Question Number: 31557

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/23/2017

RE: Adult

Benjamin Nielsen of Vejle, Danmark asks...

Hi,

A player from a defending team decides to clear the ball away from his own defending zone. He hits it wrong and the ball ends up in his own penalty area, where his goalkeeper catches the ball.

So, my question is: Is that a legal back pass?

Regards
Benjamin

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Bengamin
No this should not be considered a deliberate kick to the goalkeeper. It is a miskick which ends up in the penalty area so play should be allowed to continue. Referees should only punish deliberate kicks to the goalkeeper by a team mate not unitentional miskicks that have gone astray.
I recall a number of seasons ago in a game where a goalkeeper at a goal kick kicked the ball some 40 yards towards halfway. A team mate tried to help on the the bouncing ball with a kick. Anyway he ended up miskicking the ball wildly back towards his own goal and the goalkeeper had to make a save by tipping the ball over the crossbar. I awarded the corner kick and there was not one appeal for a *passback*. Even if there was I would have dismissed any appeal without question.
As Referee Grove states the use of the misnomer *passback* is unhelpful in that it has to be a kick, it can be in any direction and it does not include unintentional misdirected kicks.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Benjamin,
The law says that this is only an offence if the ball is ''deliberately kicked to the goalkeeper.'' Since you have clearly said that this was a miskick, it is therefore not deliberate and would not be an offence.

I would also caution against using the term 'back pass' - although it is a convenient short hand for what we are discussing, it can easily lead to misunderstandings. It gives the impression that the ball has to go backwards (it does not) and the word 'pass' does not make it sufficiently clear that the ball must be kicked, for an offence to be possible.