Question Number: 16371

Law 13 - Free Kicks 8/20/2007

RE: Rec Under 9

sarah of San Antonio, TX USA asks...

I had a coach come to me before a game to explain a "trick" play they wanted to use so that I would not stop play when it occured. He stated that on a corner kick, he was going to have one of his little 8-year old girls line up as if to take the corner, move forward to touch the ball and say (in a crying manner) "I can't do this," but touch the ball and walk away. Then another player would take the ball and dribble as far as possible and kick it toward/in the goal. They ended up not running the play, but in retrospect, should I have "disallowed" it as being deceptive? I wouldn't let someone fake an injury ("Oh, my leg!") to gain an advantage, and these are little kids...

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Why oh why do coaches spend valuable practice time to teach such tactics? Do the girls already know everything there is to know about technique?

As you suspected, the cry of "I can't do this" makes this tactic useless - we don't even need to determine if it is deceptive or not. That statement indicates to me, the referee, that the girl is NOT taking the corner kick, she is telling her teammate to do so. Her touch on the ball was merely to reposition the ball, it did not put it into play. When the second girl takes off dribbling, she has violated the second-touch provisions and I'll blow my whistle and award an indirect free kick for the opponents.

Now if the girls can pull this off without the deceptive language, it's a fair play - as long as the first touch of the ball can clearly be seen by me as a kick that moves the ball. If the other team wasn't paying attention, that's their bad luck.

If the coach involves himself in the process by calling out, "Ashley, let Jessica take it" he has two choices.
(1) He is giving a tactical instruction to Jessica and therefore Jessica is the kicker.
Or (2), he is not behaving in a responsible manner by trying to deceive the opponents, and should be warned (equivalent to a caution) or dismissed (equivalent to a send-off). The referee would include the coach's behavior in her game report.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Perhaps the next time a coach wants to share his 'trick' play with you, it might be useful to ask the coach why he thinks you would stop play if the trick is legal. You don't really need an answer - but when you make the call, as Referee Voshol outlines beautifully, it will make the coach think (hopefully). If he does answer you (try not to look shocked), it will always be followed by the question "That's right, isn't it?" To which you reply honestly "It depends." Because it does - did they really kick it enough to move it and legally put it into play or not? Did they use deception in a manner considered fair under the Laws of the Game or did they cross the line into unsporting behavior? So, sometimes the 'trick' play might be legal and other times not. And like Referee Voshol above, I can't imagine why one would waste valuable practice time on such foolishness. Better spend it teaching them to place the ball they kick, like Beckham or Donovan or Lilly or so many other fine players.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Coaches try this on me every once in a while. I usually look stunned and ask they if they want me to influence the match in their favour in any other areas? Then I ask if they mean to insult me for thinking I can't tell the difference between fair and foul play. If they say yes to that one I am always prepared to eject them instantly!! Why wait till sometime during the match and have to put up with a load of other crap till then?

They usually get the point that I'll deal with things as they happen and don't need help beyond that which my assistants provide.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Jon Sommer

I would immediately worry about this coach, and the problems he is going to cause me. An immediate dissmissal could well be on the cards and i think the league would be interested to hear what he had to say to you before the match too.

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Wow at U8...are you kidding me. I will explain that deception such as this seems unsporting and that I will not allow it - especially at U8. I would for sure report him to the league and hope they take action.

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

Way back when I used to ask questions here all the time and when I was much younger and less experienced, I posed a very similar question.

If you look up via our question locator - ? # 1000 (yes I had #1000!) - you will see a very similar question.