Question Number: 32429

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/7/2018

RE: Select Under 15

Alex Camacho of Temple City, CA US asks...

DFK is taken by Green outside 25 yard line. Ball is driven into the penalty area. Another green attacker takes shot at the goal and blocked by yellow goalie. Ball is very close to the goal line. A different green attacker approaches the ball in the scramble and at the same time a yellow defender falls onto the ball. Ball is now lodged between the yellow defender's two legs seated on the ground with the green attacker above him and not able to play the ball and kick into the goal without hurting the defender. Goalie for the yellow team quickly comes and gets the ball from between the yellow defender's legs.

The whistle on the play resulted in a drop ball to the yellow goalkeeper with no green attacker involved. What would you have called and why?

Thanks for website!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Alex
The decision at question here is whether the Yellow defender on ground with the ball between his legs was guilty of playing in a dangerous manner which is an offence punished by an indirect free kick.
For me the decision rests on how the Yellow defender fell on the ball and his actions while on the ground. If the Yellow defender deliberately fell on the ball and made no attempt to roll away or no attempt to make the ball available for play then the IDFK is the only possible decision. the players actions on the ground were a danger to himself which he caused.
On the other hand if the defender fell accidentally and the whistle was blown before he had a chance to move away then the whistle and dropped ball was a safety call by the match official. The dropped ball could have been contested so in some ways it would have allowed the attacking team to contest for the ball in the penalty area. However the defending team can bring more players into the mix rather than the few that were there in the incident.
I might add that there is a myth that players cannot play the ball while on the ground. There is no such restriction other than the player cannot lay on the ball or try to play the ball in a way that puts the player himself at risk of injury.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Alex,
The law says that an indirect free kick can be awarded if a player prevents an opponent from playing the ball for fear of injury, including to the player themselves. So depending on exactly how the referee saw the incident, this could well have been given as an indirect free kick to the green team.

However as ref McHugh says, if the referee blew the whistle before the yellow defender really had a chance to do anything, as a safety measure to stop a dangerous situation developing, then a dropped ball could also be a legitimate call. I'm not so sure about making it an uncontested dropped ball for yellow, although I suppose the referee could have felt that the yellow defender hadn't really done anything too much wrong and that the yellow team was effectively in possession before play was stopped.

All in all though, I think I would more likely favour an indirect free kick call in this scenario.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Alex,
There's a couple of things at play here. First off, Playing in a Dangerous Manner (PIADM) isn't just when you put an opponent at risk - it's when you also play in a manner that risks yourself. For instance, a diving head for a ball at knee height in front of an opponent means the opponent can't play the ball safely. That's also an IFK.
When the ball is trapped below a player's legs you need to look at a few things. Usually this happens accidentally. Now, you can't penalise somebody just for falling over - so you need to give them a reasonable chance to release the ball. That means taking a moment to figure out where the ball is, then try to release it. If they don't and the ball remains under their body/legs, then that means the opponents can't safely challenge the ball. IFK.
But if they don't release it - is it because the opposing team is above them and kicking at the ball and creating a situation where they can't release it? If so it could well be an IFK against the opponents. Especially if their kicks at the ball do appear a bit dangerous to the player on the ground.
I have awarded a DB on the rare occasion - moreso in juniors or lower grades - when the ball remained very close to the player on the ground because they and the opponent kept challenging it, and while it was nobody's fault the situation was going to clearly end in a foul and/or injury.
However, you say the attacker recognised he couldn't play the ball. Assuming it was accidental falling onto the ball, then once it becomes apparent that he's not attempting to release the ball, I would award an IFK to the opponents. Given it's just a goalmouth scramble I don't think any card is warranted.
If, however, the defender deliberately fell onto the ball to smother it, that would warrant a caution for USB. I've never seen or even heard of this actually happening, but anything is possible!

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 32439