Question Number: 31715

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 8/16/2017

RE: Adult

Geoffrey Watson of Tai Po, NT Hong Kong asks...

In a previous answer you said 'A penalty kick can not be awarded since the ball is not in play.'

In a recent controversial call an attacker was challenged by the goalkeeper near to the bye-line. Just before the GK reached him the attacker hoofed the ball forward and took an elaborate dive. The ref awarded a penalty.

From replays it appears that the ball had probably travelled, in the air, over the bye-line before any contact was (or was not) made.

Assuming that the ball actually was already out of play would this mean that a penalty cannot be given for the challenge.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Geoffrey,
If in the opinion of the referee the ball is out of play then play stops for why the ball is out of play. Any contact or subsequent action is now only misconduct punishable by cards only no restart will be altered.

In cases where some fault is attributed to ATTEMPTING to trip or kick prior to the trip occurring or foot contact the foul HAS been created the player leaps up or tries to avoid contact losses the ball over the by line then is cleaned out or is tripped after, the PK is correct as the foul occurs prior to the ball going out of play.

I can not speak to why a referee might see something odd or do something puzzling without an actual video or picture to help post a hypothesis. But to HAVE a PK the foul must occur before the ball is out of play inside the PA. The idea of the penal fouls of attempt to strike, trip or kick or the prolonged foul of holding all offer latitude in determining the timing of a foul before any contact or direct fall. Remember each referee makes a decision often in a split second, with only a glimpse look at a difficult angle to arrive at the correct decision when all the participants are moving at high speeds including ball & players. The actual timing of events will always be match decision based on the referee's version of events.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Geoffrey
Once the ball leave the field of play the game must stop and no foul can be awarded while the ball is out of play. There can still be misconduct by players yet that does not change the restart which is for the ball being out of play say a throw in, goal kick or corner kick.
In your example if the ball had left the field of play then play stops for that reason. I might offer the following explanations as to the decision.
1. The ball was not seen as out of play BEFORE the foul was committed.
2. The referee deemed that the foul happened while the ball was in play
3. The referee made a mistake in respect of the recent law change which allows for a DFK foul to be awarded for an offence committed off the field of play while the ball is in play.
Also please remember that match officials are using normal judgement based on what they see. It can be impossible to compete with freeze frame, action replay, slow motion to get decisions correct. A replay can show a ball slightly out of play yet that can be missed by an AR or the referee due to the speed at which it happened. Also a foul can happen in a split second or can be a *long* fouls such holding. A player could be held outside the penalty area and if that continues inside the area it is a penalty kick. Similarly a player could be fouled with the ball IN play and another subsequent foul can happen after the ball has left the field of play. The referee goes with the first foul.
I would also say that when a player commits a foul in dubious circumstances say close to any line he runs the risk of the decision going against him based on judgement of both when it happened and the location of the ball.