Question Number: 26219

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 4/23/2012

RE: Rec Adult

Tony Bielby of Auckland, New Zealand asks...

This question is a follow up to question 26204

Thanks for the answer to my question although I must admit to being still a little unclear as to at what point a 'save' is deemed to be in control of the ball. Joe McHugh says a parry is not a rebound and the instance I'm thinking of would be a quick snap shot followed by a delberate save without controlling the ball (can I call that a parry?) and a 'scored' rebound

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Tony
As described that would not be a parry and the any rebound does not reset the offside. A parry is a situation where the goalkeeper instead of choosing to hold the ball allows it to fall deliberately from his possession.
Offside consideration off a parry is a pretty rare event but perhaps a situation could arise where a goalkeeper forgets about the position of a player in an offside position, parries the ball with the intent of kicking it away and then gets caught in possession by the PIOP. That is not offside.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Think of it this way - was the goalkeeper really able to choose and control where he directed the ball, or was he able to do little more than stop the ball and try to guide the deflection in the rough direction of what he thinks was safest?

That's the difference in determing control - but don't get too hung up on it. I don't think I've ever seen such a scenario where I (or the refereeing team on the day) has determined that the keeper has controlled the ball. Benefit of the doubt would typically go to suggesting that he hasn't controlled the ball.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Parry is a term from an older day when keepers were limited to how many steps they could take after they were in possession of the ball. One way to cheat was to advance the ball with a controlled 'parry', run to the ball and catch it, and then take your steps.
As a result, the initial parry was considered to be the moment the keeper was in possession of the ball. Releasing the ball into play meant that the keeper could not grab it until it touched another player. The notion still remains in the game, to the confusion of fans, players (and referees) alike.
In my experience, the parry may likely be seen only when the keeper is trying to keep the ball from crossing the goal line for a corner kick/goal. Rather than hold onto the ball and risk carrying the ball across the goal line as the keeper falls, the keeper will throw the ball back into the field. The keeper's control is clear, as is the keeper's purpose..

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Parry by definition implies control. It's an antiquated term that still finds it's way into the Laws. What it means is the keeper could have caught the ball but chose to knock it to the ground instead. Referees are constantly being told they cannot be mind readers yet that's exactly what a referee has to do if he or she decides the keeper has parried the ball.
I don't remember ever having seen this called in a game. May have been more frequent when keepers were limited to 4 steps before they had to release the ball back into play