Question Number: 24158

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/14/2010

RE: Competitive Under 19

Mark Malacky of Warren, OH USA asks...

Hi Everyone,

I'm a first year official and love your site. I come here everyday to check the questions.

My son plays U12 and I missed his game because I was officiating another game. His coach told me about a situation that occurred during his game.

My son took a high shot from distance and the keeper was playing up and had to back up and reach up and make the save. After the keeper caught the ball above his head, the coach felt that the keeper realized he would fall back into the goal with the ball. So the keeper tossed the ball forward before entering the goal. The keeper did end up in the goal, but came out to pick up the ball again which never did enter the goal and was never touched by anyone else. I was told by the coach that the official at the game allowed this and let play continue.

The coach asked me what I thought about this. I guess I'm now his resident rules interpreter. My answer was that if the official felt the keeper had possession of the ball before he released it, it should be an indirect kick for the attacking team from the spot the keeper touched the ball the second time. Since it sounded like to me that the keeper had possession of the ball, released it and then possessed it a 2nd time without being touched by another player. So since the official allowed play to continue he must have felt there was no possession on the first touch.

I would appreciate it if you could please let me know if i have a correct understanding of this play.

Thanks for all you do, you definitely help me out with my understanding of the game.

Mark.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Mark
Nothing wrong here.The goalkeeper had to make the decision to release the ball because his momentum would have taken him into the goal with the ball. So it was smart thinking by the goalkeeper and something that he most definitely should not be punished for. It was all part of the save.
Always remember the reason behind the particular Law. The Law exists to prevent the GK gaining full possession of the ball, releasing it and then picking it up again. That is a deliberate act which the law makers want to prevent.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

This type of play happens so infrequently, the referee may not have even realized it potentially was a second-touch violation. He was probably hustling to the goal line to see if the ball had actually gone over or not. 'Whew - he batted it down!' or 'Whew! I thought he was going to fall over and score a goal against himself.'

At a U12 level, we certainly should be giving benefit of the doubt to the keeper as to whether he had controlled the ball or not.

And as Ref McHugh alludes, if it was technically an infraction, it most likely was trifling. He kept the ball out of the goal, that was his main job. Any subsequent second-touch probably didn't help him or his team any, nor harm the opponents, so why would it need to be called?

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

See Question: 24196