Question Number: 30045

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 1/24/2016

RE: rec Under 15

Paul Debler of Newbury Park, CA USA asks...

If the ball is straddling the side line of the penalty box, with just an edge of the ball on the line and the rest of the ball outside of the box, and the keeper picks it up by clearly grabbing the part of the lying outside of the box is this a hand ball resulting in a direct free kick or is the ball considerred to be inside the penalty area as it straddles the line and therefore abel to be handled by the keeper without a foul?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Paul
You have the answer. If any part of the ball is touching the line or the plane of the penalty area line all of the ball is considered inside the penalty area. My colleagues use the analogy of the waterfall plane ending on the outside edge of the line. If the ball is still getting wet by the water it is inside and it is not handling even of the goalkeepers hands are dry from outside.

Now it is very tight call and most referees in a dynamic situation will have difficulty determining the exact position. In the EPL technology has been deployed to help on goal situation as it was just too difficult a call to see if all of the ball crossed all of the line. Now it is not.
Have a look at this video and see in real time just how difficult this is.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=liXeEouKpzo

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Paul,

This is a good question. While normally a foul is considered at the point of contact, for handling the ball it's different - we're not looking at where on the ball the handling occurs, we're just looking at where the ball is. So even if the ball was 99% outside of the PA and 1% on the line and handled by the goalkeeper on the portion outside of the PA, no offence would have occurred.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Paul,

The location of the ball itself dictates whether it is inside or outside by having ANY portion of the ball in contact with or overhangs the 5 inch plane of a boundary line as being INSIDE that part of the field .

A ball on the goal line inside the posts in still inside the goal area.
A ball out side the goal posts but on the goal line it could be inside the PA or inside the regular FOP.

I use the 5 inch wall of water far up into the sky to push home the point of the plane of a boundary line. It extends straight up and a curved ball that can get even the outside curvature wet. That ball is inside that area of the field it is in contact with.

In the case of the PA a keeper can in theory be completely outside his own Penalty Area by some 10 feet, laying stretched out feet pointing to the midline arms reaching back to his goal to a ball just grazing the PA boundary line with the larger portion of the ball towards the midline with the keeper's fingers resting on it outside the PA.
That ball is legally in control of the keeper and can not be challenged by the opponent. Mind you he would have to be very very careful in trying to get up and not pull it outside for a Handling the ball deliberately foul thus a DFK or lose touch and be awarded an INDFK for a double touch lol
Cheers