Question Number: 27167

Law 17 - Corner Kick 2/9/2013

RE: rec Adult

alex of richmond hill, ontario canada asks...

This question is a follow up to question 27146

I think the law says you cannot remove the corner flag. Maybe I have missed something but I cannot remember anything about not allowing contact with the corner flag. Can you clairfy under which clause makes it illegal to make contact with the flag? My thoughts are the flags are part of the field, like a goal post. So touching the flag is like touching the goal post which should not be illegal (excluding bending the flag out of its normal position).

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Alex
Law 17 says and I quote ' The corner flag post must not be moved''
The question related to the deliberate moving of the flag as part of the kick and there were a number of options given which dealt with the deliberate action to the incidental moving through contact.
If a player accidentally kicks the flag as part of the kick then play can continue.
What tends to happen is that flags that are incorrectly centered or those that move can and do get in the way of the kicker. Sorting such a flag is not an issue.
If the proper flag is placed correctly there is no reason for a player to move the flag while taking a corner kick.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

You may touch the corner flags and you may touch the goal posts and crossbar. You cannot hang off the crossbar and you cannot move the corner flags to your advantage.
Of course if the flag is improperly placed and clearly in the kicker's way, it can be pushed out of the way as long as it is not pulled out of the ground

Answer provided by Referee Gil Weber

The prohibition is against **removing** a **properly placed** corner flag post and placing it elsewhere to the kicker's advantage. The prohibition is **not** against moving out of the way a flag post if it clearly intrudes on the kicker's ability to put the ball into play. For example, if a flag post on a spring-bottom is bent over at an angle by the wind and is directly in the kicker's path it can be pushed out of the way (redirected) as long as the base of the flag post is not pulled out of the ground and moved. Similarly, a flag post that is not correctly placed off the field at the intersection of the goal line and touch line (for example, it's 3" inside the corner arc) can be repositioned.

Law 17 should be applied with a little common sense, not with the literal "black and white" of what's written.