Question Number: 15874

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 6/23/2007

RE: competitive

Angel Gonzalez of SUISUN CITY, CA USA asks...

The goalkeeper kicks the ball from outside the penalty area into the penalty area and picks it up and punts the ball. Was an infraction committed? If so, what is the restart?

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

The goalkeeper can always handle the ball within her own penalty area, subject to the constraints of the goalkeeper offences mentioned in Law i2. If she gets the ball any other way she may handle it for six seconds. If kicked to her by a team mate, thrown it directly to by a team mate or she has released it from her hands into play and it hasn't touched another player she may not handle it.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Angel,
there is no law broken, no infringment or foul for such an action!

The keeper is allowed the use of his hands on the ball inside his own penalty area and is entitled to kick the ball outside or inside same as any other player.

What COULD make the use of his HANDS on the ball illegal is if the ball he kicked outside his PA was in fact a ball that was deliberately kicked to him by a team mate in the first place. Or if the ball had been in his possession and released or if he had recieved that ball directly from a throw in!

Kicking a ball into his own penalty area would be ok until he reached down to use his hands then because he is not permitted to use his hands on a ball that was kicked to him deliberately by the foot of a team mate there is an INDFK awarded from that pick up point subject to law 8 special circumstances within the goal area!
Cheers