Question Number: 25626

Law 13 - Free Kicks 10/18/2011

RE: Rec Adult

Stephen of Perth, WA Australia asks...

I was refereeing a game where the defender passed the ball back to her keeper who picked it up. I gave an IFK, and as the keeper was standing on her goal line, I said it needed to be taken on the six yard line. As the defenders ran up I turned my head to them to explain they could stand on the goal line. Seeing a movement out of the corner of my eye I turned to see the ball crossing the line into the goal, with two attackers standing there. They claimed that one had touched it to the other who had shot, and that they had a right to take a quick free kick. Since I did not see any of this except the ball crossing the line, all I could do was order the kick retaken - they missed the retake. At half time their coach was livid. Should I have stayed watching them all the time? At what point does the right to take a quick free kick turn into, 'now wait for my whistle'?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Every kick becomes a ceremonial kick ('wait for the whistle') when the referee decides it does. In this case, when you began enforcing where the defenders must relocate, the defenders had every right to believe that the kick would be ceremonial.

But, the better practice is to watch the kicking team. Do they want you to move the defenders or do they want to take the quick free kick? Unless you have a good reason to make a free kick ceremonial, just watch what happens.

In my experience, however, the attacking team almost never places the ball in the correct spot in these circumstances. Was the ball placed on the six yard lines perpendicular to the place where the keeper touched it? Probably not. Another good reason to keep your eye on the ball is that it would be a lot simpler for you to order the kick retaken because it was not taken from the correct spot!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Stephen
You could only make the one decision here which was to have the free kick "retaken". Once you got involved with the defenders that made it ceremonial which was essential for your match control.
Now the mechanics here are vital and the referee should take 'total control' of the situation. That means getting 'control' of the ball so that you can arrange its proper placement and also the positioning of the opponents away from the ball. Once all that is done the game can restart on the whistle.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

While the ball never commits any hanky panky, those pesky players will every time. Thus, it is wise never to let the ball out of your sight on restarts.

Since you did not know from whence the kick was taken, or whether it was in fact touched by another player prior to entering the goal, there is no way you can give the goal in this situation. I'm glad you had the courage not to give it and to have it retaken.

While generally a team is entitled to take a quick free kick, doing so when the referee isn't ready will or should always result in the kick being retaken. Now, obviously, the referee should be prepared, but things happen - teams will adjust.