Question Number: 22808

Law 5 - The Referee 2/10/2010

RE: Competitive Adult

Richard of Westchester, NY USA asks...

If an IFK is kicked (by your teammate)in the direction of your team's own goal and the ball is toached by your keeper (inside the pk area) before the ball goes into your own goal, what would the correct restart be?

Law 13 does not explain this situation only says if a DFK or IFK is kicked directly into the team's own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opposing team.

Would you give an IFD to the opposing team by applying the backpass rule, or would you give the opposing team the goal?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Richard
I assume when you mention touched by the goalkeeper you mean by his hands as if he uses his foot there is no IDFK infraction.
The referee can and should play advantage in this case and therefore the correct decision is to award the goal.

Answer provided by Referee Tom Stagliano

Referee Richard

First, the IFK you are describing must have started from Outside the penalty area. Any free kick (goal kick, DFK or IFK) awarded to a team within their own penalty area, must leave the penalty area before it is in play.

With that caveat, the restart would be a kick-off as an Own Goal was just scored.

A free kick is merely a ball in play, once it is kicked and touches another player.

Since the restriction on a goal keeper from handling a ball that was intentionally kicked to him by a team mate is part of Law 12, the referee may (and should) apply the Advantage Clause and allow play to continue after the ball was touched by the goalie (handled) because it is more advantageous for the opposing team to score a goal than to be awarded an IFK. NOTE: A referee may say Play On and then 2 to 3 seconds later determine there was no advantage and call the original foul. Because of that, the referee should yell Play On when the goalie touches the ball and the ball skips away.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The referee applies advantage to the keeper's foul (touching the ball directly kicked by a teammate) and allows the goal.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

While indirect free kicks are covered under Law 13, if a goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands after the ball has been deliberately kicked to him by a teammate, that is a violation of Law 12. Here in the USA, we may only apply advantage to violations of Law 12. Now, had the referee been quick to blow the whistle when the keeper touched the ball with his hands( you don't say that the keeper touched the ball with his hands but you imply it and I assume it), there can be no goal as the ball was not in play.

Answer provided by Referee Debbie Hoelscher

It depends on where the placement of the ball is when the IFK was taken. If the the placement of the ball for the IFK is outside the penalty area, basically Law 13 states that the kicking team cannot score a goal against themselves in the taking of their own free kick when it is kicked directly into their own goal. A corner kick restart is given because the ball crossed wholly over the goal line after having last been touched by a member of the defending team, and no goal was scored. If the ball was placed within the boundaries of the Penalty Area, then the restart is a rekick to the kicking team because the ball was never properly put into play.

Assuming that the ball was kicked and properly put into play, and the ball made contact with team's own goal keeper's hand(s) prior to crossing the goal line, then the restart is a goal for the opposing team, since the ball did not go "directly" into the goal, but was touched by another player.

Woe to the referee who stops play here before giving a few extra moments to wait and see what next happens -- advantage. Yes, the referee COULD stop play because the keeper used his hands within his own penalty area after having received a deliberately kicked ball from his teammate. BUT the referee SHOULD NOT stop play until there is certainty about the outcome of that infraction.

Applying advantage means: "giving the offended team their best opportunity to do their worst against the team which had just offended them." [Thank you Bob and Chuck]

Which is better for the offended team? An IFK for the attacking team in the penalty/goal area? or a kick off for the defending team because the attacking team just put another notch on the score board?