Question Number: 27571

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 7/1/2013

RE: Rec Under 19

Steve C of Ottawa, Ontario Canada asks...

A direct free kick is awarded to the red team. A green player is standing four yards from the ball and not withdrawing.
The red team decides to take the kick quickly anyway and steers the ball two yards to the side of the green player who runs leg oustretched into the path of the ball and intercepts it.
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It is my understanding that the ref should stop play and caution the green player. But it is not clear to me exactly what the caution is for. Failure to respect the required distance ?
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And then to the restart of play - should it be from the position of the original direct free kick which is retaken, or is it an indirect free kick taken from the spot where the green player touched the ball when he illegally intercepted the pass ?

Thanks - Steve

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Steve
The Laws of the Game make two distinctions here and I quote "If a player decides to take a free kick quickly and an opponent who is less than 10 yds from the ball intercepts it, the referee must allow play to continue.
If a player decides to take a free kick quickly and an opponent who is near the ball deliberately prevents him taking the kick, the referee must caution the player for delaying the restart of play.""
The referee is the judge of whether it was a QFK that was intercepted or preventing the QFK. The referee can also judge whether there was unsporting behaviour in the situation or not. When the referee goes with a retake the ball is spotted at the point of the original free kick. The caution in these situation can be for 'failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, free kick or throw-in' or for "delaying the restart of play".
In your scenario at 4/5 yards away and a QFK that is poorly taken the referee could allow play to continue based on the fact it is an interception. He could also deem that the player has come forward to prevent the QFK and go with a retake.
Each scenario is different including the QFK that is a shot at goal. In that situation the player accepts the position and distance of the players at the time of the shot and the outcome of the kick.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

When a player stretched out the leg to make contact with the ball, that player is considered to have interfered with the kick. The referee should stop play, caution the player for failure to respect the distance, and order the kick to be retaken from the original spot.

Note: if a player does nothing (rush the kick, jump, stick out leg) and the kicker simply kicked the ball to him, the referee should do nothing. That player is considered to have intercepted the kick.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 27586