Question Number: 16381

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 8/20/2007

RE: Local club level Under 13

Terry Allen of Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia asks...

Re: backpass law.
I have recently been told that FIFA has ammended the backpass law to now prohibit players from using their knee to deliver the ball to their own keeper, but I cannot find any evidence of this. I still understand the backpass law to prevent a player using their foot to deliver the ball to their own keeper, but anything else (ie head, chest, knee, butt) is OK. Have I missed something?

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

That may or may not be true, but what I can tell you is that even if it IS true, the change will not take effect until next July. The Law changes for 2007-2008 are already out, and that wasn't one of them. Relax and enjoy the next 11 months.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Terry, you ask if you have missed something. Yes, you have! It's a bit cheeky of me to bring it up but I never shrink from the opportunity to have a go at a coach.

There is no back-pass law. What you speak of is something brought into being preventing the Italian national team, and others, from playing kick and catch to amendment to Law XII came to us in July of 1992 and said on any occasion when a player deliberately kicks the ball to his own goalkeeper, the goalkeeper is not permitted to touch it with his hands. It went on to mention the indirect free kick awarded for this violation.

It took a few months for coaches or players to sort out a way to circumvent this new restriction on time wasting, the flick up and head to the keeper. FIFA stepped in and issued a rare decision mid-year caveat that has become the present day International FA Board Decision 3 of Law 12. To date [20 Aug 07] there have been no changes to this Decision.

Many pundits call this the "back-pass" rule or law. This leads them to believe if the ball is deliberately kicked forward the keeper is free to play it, not so! Anytime the ball is deliberately kicked to the keeper it is an infraction of Law. A notable exception to this, in my humble opinion, is as mentioned in our question number 16373.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Referees have various interpretations as to just what a "kick" is, sometimes in opposition to the official interpretation passed down from their national association. For instance, USSF in it's publication "Advice to Referees" defines a kick as being done with the foot. Yet many referees insist that a ball deliberately passed to the keeper with the shin falls into the "deliberate kick" category; they define anything below the knee as a kick.

Perhaps the source that recently told you about the knee was someone who interpreted a kick that way.