Question Number: 30643

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 8/1/2016

RE: Rec & Competitive Under 16

Robert of Oakville, Ontario Country asks...

Defender inside his own penalty area spits at an opponent outside the penalty area. Is it a direct free kick or penalty kick? What about defender outside and attacker inside?

Thanks! :)

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Robert
This has been asked over the years. The advice from IFAB is that the offence is given from where the player is struck or is spat at. So as the targeted player is outside the penalty it is a direct free kick and the defender is sent off for spitting at an opponent. If the attacking opponent is inside the penalty area the restart is a penalty kick.
Same would apply to a thrown object such as a boot etc It is from where the object hits or would have hot the target not from where it is thrown.
This was posed in 2006 in the former Q&As which were part of the Laws at that time
**While the ball is in play, a player standing inside his own penalty area throws an object at an opponent standing outside the penalty area. What action does the referee take?
He stops play and sends off the player who threw the object for violent conduct. Play is restarted with a direct free kick to the opponents’ team taken from the place where the offence occurred, e.g. where the object struck or would have struck the opponent. **