Question Number: 15092

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 4/1/2007

K of Stafford, VA US asks...

This question is a follow up to question 9565

This is a follow up for a question [9565] about scoring in the box. The person asked how come some referees allow a score from inside the box and some don't.
Could it be possible that sometimes the referee awarded an indirect kick and the other times it was a direct kick?
With an indirect kick, the ball has to be touched by someone else before it goes over the line or it does not count.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

ONLY the defending team kicking out will EVER have a DFK from inside the goal area (6 yards area) which is located inside the penalty area the (18 yard area)

ANY DFK for the attacking team within a goal area will always be a PK (penalty kick) spotted on the 12 yard pk spot.

IF there is an INDFK (indirect free kick) in favour of the attacking team inside a defender's goal area that ball will be spotted on the outer boundry parallel but 6 yards away from the goal line.

If there is any free kick be it a DFK or INDFK in favour of the defenders that ball can be placed ANYWHERE inside the 6 yard goal area

The goal area has only one purpose now to define where a ball can be kicked on the restart if a stoppage occurs because of an infraction while the ball is inside this area or the infraction occurs inside this area!

It has no special protective magic where an opponent cannot play or participate in play of the ball only a regulatory part in determining where and how certain restarts occur!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Hi. I answered that question and am still unsure what the person was asking. If the ball is not in play and the referee has awarded a free kick inside the penalty area to the attacking team, it MUST be an Indirect Free kick as if it were due to a direct free kick foul the restart would be a penalty kick. If the kick is coming OUT of the penalty area, it must clear the penalty area before it is in play. I assumed the person thought some referees allowed you to kick the ball into your own net on a free kick awarded to you which is impossible. Likewise, there should be no confusion as to the type of kick as the referee should have his arm in the air indicating an Indirect free kick if that is the proper restart. Re-reading the question, I'm not even sure if the questioner was asking about a restart as the ball could be in play in that question. If ball is in play, there's no prohibition as to scoring from anywhere on the field.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The simple answer is that hockey has a "crease", soccer doesn't. However, I'm sure somewhere that some well-meaning local board decided that soccer needed one too. After all, we've already got that nice little box helpfully painted on the field - let's use it. Still, if they did this in any age group other than U-very-littles where they're playing without a goalkeeper, I would say it is a disservice to the game and players.