Question Number: 15901

League Specific 6/27/2007

RE: Under 16

Kyle Kenney of Kingston, Canada asks...

What is the procedure for a foul in the penalty box of a U10 game.

Their fields are much smaller and the box is very tiny..

what would be the call? And where would you place the ball

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Depends on the foul. If it is an IFK foul, then award an IFK at the spot unless in goal area. If it is in goal area in favor of attackers, ball is placed on top of goal area closest to the point of infraction. If in goal area, going out, then ball can be placed anywhere inside goal area. If foul is a dfk offense and in favor of attackers, then it is a PK. Else it is a kick going out. Also, check local policies at U10 level. Sometimes they change from standard procedures.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Ref Mueller mentions to check the local policies. This is very important for the young ages. Some leagues do not have any direct free kicks or penalty kicks. Some have only direct kicks, no indirect. Sometimes those who modify the rules don't pay enough attention to what they are doing. One league in my area managed to come up with an indirect penalty kick, if you can believe it, because they blithely put in a modified rule that, "All kicks shall be indirect." Of course we knew that's not what they meant to do, but that's what the rules said, so that's what we had until they fixed the rules the next year.

If you have a penalty kick, the question becomes from where? Hopefully the goal area and penalty area will have been reduced in proportion to the smaller field size. If no penalty mark has been painted on the field, take the kick from halfway between the boundary of the goal area and the penalty area. Alternatively, your local rules might specify the distance such as, "Penalty kicks shall be taken from a mark XX yards from the goal line."

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

If you have a penalty area and penalty kicks are allowed, the penalty mark is roughly 2/3 the length of the penalty area. For example. If the penalty area is 12 yards long, the penalty mark is 8 yards. If it's 10 yards long, the penalty mark is just shy of 7

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

I would think you would place the ball at a spot exactly half way between the top o f the penalty area and the top of the goal area.

However, like Ref Mueller says check the local rules first.