Question Number: 33680

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 9/27/2019

RE: Rec Under 15

Luis David Maya of San Mateo, CA USA asks...

Are 'supported jumps' (aka rugby lifts) allowed in soccer? where are they allowed or disallowed in the LotG?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Luis
While not explicitly stated in the Laws it is considered to be unsporting behaviour which is a caution and an indirect free kick.
That principle was part of the Laws in the past and that has continued through procedural knowledge.
So one will never see *rugby type* lifts in the game. Perhaps there might be a odd instance of a player in a group levering themselves up off the back of a team mate which may go unpunished.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Luis,
NO
Supported jumps are NOT permitted.
To do so is considered USB and could be cautionable misconduct. I have confidence my colleagues have a historical record of the old Q & A that used to explain it. It is not in the LOTG per se as a stated example but remains in principle USB .

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Luis,
As ref Dawson says, tactics such as two players combining - or one player using a team mate's body, to gain height are considered unsporting behaviour and are not allowed in association football.

This is no longer explicitly stated in the Laws of the Game but it (or something very close and directly analogous to it) was before the 'great rewrite' of 1997. Up until that point, there was an IFAB decision (Decision 2 to Law 12) that stated:

''If a player leans on the shoulders of another player of his own team in order to head the ball, the referee shall stop the game, caution the player for ungentlemanly conduct and award an indirect free−kick to the opposing side.''

The spirit of that decision is still held to and a player using these kinds of tactics should still to this day, be cautioned for USB.

The wording of this decision, along with many others, was removed in 1997 not because they were invalid but as part of an effort to shorten and simplify the Laws document, in a similar fashion to the rewrite carried out in 2016.