Question Number: 27646

Law 13 - Free Kicks 8/6/2013

RE: social league Adult

jonathan of Durban, Natal South Africa asks...

During the game I awarded a free kick the captain of the of the defending side told his player to stand on the ball, I yellow carded the player for failing to respect the required distance for a free kick , was this a correct decision cos after the game I was told by the senior referee that I should have counted 10 yards & should not have cautioned this player. Every Adult knows you must be 10 yards from the ball in a free kick; standing on the ball is infringing the rules of the Game . Thank you

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Of course you were correct. Defenders have only one right at free kicks, which is to not be confused or distracted by the referee. They have no right to hold up the restart so their side can get into position to defend.

If more referees had the courage to caution players for delaying the restart, it would go away.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jonathan
This is a regular question on the site and it has become the bane of the game in recent years.
Its cause is due to the fact that most referees now make these free kicks 'ceremonial' where the kicking team see no benefit in the quick free kick. The senior referee is an example of this where no doubt he only cautions when the free kick has been actually prevented rather than the player just being positioned there. If the kick is not physically stopped then it is announced by the referee that it is 'on the whistle' and the free kick is managed.
I would have to say that part of the reason also is the grief that referees get when the QFK is taken as a shot on goal. Most players mistakenly think that the referee has to make all free kicks ceremonial. I had a situation last seasons when a team scored from a QFK. The grief and ill feeling that it caused was exceptional as the team claimed that I needed to whistle to restart play. Many referees simply want to avoid this so they just make it "on the whistle".
I would also say that many kicking teams want the 10 yards enforced so both points taken together have created the current behaviour that now exists.