Question Number: 27919

Law 13 - Free Kicks 10/22/2013

RE: Rec Under 10

Parangarecutirimicuaro of Sacramento, CA USA asks...

This is my first year as a referee and and my fifth as a coach. Since I do a lot of scrimmages with myself as the referee, most of my experience is not new. This past weekend, I was the CR for a game on a different U10 Boys game. The green team had a defender pass the ball to the goalie who picked it up right in front of his goal. I immediately blew my whistle, signaled for an indirect kick on the line closest to the goal line. Green team immediately lined up and prepared for a penalty kick. As the Red team is lined up to take the indirect, a player asked if it was a two touch ball. I nodded in agreement, and yelled it out again calling it 'two touch', so the rest of the players would hear. Seeing that Green made no attempt to defend, Red was hesitant to kick the ball. Finally, Red took the indirect kick.

My question is, should I have made sure Green team understood what was going on? Often times I am afraid of becoming a coach while while being the referee. Green team coached apologized to his team and placed the blame squarely on his shoulders for the misunderstanding.

Another question I have is could this have been an offside call on Red? Player A kicked the ball, which traveled forward up a yard but at an angle to his side. Player B was standing a yard away but behind and to the side of player A (forming a triangle with the pass). Player B ran up to the ball and scored.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Interesting scenario and one that is not likely to happen very often.
Anyway it is not the referee's responsibility to coach players however at underage he can assist in the learning process though explanations.
In this situation your whistle and call may have confused the young players who thought that it was a penalty kick. Also 'two touch' is not a good term and it is better to stick with ' indirect free kick'. I would be inclined to not allow the kick to be taken until it was clear to everyone what was happening. I might suggest to the Greens that they must stand on the goal line until the ball is kicked and the kick is on the whistle.
Also it cannot be offside here as the Red player was behind the ball when it was kicked. If he was ahead of the ball then offside would apply.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

This used to happen all the time at U10 Rec. Around here, part of your job when working these very low level games is instructional. I'd avoid the term 'two touch' but explain what an indirect free kick is and make it ceremonial so that everyone understands what's going on. Of course, you would never do this at higher levels of play.

If I understand your offside question, Player B was behind the ball when it was played so there can be no offside