Question Number: 31219

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 2/1/2017

RE: Middle School Under 14

Tim of Jacksonville, fl United States asks...

One of my players was dribbling the ball. He was tripped inside the penalty box, and a foul was called. The officials said it was not a penalty kick because although the player was in the box the ball was outside the box. It matters where the ball is, not the player. I accepted their explanation. After thinking about it, it doesnt make much sense because that would mean if a player was tripped outside of the box, but the ball was inside the box a penalty kick should be awarded?

How is that ruled if the player is tripped in the box with the ball outside of the box? I don't want what people think I want an actually quote from a rule book because I couldn't find it :)

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Tim
The free kick is awarded from where the foul took place not the position of the ball. That is a fundamentsl tenet of the Laws /Rules and it concerns me that a referee would say that it matters where the ball is as to the location of the foul and subsequent restart. I am hoping a lost in explanation moment to justify no penalty where it was meant that both the ball and the players were outside the penalty area. If the officials had said that the contact took place outside the penalty area while the ball was outside as well then that would mean no penalty which would have been correct.
Now as you rightly point out had the ball been inside the area and the players outside then a penalty award would have clearly been in error.
So in your scenario the decision should have been a penalty as the foul contact happened inside the penalty area not the location of the ball. I am trying to visualise a situation as you describe for the ball to be outside and the players inside the area. It does and can happen with play going away from goal although generally play dictates the opposite with players following the ball into the area. Indeed many penalties are not given because while ball may be inside the area the foul contact happened outside.
At an extreme of this the ball could be at one end of the field of play and the goalkeeper could strike an opponent at the other end inside the penalty area and the resart would be a penalty even if the ball was 80/90 yards away. The only foul where the location of the ball maters is deliberate handling. Thats because the offending hand/ arm is at the point the location of the offence.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Tim,
That's a bit of a worry!
The foul occurs where the contact on the player was - the location of the ball is irrelevant.
Occasionally a player may get tripped by having their back foot hooked while it's outside the PA while the rest of the player and ball is inside the PA (ie crossing the line) - sometimes I've been in a great position to spot this critical difference. The free kick is just outside the PA, at the point of contact.

Holding is different because it's a continuous foul, and even charging in the back often continues over a couple of yards, but when there is a single point of contact, that's where the free kick is.

Also consider off the ball fouls - the free kick is always taken at the location of the offence, which can be a long way away from the ball!

Deliberately Handles the Ball is the different one - we don't try to think about where on the ball it was handled (eg if ball is half outside the PA, we don't try and judge on which half of the ball the handling occurred), rather we consider the position of the ball. Any part of it in the PA (including on the line), and any part of the ball is deliberately handles, then it's a penalty kick.

Also holds true for the keeper handling it - in those cases, 'where the ball is' matters. The keeper can be entirely outside the box with his arms stretching in, but as long as the ball is just inside the PA (or just on the line), that's all that matters.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Tim,
I'm quite surprised that not one but several officials would make this incorrect statement. The Laws of the Game state that:

''A penalty kick is awarded if a player commits a direct free kick offence inside their penalty area ...''

In the case of any physical contact foul, the determining factor would be where the contact occurred, not where the ball was (with the partial exception alluded to by ref Wright involving holding fouls).

You say this was a Middle School game - if played under NFHS rules the same principle applies, albeit with slightly different wording:

''A penalty kick shall be awarded when a foul, which ordinarily results in the awarding of a direct free kick, occurs within the offending team's penalty area.''

It does not matter where the ball was (so long as it was in play) at the time the foul occurred.

The example ref McHugh gives was also covered in the old FIFA Q&A's as follows:

Q. ''A defender standing in his own penalty area violently strikes an opponent while the ball is in play in his opponent's penalty area. What action does the referee take?

A. Play is stopped. A penalty kick is awarded against the defender and he is sent off for violent conduct.''

There has been no change in the laws since this was introduced which would invalidate this answer and it clearly demonstrates the principle that the deciding factor is the location of the infringement, not the location of the ball.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 31221