Question Number: 32103

Law 17 - The Corner Kick 12/14/2017

RE: Intermediate Under 14

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 32095

Ive always been troubled by the trick corner kick (especially at young ages). I can think of 3 scenarios & only the 3rd gives me trouble, but what do you think?

1. A1 walks to the corner. A2 yells "Ill take the kick". A1 nonchalantly rolls the ball with his foot inside the corner arc & then walks away. A2 comes over & starts dribbling.
To me thats verbal distraction.

2. A1 walks to the corner. Coach yells for A2 to take the kick. A1 nonchalantly rolls the ball with his foot inside the corner arc & then walks away. A2 comes over & starts dribbling.
To me, thats outside interference & unsporting. It would be like the coach yelling into an opposing players ear to startle them.

3. A1 walks to the corner. No one says anything, but A2 runs over to the corner. A1 nonchalantly rolls the ball with his foot inside the corner arc & then walks away. A2 comes over & starts dribbling.
So theres no outside interference or verbal distraction. However, it puts the defenders at an unfair disadvantage. Heres why I think its a catch 22.

If a defender runs over to challenge the ball, A2 will act like hes being prevented from a timely restart. Some referees would yellow card this (although with professional teams, the defenders never seem to be carded unless they deliberately hang onto the ball or throw it away). If a defender doesnt run over, then the attacking team gets away with it¦hence the catch 22.

Thanks again for all your advice.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
Thanks for your contribution.
For me I just I do not allow these ruses and I have developed a method for dealing with these which is to ask for a retake every single time. No ruse, no IDFK double touch just a *retake* .
Every ruse described on the site or that I have looked at on the web all have some element of *illegality* such as not kicked, verbals by players, coaches etc. #3 scenario is so rare that I feel that it will not test many referees. On the few occasions that it has been attempted where I was officiating there was no complaint about setting up the corner again including I recall one Scenario 3 situation. I knew what was happening and I just stopped it and went again. Attackers sensed it was not working and the defender was okay with the *retake*
Nothing unusual about stopping play at a restart either because the referee is not ready, he is speaking to a player, dealing with pushing etc.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Actually, your #3, the scenario you find most disturbing, is the only really correct way for the trick to be done.

#2 is certainly irresponsible behavior on the part of the coach. The coach may only give tactical instructions to his team. So when he tells A2 to take the kick, the only way that can be interpreted is an instruction. Certainly when A2 starts dribbling away the wise ref would call it a second touch and give the IFK to the other team. If the coach argues the matter, the ref can ask if he was really making fake instructions to confuse the other team. The coach will have a hard time answering that one. If he says yes, he can be dismissed. If he says no, he's admitting that he agrees with the ref and his call to A2 was an instruction and therefore A2 actually took the kick.

#1 would be seen by some to be unsporting. By others it might be seen as typical chatter on the field. After all, not every call to pass the ball is acted upon.

Your Catch 22 is valid. And to extend it further, they've demonstrated that they consider every incidental-looking touch to put the ball into play. Next free kick, the kicker re-positions the ball with his foot, and the wall comes crashing in. OK or not? The kickers will say not - but they can't have it both ways!

I've seen it done correctly exactly once - and they fooled my AR. Perhaps unlike my colleague, I'll simply say they fooled me too - IFK for the other team. But there was that one time ....