Question Number: 23459

Law 1- The Field 6/12/2010

RE: competive Under 19

Neil Mahoney of rehoboth, ma usa asks...

ball in play on field and is kicked high by team blue it his an overhanging tree branch at center line, tree branch is a good 15 ft above field ball drops straight down and is played by team yellow. Should i have stopped game or continue play, I did continue play.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The USSF has a policy on this (Advice to Referees 1.8):
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(c) Pre-existing conditions
These are things on or above the field which are not described in Law 1 but are deemed safe and not generally subject to movement. These include trees overhanging the field, wires running above the field, and covers on sprinkling or draining systems. They do not affect one team more adversely than the other and are considered to be a part of the field. If the ball leaves the field after contact with any item considered under the local ground rules of the field to be a pre-existing condition, the restart is in accordance with the Law, based on which team last played the ball. (Check with the competition for any local ground rules.)
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However other parts of the world have considered overhead obstacles to be the same as outside agents, and the ball is considered out of play if it hits them. Play would then be restarted with a dropped ball.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

In the US, a tree branch or overhead wires above the field of play are treated as 'normal' part of the field of play (like a sprinkler head on the ground) and play is not stopped. Many leagues, however, adopt local rules requiring a dropped ball when the ball hits trees/wires. In the absence of a local rule, your decision was appropriate.