Question Number: 30935

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/22/2016

RE: Under 17

Steve of Derby, England asks...

If a goalie gets booked for time-wasting what is the outcome ie drop ball, free kick or he just retains the ball and gets a card?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Steve
Generally the caution for time wasting happens when the ball is out of play in which case the restart does not change.
If the goalkeeper has retained the ball in his grasp for a lengthy period during play then the referee penalises him for retaining the ball for longer than six seconds. The restart is an indirect free kick from where the offence took place. It is not a caution and the sanction is the loss of possession and the IDFK from where the offence took place.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Steve,
hmmm no drop ball restart fits this as it is either an INDFK from where it occurs (subject to the special circumstances in the goal area) when holding the ball in his hands for MORE than a full 6 plus seconds during active play this action is stated as ONLY an INDFK and has NO caution attached as loss of ball possession is sufficient!
OR
the restart remains the same i.e. a goal kick most likel,y as it is an action which simply delays the restart of play, which is stated in the LOTG as a cautionable action.

Time wasting is a bit different then using up time unfairly which is in contrast to using up time fairly as a tactical ploy (head to corner and shield the ball) or by stretching the LOTG somewhat to their advantage as in lying a top a ball they dove for given a referee does not really get to agitated about the 6 seconds until a keeper is fully upright and bouncing it .

Keepers in retrieving balls for goal kicks can often take an inordinate amount of time getting the kick away. There is no exact law that states they must dash to get it, run to place it, and hurry to kick it. YET, once they have a ball in their possession within their PA the referee will expect them to get it into play within a reasonable amount of time. You start to get in that 20 second plus area you are asking to be spoken to

The intelligent official will usually WARN verbally rather than ram a caution down their throats on the first incident by showing a yellow card. The keeper will know if he or she is pushing the boundary based on the referees' reactions or approach. As a rule officials do not enjoy handing out cautions, showing a yellow card for such inane situations unless we are FORCED to by the obtuse actions of a dense keeper.

MOST often a caution show the yellow card for delaying a restart is a goal kick restart and the card is to ensure the keeper (whose team could be leading or will advance at the current score line) is ethical in his delivery of the ball into play by not wasting the time pointing or gesturing for players to move about
as he holds a ball under his arm or foot. The card shown DOES NOT Change the restart and keep in mind we can usually add time for the delay.
Cheers