Question Number: 31561

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/24/2017

RE: District Under 16

Peter of Ottawa, On Canada asks...

Strange occurrence in a u15 district level game tonight. There was an indirect free kick for the goalie handling the ball after it was kicked back.
When the attacking team went to take the kick both players jumped over the ball to fake the kick. They were both confused and just stood there after not moving towards the ball completely confused what to do next. (Note it is the first game for these u15 players of the season.)
Of course this confused the defending players who were not sure what to do either as no one was taking the kick.

The only infraction I could think of would be a foul for an unsportsmanlike kick but I didn't want to card players in a first game who obviously were not sure what to do (the fields have been closed due to rain so I don't think either team had even practiced this year before the game.)

However even after re reading the rules tonight I can't see another option. What I did was give a free kick to the defenders for an unsportsmanlike kick but chose not to give a card. Both coaches were ok with this decision but it bothers me I had to improvise rather then call based solely on the law.

I would like to know the correct way to handle this in the future.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Peter,
From your description, I don't see any offence here. Feinting (aka faking) at a free kick is allowed under the law. Being confused over what to do next is also not an offence.

Even if there had been an offence, it does not change the restart. Since the ball was not in play, you cannot award a free kick to the opponents. The law is quite clear - in fact the very first sentence in law 12 states that:

''Direct and indirect free kicks and penalty kicks can only be awarded for offences and infringements committed when the ball is in play.''

So I'm afraid you have made two mistakes here. As to the best way to handle it, I would say you could wait a moment to see if one of the attackers would come to their senses and kick the ball and if they don't, then simply tell the attacking side (especially since this is a youth game with inexperienced players) ''Go ahead, the ball is not in play yet.''

If they still do nothing (or if one of the defenders starts to move towards the ball as I think would be quite likely in this situation) then blow your whistle to halt proceedings and let them set up the free kick again.

What you cannot do is award a free kick to the opponents for something that was not an offence and especially when the ball was not in play.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Peter
I am afraid you got the decision incorrect here.
As the ball was not in play there could not be an offence or an infringement that changed the restart. So whatever decision you came to the restart is still an IDFK to the attacking team.
If you deemed that the *feinting* was unsporting behaviour which would be a very rare offence and one that I have never seen then after the card/s the restart does not change. A referee could caution here also for delaying the restart which we have all done. The restart does not change In that situation either.
So for me I would say that the actions did not merit a card/s even if it was a first game so I would have jumped on the whistle and reset the IDFK with an instruction to the kicking team that the ball has to be put into play smartly on the next whistle.
So key learning point is that no event changes a restart when the ball is dead. The restart can be changed if the original decision is wrong but not an event while the ball is dead and out of play. Even with a penalty kick we allow the kick to be taken and then make the decision when the ball is kicked and in play.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Peter,
There was no basis in the LOTG for changing the restart and awarding it to the other team as play was NEVER restarted
Feigning is not an offence however delaying the restart might be a reason to caution. The ball is not yet in play thus you must STILL restart the match for that INDFK offence earlier whether you decided to caution or not!
Although I am in agreement that the cautions were unnecessary I think the solution could be to simply encourage them to reset themselves. If the defenders crawl in too close or the attackers are NOT setting up some trick redirect.
I have seen a pretend argument in situations like these where the attackers are busy arguing amongst them selves Defenders relax then suddenly a quick kick drops the ball over their heads or at the goal trying to lull them into a false sense of nothing happening here!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLNeHGM-M50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BZXmSz9OAo


As a young referee you are learning just do not forget the lessons learned
Cheers