Question Number: 32400

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 4/24/2018

RE: Intermediate Under 14

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 32393

I have a follow-up question to what referee Peter Grove said. The law says, in part, that the goalkeeper is in control when: 'the ball is between the hands or between the hand and any surface (e.g. ground, own body) OR by touching it with any part of the hands or arms except if the ball rebounds accidentally from the goalkeeper or the goalkeeper has made a save'

I would take this to mean that if the GK jumped in the air & the ball hit a hand or arm, he/she would NOT have control if this was a save. i.e. if the ball was headed toward the goal, the GK jumps & the ball touches his/her arm, a defender may still challenge. However, if the ball was crossed, by e.g., by a corner kick & the GK jumped & touched the ball with a hand or arm, they could not be challenged.

Somehow, that doesn't seem right. Merely touching the ball in the air with one hand or an arm doesn't seem like control in any situation.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
One hand on the ball on its own is not control. Most times it is a push away, punch or an effort to direct the ball so that it can be picked up. In such situations the goalkeeper may be challenged as there is no control of the ball. Other factor though such as jumping at, illegal charging etc are more likely offences which can and should be penalised.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

When a keeper leaps up in the air to grasp a ball or attempt to catch it with arms raised he is often the most likely to get to the ball first. However, as he squeezes it or tries to grasp it upon his return to the earth he could easily bobble or drop it if he is smacked by an opponent., This is a bit different than if he was palming or punching it away or the ball was simply defecting off the outstretched arm. No possession is seen in these incidents as there MIGHT be as he is gaining control whilst in the air.

Imagine a keeper pining the ball between his arm and chest not yet both hands but he ONLY loses contact once he impacts the ground and it bobbles free.
.
Now imagine NO one touches him we have a freebie ball.

Lets now say an attacker bundled into him while this was going on and just before or upon hitting the ground he losses his grasp . That attacker has fouled the keeper as the ball is not rebounding away, it is clearly being somewhat possessed, even if marginally.

Again if the attacker goes up with the keeper to say head the ball and they both go straight up? Once a keepers arms are raised the under the arm push by the attacker is not a fair tackle. it certainly is not shoulder to shoulder now is it? Now if the keeper is the one charging or falling into the attacker again a different set of circumstances. Between the 3 videos that were present it was very clear which player was at fault .
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Phil,
The part of the law that talks about the keeper's control of the ball actually serves two purposes. Firstly and perhaps primarily, it serves to establish when a goalkeeper has controlled the ball and cannot touch it again until another player has done do. It can also be used to say when a keeper is in control of the ball and cannot be challenged. I think the overall intent behind the law is relatively clear although perhaps not worded as well as it might be.

Even with the law's current wording, I think it should be taken to mean that the keeper is not considered to be in control of the ball if they touch it only momentarily and it comes back off them accidentally or when they make a save. So when it comes to an aerial challenge scenario, for me it it's only while the keeper actually has hands on the ball, that they can't be challenged.

However if for instance a keeper is attempting to catch the ball but doesn't actually have hands on it, an opponent can still challenge for the ball and if the challenge is not, at a minimum careless, it is not necessarily an offence, even though some contact with the keeper might occur. If on the other hand, the opponent jumps into the keeper carelessly (or recklessly etc) that would still be a foul, whether the keeper has control of the ball or not.