Question Number: 29216

Law 16 - Goal Kick 3/1/2015

RE: Select Under 15

Jen of Camden, SC USA asks...

As a matter of trivia, our select coach has informed our players of an obscure rule that allows a defensive player to kick the ball out of bounds yet still be awarded a goal kick. The clue was 'it is all about location: look it up'. We have Google'd until our hands are sore and found nothing. Can you help with this?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jen
All I can think off is that from a kicked restart inside the penalty area such as a goal kick, a defender taking the restart kicks the ball out over the goal line inside the penalty area. As the ball has never left the penalty area the goal kick is retaken even though the defender kicked the ball out of bounds.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Jen,
Any free kick that the DEFENDER'S get inside their own 18 yard PENALTY AREA (PA) the ball must completely leave their penalty area to be in play! Failure to do so by kicking the ball into their goal or over the goal line portion inside the penalty area or not hard enough to exit the boundary lines, simply force a retake of the kick, not necessarily a goal kick. It could be a DFK or an INDFK from anywhere inside the 18 yard PA.

Mind you if they were actually taking a goal kick restart, the retake is of course a goal kick.

I might also point out the useless nature of such an event and add to it that MISCONDUCT for delaying the restart or USB of wasting time could result in a caution show the yellow card.

Any free kick awarded to the defenders from within their own goal area the restart location can occur ANYWHERE inside that 6 yard goal area

A goal kick is awarded ONLY when the opposing team last touch the ball before it crosses the defender's goal line.
A defender could kick the ball OFF an opponent and the rebound goes out for a goal kick.

An INDFK taken by the opposition could be kicked directly into the defender's goal would be a goal kick.
The opposite being if the defenders were ...NOT... inside their PA and did the same (kicking their INDFK directly into their own goal) the restart would be a corner kick

On a defending free kick where the ball completely exits the PA but say due to an awesomely strong head wind the ball is blown back and renters the PA and crosses the goal line even into the goal it is not a retake or a goal kick but a corner kick as the LOTG do not permit a team to score directly upon itself.

Write us back and tell us this unusual law we seem to be missing, maybe we learn something ! lol
Your select coach maybe a good coach but not sure on his grasp of the LOTG? So I got one for you to throw back at your coach tell him it is possible for both teams to be offside at the same time! Question Number: 28818 will explain
lol
Cheers