Question Number: 16203

Law 13 - Free Kicks 8/4/2007

RE: High School Varsity Soccer High School

James Hart of Oakland, MD USA asks...

The referee has awarded Team B a free kick just outside its own penalty area. B1 takes the free kick and passes back to the goalkeeper, who misplays the pass and has the ball carom off his foot and into the goal.
Does the referee award the goal? What is the restart? I know that a corner kick is awarded to the opposing team if it goes directly into the goal but in this case the player has deliberately played it back to goalie who has the ball carom off his foot.

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

Goal. The referee must award it becuase the ball has not been directly kicked into the players own goal. The moment the keeper touched it that little "cya" clause went right out the window.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Consider the attacking team gets an IFK near the goal. They blast it right straight toward the net. If it goes in untouched, no goal. But wait - the keeper instinctively reaches out to make a save, and only manages to brush the ball with her fingertips. The ball touched another player - goal counts!

The decision is the same when the keeper's teammate takes the kick. Any touch is enough to make a ball "non-direct".

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

The referee should allow the goal because the ball has touched another player it has not gone directly into the kicker's own goal.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

This was not kicked directly into goal as it touched another player. Thus restart is a kickoff as a goal has been scored.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Unless US High SChool Soccer has some strange rule ( they have MANY) this is a goal