Question Number: 24466

Law 1- The Field 1/8/2011

RE: Adult

kevin of birmingham, england asks...

If a foul is committed on the line of the 18 yard box, is this considered a free kick or a PK?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The line is part of the penalty area. If it was a direct free kick foul, it becomes a penalty kick.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The boundary lines of EVERY area on a soccer field are considered to be a part of that area. So if a player commits one of the 10 direct free kick fouls ON any of the penalty area boundary lines the restart would be a penalty kick.

Please note that there are INDIRECT free kick fouls as well and there are 2 kinds of free kicks, direct and indirect. When dealing with infractions inside the penalty area it's important to specify what kind of infraction. Only the 10 direct free kick fouls may result in a penalty kick. All others may only result in an indirect free kick regardless of the location of the foul.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Kevin, Law one says: The field of play must be rectangular and marked with lines. These lines belong to the areas of which they are boundaries. Therefore if the foul happened on the line of the penalty area, it is as good as happened inside the penalty area. So if a defender commits one of the ten fouls for which a direct free kick is awarded, it becomes a PK.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Kevin
Simple answer is that the line is part of the penalty area and if the foul happened on the penalty area line, a penalty kick is awarded.