Question Number: 32295

High School 3/11/2018

RE: High School

Buddy of Houston, Texas USA asks...

Is it a cautionable offense if a player juggle the ball and then intentionally head back to goal keeper and he/she picks up ?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Buddy
That is viewed as circumvention and IDFK restart is awarded from where the trick took place.
In a FIFA game the player is cautioned for the circumvention. In NFHS there is no caution.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Buddy,
it would depend if the ball was on the ground and the feet were used to bring it up off the ground . THAT is the offence, using your feet to thwart the no hands policy. If the ball was in flight and say chested or kneed to be juggled to the head it would be fine! The act is considered as USB and the indfk occurs immediately from the point of the circumvent, whether or not the keeper handles the ball.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Buddy,
This is. It's something that FIFA have, in the past, specifically stated is a cautionable offence. So if it occurs, the referee really has no choice. Though as Ref McHugh says, the caution is for normal league matches, not NFHS.
The reason being is that, as you know, it's an offence for the keeper to handle the ball after it's been deliberately kicked to them by a teammate (includes kicking it to space for the keeper, or trapping it for the keeper). Heading the ball back, however, is legal.
By having the ball at your feet then flicking it up to head it back is considered using a deliberate trick to circumvent the laws of the game. Same if the defender flicked it up to a teammate to head it back - there's no natural reason to be doing this except to get around the law, thus it's a caution.

Answer provided by Referee Joe Manjone

Buddy,
This is not a cautionable offense in high school play. This is covered in NFHS (high school) Rule 12-7 which refers to it as trickery to circumvent the kicking the ball to goalkeeper rule. The penalty is an indirect kick for the opponent from the spot of the violation unless it is in the goal area and then the kick would be from the top of the goal area.