abide by to play the game fairly! The LOTG (laws of the game) have been written, rewritten, passed on, over and down for a good while now. Embodied within them is a SPIRIT of FAIR PLAY that is essentially ingrained in the subconscious, no longer spelled out but regarded as everyday, practical reasoning. , IFAB Decision 8 Law 5 was unfortunately and inexplicably dropped in 97/98 from the LOTG'....in this view it is the duty of referees to penalise only deliberate breaches of the Law. Constant whistling for trifling and doubtful breaches creates unnecessary tensions and bad feelings." How are coaches or players, new to the game, able to find this and how is a referee to correctly express this given the inexplicable desire to call everything accidental as careless given the intent is taken away when considering a foul?

When a whistle goes to begin the game you are under no obligation to QUICKLY KICK the ball into play if the opposition have ILLEGALLY encroached within ten yards and rendered it difficult to proceed! In cases where the offence or the incursion proved to be trifling or doubtful (this is an OPINION on a fact of play by the referee) but had no real impact on developing play in the violation was considered inconsequential to the desired out come it can be ignored to stop play. If you completed a reasonable outlet pass and your attack was NOT affected then the referee may conclude that there is no reason to restart. A referee could have a word to the opposition of the risk of being cautioned for failing to respect the distance until the ball is kicked and moved. A whistle is NOT the restart only a signal so that it can occur! Mind you neither can you delay the restart indefinitely once given the go ahead!

The fact that a referee can choose to overlook a violation of the laws as inconsequential can be advantageous if for example you quickly hurried a booming shot away that scored a goal. I am sure the goal is better than the retake. That is the correct use of ADVANTAGE to temporarily ignore an opposing violation because the benefit was sustainably greater than to stop play and restart.
FIFA Quote
"Law 5 THE REFEREE
? stops, suspends or abandons the match, at his discretion, for any infringements of the Laws
? allows play to continue when the team against which an offence has been committed will benefit from such an advantage and penalizes the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue at that time
Interpretation of the laws of the game and guidelines for referees Page 66
Advantage
The referee may play advantage whenever an infringement or offence occurs.
The referee should consider the following circumstances in deciding whether to apply the advantage or stop play:
? the severity of the offence: if the infringement warrants an expulsion, the referee must stop play and send off the player unless there is a subsequent opportunity to score a goal
? the position where the offence was committed: the closer to the opponent's goal, the more effective it can be
? the chances of an immediate, promising attack
? the atmosphere of the match
The decision to penalize the original offence must be taken within a few seconds."
End quote

A common trifling or doubtful breech is where a keeper may seem to carry a ball outside his penalty area in the release but it is a minor issue unless blatantly done and repeatedly continued. Whereas the keeper if he came out to block a shot with the ball completely outside the boundary by a mere inch or so used his hands it is a DFK and bookable or send off in many cases.

In response to the opposition incursions at the centre circle if the referee appears reluctant to act then upon the whistle wait a few seconds before contacting the ball! If the opposition stay outside or not cross the midline go ahead and get started!
IF the opposition immediately rush in upon hearing the whistle, have your players NOT play the ball! Do not worry; the opposition cannot play the ball as you have NOT kicked it forward yet to restart the play. The opposing players at a few feet away cannot be remotely construed as trifling. You must accept the referee as a playing condition and adapt!
Cheers