Question Number: 15344

Law 13 - Free Kicks 5/1/2007

RE: Competitive Under 13

Dave Waters of Topeka, KS USA asks...

A free kick is awarded just outside the area. The defending team creates a wall the referee considers too close so he moves in to re-position the players. As he is giving instruction, and with his back to the ball, a shot is taken that finds the goal. The referee gave no hand signal nor whistle to restart yet allowed the goal to stand.
Free kicks do not ordinarily require a formal restart, but when the referee becomes involved in the play, wouldn't a signal be in order?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The referee should specifically tell the kicker that he must wait for a whistle when he is going to intervene in the positioning of the defenders. Now those defenders should have automatically been setting up the correct distance from the ball lest they be cautioned, but that's another story. If they were too close, the ref should simply bark, "Back up, ten yards, NOW!"

Anything more than that, the referee has created what is called a ceremonial restart, and the attackers are not free to take the kick quickly. Since the attackers had already been stopped by the foul, this is a double-whammy. That's why the ref should not intervene unless the kicker asks him to.

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Unfortunatly the referee must redo the kick. The referee must give a signal once he steps in and intervenes in a wall. If the attackers did not want the intervention, the referee should not have stepped in.