Question Number: 35881

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 2/16/2025

Petr of Prague, Czech Republic Czech Republic asks...

Hello

Law 13:'However, an opponent who deliberately prevents a free kick being taken quickly must be cautioned for delaying the restart of play.'

S1: The player stands in front of the ball (or at a slightly greater distance). The player does not interfere in any other way. The ball is not in play (the opponent has not yet played). Can the referee show a yellow card just for standing there?

S2: The player interferes. The opponent plays the ball anyway and the action continues normally. Is it then necessary to give the offender a yellow card?

Thank you very much!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Petr
On S1 unless there is some action that has prevented the restart or the player has ignored the instruction of the referee to move away I see no real reason to caution.

On S2 unless the action actually interfered with the restart there is no reason to caution as the restart has not been delayed or caused to be restarted. The referee might have a quiet word with the player advising that had there been actual interference it could have been a caution.

There can be other reasons why a kick is not taken such as players getting into position etc and not connected to a loitering player. In the Pro game it is not unusual to have a player in front of the ball and the kick is usually sideways or backways with no need for a referee to get involved.

As a general rule I see no reason to caution unless there is an actual offence. I have also seen situations where a kicker tries to get the opponent cautioned with an aimless kick to make it look like not respecting the distance or delaying the restart of play. Again unless there is a clear offence these situations can be managed without a card.

The truly unsporting offence is generally clear in these situations and those are the ones that need sanction.

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See Question: 35884