Question Number: 31662

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 7/30/2017

RE: Competitive Adult

John Raffo of Sydney, NSW Australia asks...

The ruling on the following:
A goalkeeper oversteps the penalty box when kicking the ball, (Not a placed goal kick, obviously)and he has the ball in his hands.
What is the ruling? as I have seen a range of decisions from Referees, ranging from: Keeper being given a yellow card for Unsporting behaviour, a IDFK and a DFK. What Law is this ruling against. I thought it would be a IDFK and no yellow card?????

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

It depends on when the ball was released. If the ball is still in the goalkeeper's hands and completely outside the penalty area, it is a foul of deliberately handling the ball. (And remember that the line is a part of the area - the ball must be completely outside the line to be out of the PA.) That is punished by a direct free kick just outside the penalty area, where the offense took place.

However, the referee may see the offense as trifling. How much does the keeper gain by kicking the ball from 6 inches outside the PA, instead of inside? Referees are told not to call trifling and doubtful offenses.

One wouldn't think a card of any color would be needed on a handling offense when the ball is outbound. Inbound could be a totally different situation though. Stopping an inbound ball before it gets into the PA could be tactical, stopping an attack.

I too have seen referees incorrectly award an indirect kick. Most of the other things keepers do would be an IFK offense. The ref simply forgot that once outside the penalty area, specific goalkeeper rules no longer apply, and it's a regular handling foul, which is a direct kick offense.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi John,
if the keeper is careless and was to hold the ball in his hands as he exited the PA, once the ball is COMPLETELY outside the boundary line and was not yet released from his grasp that would be the designated restart point of a DFK for the foul of handling the ball deliberately.

The restart is just a smidge outside the PA boundary line so no part of the ball touches it! The restart is NOT from where he kicked it or how far he exited the foul occurs the moment the ball is deliberately handled outside the boundary line

Although the keeper has special privileges using his hands INSIDE the PA he is only one of eleven players outside the PA subject to the same LOTG.

There is NO earthly reason to show a yellow card for such a bonehead foul of carrying the ball outside the PA while punting it down field as it gifts the opposition a scoring chance from a zero chance of possession. Only if he was already outside without possession trying to prevent a goal or an attack by a deliberate handling is there reason to card same as any player. It could be yellow or red in that case1

However, unless this carryout handling is OBVIOUS, blatant & repetitive it may not be necessary to make a call of the DFK as it could be deemed trifling or doubtful as to its impact in the match.
Firstly often the boundary lines in grassroots matches could be faint and difficult to see, 2ndly given the keeper extends the hands out in front he often has released & tosses the ball out ahead and winds up kicking the ball well outside the boundary lines but perfectly legal

As my esteemed colleague pointed out if there is an INDFK awarded the referee has incorrectly restarted and as such the match result could possibly be protested. All INDFKs for keeper handling offences such as the incorrectly named pass back or double possession after release occur INSIDE his own PA.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi John
Thanks for the question
The first premise is that deliberate handling of the ball is always a direct free kick or penalty kick offence no matter who commits the offence. So it is disappointing that you have had a range of answers. The goalkeeper as we know can handle ball inside his own penalty area and that outside the area he is just like any other player.
For a ball to be outside the penalty area all of the ball must be totally over and outside the line. So all of the ball has to be over all of the line. If part of the ball is touching the line or any part of it or the plane of the line then it is deemed to be inside. That principle applies to all lines including boundary lines and the challenge for any referee is determining the location of the ball at a split second in play.
I like to show this video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uWDMOFxEQuk
Freeze frame at around 1.00 and can anyone say for certain that the ball was still in the goalkeepers hand over the penalty area line at the moment of release? I would say No even if it looks questionable due to the finishing position of the GKs body which is over the line so play should continue.
If the referee is 100% certain that al the ball was in the GKs hand outside all of the line outside the area it is a DFK and nothing else. No card is required.
Have a look at another video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sJrhhLc07M0
It is very difficult for the officials to determine the exact position of the ball at the moment the ball was played by the hand. It looks like it was played by the goalkeeper outside the line yet when uncertain the best decision is to allow play to continue which is what happened here. With technology it should have been a DFK and a possible caution for USB. Official did not technology to assist in the decision. Neither does grassroots officials so on questionable punts I would just let them slide. At worst it is a doubtful or trifling offence.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi John,
One decision that cannot be given here is an indirect free kick. If there is any offence, it is that of deliberate handling of the ball, which can only result in a direct free kick. I would have to agree with ref Voshol that even if the referee decides a handling offence has occurred, there would be no reason to issue a yellow card and I personally cannot recall having seen a caution issued for this kind of offence.

The officials have to be very careful in judging thsee incidents as goalkeepers often release the ball from the hands just inside the area while moving forward before eventually kicking the ball when it is outside the area. In this situation it is easy to get the judgement wrong.

There was a famous incident where Liverpool goalie Pepe Reina was incorrectly penalised for this offence. The AR flagged, under the mistaken impression that Reina must have carried the ball outside the area when the slow motion replays showed that he did not. To add insult to injury, the opponents scored from the resulting direct free kick.