Question Number: 28451

Law 13 - Free Kicks 5/21/2014

RE: Rec, Select Under 13

John Sendrey of Costa Mesa, CA USA asks...

A defender saving a ball from going out taps it in with the goalie scooping up the ball with his hands on the goal line, technically inside goal area. The referee correctly calls for the indirect free kick due to the passback being handled by the keeper.
Where the referee messes up (and violates Laws of the Game) is in placing the ball on the goal area line perpendicular to the goal line (but near the goal line) and then only backs off defenders (not on goal line and in between goal posts) 6 yards instead of the required 10 yards.
I guess this just goes to show that this call is even messed up at the higher levels of play.
http://instagram.com/p/oSQ47VRaiv/#

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi John
Yes the referee here was incorrect in Law. All opponents must be at least 10 yds from the ball until it is in play, unless they are on their own goal line between the goalposts.
So the player not on the goal line had to be ten yards from the ball.
It is unclear whether the offence happened inside or outside the goal area. An indirect free kick awarded inside the goal area must be taken on the goal area line parallel to the goal line at the point nearest to where the infringement occurred otherwise it is taken from the point of the infringement if it happened outside the goal area.
It is a situation rarely encountered by referees so I could see how he could get it wrong even at the highest levels.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi John,

As you can see, placing the ball there means it's impossible for the defenders to remain 10 yards away without leaving the goal completely open. That picture is a perfect example of why the ball needs to be brought out to the edge of the Goal Area parallel to the goal line.

It's also why we, as referees, need to ensure we are fully across the law - it's those rare situations that can be absolutely critical to a match.

I can only wonder what the assistants were doing to allow the kick to occur - if you were an AR on this match and you saw the referee doing this, then as an assessor I'd want you to raise your flag in the air and then call the referee over once he's made eye contact. Failing that, do everything you can to get his attention - and you'd want to be doing that even if you're the far AR.

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