Question Number: 23600

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 7/2/2010

RE: Rec Under 13

Ben Wiles of Todd County, KY USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 23577

The player in the question was off the FOP as part of the normal flow of play, and can 're-enter' without penalty or waiting for a stoppage and being beckoned.

(Not stated in the question, but suppose the player swerves into touch to avoid contact, but the foot comes through and trips him anyway.)

So, if the player is still considered 'on the field' for the purposes of the substitution rules, why would tripping him not be a foul? And why wouldn't the restart be a DFK on the touch line at the spot nearest the contact?

What am I missing?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Wiles
Players do step on and off the field of play as part of active play and there is nothing illegal about that nor does it require the permission of the referee. It becomes illegal if it is done for tactical reasons such as gaining an advantage or if it is done deliberately without the permission of the referee.
Penal fouls can only be committed by players on the FOP while the ball is in play. If an offence happens off the FOP it cannot be a foul.
Also if a player is so close to the line that it is difficult to determine at speed the exact position of the foul it is best to assume that the player was on the FOP and award the DFK. Where it would not work would be in a situation where both players slid say 5/7 yards off the FOP and one of the players was prevented from re-entering the FOP by holding. If that happens and play is stopped to deal with the misconduct the player is cautioned and the restart is a dropped ball where play was stopped. That cannot be a free kick.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Fouls can only be committed on the field of play, while the ball is in play, by one opponent against the other. Since anything off the field does not fit into that definition, anything off the field is not a foul, just as anything done while the ball is out of play cannot be a foul. It can still be misconduct, and in some cases - for instance, if the opponent left the field with the apparently express purpose of committing the deed - the restart can be an IDFK from the spot where the ball was located. Most of the time, for incidents committed off the field, the restart is a dropped ball where the ball was located when play was stopped.

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

See Question: 23618

See Question: 23629