Question Number: 22431

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 11/4/2009

RE: College

Dale n of oklahoma city, ok usa asks...

Last night in a college soccer match I saw something I have never seen before. A foul was committed in the penalty area, and the foul was called. The referee placed the ball in the penalty area, and gave the team a direct free kick. For clarity, he did NOT call a penalty kick. The opposing team was permitted to put up a wall.(The direct free kick scored) Is there any discretion on the part of an official to not call the PK? May I be so bold as to ask was this just incompetence at a college level?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Dale
The law does not allow for a direct free kick inside the penalty area. It must be a penalty.
The referee can award an indirect free kick inside the penalty area but a goal cannot be scored directly from it. A player, however, can kick the ball, put it into play and a team mate can then have a direct shot at goal.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

That is a pretty shocking error in a collegiate match. (Or two errors, if the referee actually called for an indirect free kick foul, forgot to raise the arm, and allowed a goal even if the ball did not touch another player before entering the goal.

There are three members of the officiating team. Someone should have sought to get the restart correct before the kick. If the referee forgot to raise the arm for an indirect free kick foul, the referee should have retaken the IFK.

Answer provided by Referee Nathan Lacy

This sounds like a definite 'oopsie'!! You say the DFK was scored but did it go straight in? If so, then it was clearly not an IFK and hence no need for the arm to be raised. Regardless, the perception was certainly that a DFK was awarded inside the PA and that is a definite 'no no'. All the best,

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

What college match??

I find it almost inconceivable that a match of such calibre could have such a protestable misapplication of law attributed to the officiating staff?

If it was in favour of the attackers, a DFK foul INSIDE the opposition's penalty area in law it MUST be a PK!

IF the infraction was for a keeper handling volition or PIADM or impeding these are INDFKS which can occur inside the opposing penalty area t he point of the infraction but the referee must indicate this by raising his arm straight up?

Are you sure you did not just miss that signal??

The ten yards must STILL be respected by the opposition but if the INDFK was closer than ten to the goal the defenders can line up ON the goal line, under the crossbar, between the posts.

If it was an INDFK that ball must at least touch another player other than the kicker before a legal goal can score. That second touch can be a simple tick of the ball off the head or body part of ANY of the other 21 players on the field on its way into the goal!

Cheers

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

See Question: 22457