Question Number: 15524

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/19/2007

RE: competitive Adult

Luis Perez of Columbus, Ohio USA asks...

I am a goalie and there was a situation in our game the other day when I was called for an "out of the box" infraction. The ball was inside the box and so was the upper half of my body. My legs, however, were outside of the box (i was laying on the ground basically perpendicular to the line of the box. The ref blew his whistle and awarded them a direct kick because of a "hand ball" by me? I always thought that just the ball had to be within the area, not myself. What is the correct ruling?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

You are correct, unfortunately the ref was not. What matters is the position of the ball, nothing else. If any smidgen of the ball is over the penalty area line, it is inside "the box" and the goalkeeper is free to handle it.

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

As long as the ball is touching the lines that define the penalty area or any part of the plane that those lines create, the ball is considered to be within the penalty area and thus you may play it with your hands. It sounds like you were within the laws of the game here and by your description you should not have been punished for breaking the law.

It is possible that the referee felt he saw the ball was out of the penalty area when you handled it. If he believed that to be the case, then his call is correct and you simply have an argument over judgment. But - if he knew the ball was still in the Penalty area he was wrong to punish your team.