Question Number: 24971

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/18/2011

RE: Under 14

Filippo of Palermo, Italy asks...

Let's call A1 and A2 two players of Team A. A1 runs towards the opponents' goal, but he is fouled inside the penalty area.
The referee awards a penalty kick to Team A, but A1 is compelled to leave the field of play because of an injury due to the foul.
He cannot return the field of play until the penalty kick is taken ('An injured player may only return to the field of play after the match has restarted', Law 5, Injured players).

A2 is going to take the penalty, and the referee blows his whistle. Before the ball is in play, A1 commits an offence (e.g. strikes the assistant referee, uses an abusive language or throws an object to a substitute/substituted player of Team B), while remaining outside the field of play.
Now, A2 kicks the ball, but the goalkeeper catches it. So, according to Law 14 (an infringement committed by a teammate of the kicker), since a goal has not been scored, referee has to stop play, and an indirect free kick from the place where the infringement occurred has to be awarded to the opposing team.

But, since the offence occurred outside the field of play:

1) Where has the indirect free kick to be taken from?
2) Does the IFK become a dropped ball from the penalty mark, since the offence occurred outside the field of play?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Filippo
The key here is that misconduct has been committed off the field of play by a player entitled to be there when the ball was out of play. If the referee stops play before the penalty kick is taken then it is retaken after A1 is dismissed and the team plays short.
If the kick is taken and the referee stops play the restart is a dropped ball from where play was stopped not an IDFK.
Always remember that the IDFK is only awarded if the offence happens on the FOP between the whistle and the kick being taken which is a short window of time. After the penalty kick is taken VC on the field of play would be a direct free kick. If the VC happened off the FOP after the kick is taken it is a dropped ball or if the player left the FOP to commit the offence it is an IDFK restart from where play was stopped.
The incident as described would result in the referee stopping play after the save, dismissing A1 for VC and the restart is a dropped ball from where play was stopped. I would ensure that the DB restart would be in an area that would not cause a difficulty for the defending side

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Your example does not involve an infringement of Law 14, but misconduct by a player off the field. As you note, Law 14's IFK restart at the spot of the infringement cannot be correct, since free kicks are never taken from off the field of play.

In cases of violent conduct or abusive language or gestures, for example, the referee should not let the kick proceed. Sendoff the miscreant, and then restart with the penalty kick.

In case of dissent, the referee is not required to stop play immediately. With the ball safely in the goalkeeper's hands, the referee might decide to deal with the player the next time the ball goes out of play. (The passive aggressive response referee might also be very slow to permission to reenter and then address what is likely to be further acts dissent from the player off the field.)

If the referee stops play for an offense that occurs off the field of play, the restart will be a dropped ball where the ball was located when play was stopped. A wise referee, however, might drop the ball in a way that lets the keeper pick it up.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

My colleagues have excellent advice. I would only add that the referee has a great deal of control over the decision here. It is when the referee decides to stop play that play stops - which may or may not coincide with when the whistle blows to announce the decision. A dropped ball here is an invitation to more management problems in a game, but if that is what has to happen, then that is the Law. But, the wisest referees, given any wiggle room, will know the miscreant acted before the ball was kicked (or in other words, was out of play) so that the miscreant player is sent off and the restart is a retake of the PK.

According to your scenario, A1 committed his misconduct while the ball was not in play. Ergo, the restart is a retake, after A1 is sent off. What happened after the referee's decision on a sending off (occurring before the kick) makes the kick by A2 and catch by the keeper irrelevant to the restart.