Question Number: 30619

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 7/18/2016

RE: Competitive Under 17

Stephen Brown of Salt Lake City, Utah United States asks...

A goalkeeper ran to the edge of the penalty box to grab a high ball. An attacker ran to the spot also to head the ball. The two collided and both fell down. While the keeper initially had the ball in his hands he dropped it when he hit the ground. Should the keeper be given special allowance for safety when jumping into the air to reach a high ball by penalizing the attacker or should this be a no-call as both were attempting to play the ball?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Stephen
Not an easy one and one would need to see it to make a call. The key for me in your description is that you state that the goalkeeper had the ball and that he dropped it when he hit the ground. That would suggest to me that there was more of a chance that the goalkeeper had the ball first and that he forward made contact with the GK after he had possession if the ball. If that were the case then the attacker has fouled the GK.
As regards giving special preference to the goalkeeper that is not part of the laws. All players are treated equally in respect of challenges.
There can be times when both players arrive at the same tine which is a coming together and no foul.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Stephen,

I think the key point to consider here is whether the goalkeeper had the ball in his hands before the challenge. I would have to disagree slightly with my esteemed colleague Ref McHugh here, in that the Laws do give a couple of special consideration to keepers, which are not afforded to other players. One of them is the following (understandably in one way, since other players cannot legally use their hands to control the ball in the first place):

'A goalkeeper cannot be challenged by an opponent when in control of the ball with the hands.'

So if in your scenario the goalie had control of the ball with the hands before the collision (which is not totally clear from your description) then I think you would be looking at an offence by the attacker.

The other area where I think keepers get slightly different treatment (and a separate section of the Laws that applies specifically to them) is that opponents are in effect, not allowed to challenge them when they are in the process of releasing the ball from their hands.