Question Number: 30177

Law 13 - Free Kicks 3/5/2016

RE: Recreational Under 16

Ernie Barnum of Gibsons, Brirish Columbia Canada asks...

If an IDFK is taken by the attacking team outside the penalty area and one player taps the bottom of his shoe on the ball but it does not move and a team-mate then shoots the ball directly into the goal, is the correct restart of play a goal kick to the defending team because the ball was never in play because it did not move? Thanks for your reply

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Ernie,
The ball, in the opinion of the match referee must be seen to visibly move from here to there, a squish or a tap is not an easily visible kicking motion. While a referee has a great deal of latitude and may accept certain iffy situations like this as ok if say the teams seem to be on the same page if you are not ok with the 1st touch as a viable put the ball in play kicking motion then the goal kick is the correct restart as an INDFK must have two distinct touches by two different players where as the first touch MUST be a kicking motion to put the ball into play. It should not be a guessing game. Just be sure to apply your standards equally.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Ernie
The Law says that at a free kick that a ball must be kicked and moved for it to be put in play. If it does not move then it is not in play. It is left to the referee to opine what is a kick and whether the ball moved. For those of us in the game a long time we can recall when the ball had to move its circumference for that to happen. That eliminated any doubt that the ball was in play yet the issue then was did it move enough. Not so any longer so a small tap kick and move suffices.
Now does tapping the ball on top with the sole of the boot and a wobble constitute kicked and moved? I would opine not in a law context yet a very short foot roll of the ball does. The difference can be slight and the referee could help take his decision from the opponents who perhaps charge the ball at the moment of the *kick/touch*. If all the opponents see that action as a kick putting the ball in play then why challenge that particularly if the referee is a distance away. Perhaps also the defending team came forward before the *kick* which then is a retake rather than a goal kick.
Have a look at this video.
In this instance if the player had even foot taped the ball there probably would have been no compliant that the ball was in fact put into play. As there was no contact whatsoever it should have been an IDFK to the Red team for a double touch infringement by White 8
Now both Red players in the defensive wall did not help by not appealing immediately. I suspect the AR was focussing on offside and the CR was 30+ yards away focusing on players in the penalty area.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=46pnEQXfIu8