Question Number: 22509

Law 18 - Common Sense 11/13/2009

RE: Recreational Under 13

James of Gulf Breeze, Florida U.S.A. asks...

An interesting situation occurred in a U-10 match I was officiating last week. I called for a penalty kick, and the keeper was too tall to be able to stand on the goal line. So, I decided to let him move off the line, so that he would not injure himself.
Is this the correct decision, or should I have required that another player act as the keeper?

Thank you for your help!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee James
In this case you were 100% correct in allowing this to happen. I would just ensure that he stayed as close as possible to the line. Changing the goalkeeper would be unfair.
This is a Law 18, common sense decision and well done on that.

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Answer provided by Referee Nathan Lacy

Sounds like a good solution to me - especially for a u-10 game. Good grief, it isn't the world cup. And common sense reffing can be a good thing so 'well done' on maintaining the spirit of the game and letting the kids have some fun. All the best,

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Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

kids match fun, fun, safety more fun! A back heel on the outside leading edge would satisfy the laws and likely pose no danger. I do not think switching keepers is a good idea but then I think keepers at age 9 is not the greatest of ideas either.
Cheers

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