Question Number: 32035

Law 13 - Free Kicks 11/19/2017

RE: AYSO Under 15

Me of Los Angeles , Ca United States asks...

Indirect free kick after offside goes over the touch line without being touched by a second player. On the theory that the ball was never in play I retook the free kick. Good call or bad call?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI
Sorry mate,
the ball is IN play the moment it is kicked and moves, correct restart is throw in for a ball kicked directly over the touchline, a goal kick if over an opponent goal line and a corner kick over your own goal line. The 2nd touch ONLY qualifies the ball's ability to enter for a legal goal.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Once the ball was kicked and moved it was in play even on an IDFK. A goal cannot be scored directly from an IDFK. As it left the field of play while in play the restart is a throw in to the opponent of the team that touched the ball last.
I believe you may have confused this with the second touch requirement to score s goal or perhaps a goal kick or free kick inside the penalty area where the ball has to exit the penalty area to be in play.
Elsewhere on the FOP any kicked restart is in play when it is kicked and moved.
Anyway well done for asking and educating yourself on this. In the game a referee might get away with a retake on the basis that the players think that the referee was not ready or that a player was interfering closer than 10 yards or some other spurious reason.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Law 13 - Free Kicks, states that the ball ''is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves ...'' so that was a bad call, I'm afraid. The only exception is ''for a free kick to the defending team in their penalty area where the ball is in play when it is kicked directly out of the penalty area.''

Even if this free kick was inside the defending team's penalty area it would have to have left the penalty area in order to go out over the touchline so the correct decision had to be a throw in.