Question Number: 16872

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 9/24/2007

RE: Competitive Under 17

MJ of Vacaville, CA USA asks...

Goalie pushes player during corner kick after ball has gone out, what is call? Scenario; During a U-16 Girls (competitive) game a corner kick is being taken, players are jockeying for position, one attacking player kept (rather aggressively) trying to step in front of the goalie. Despite all this jockeying for position, Goalie maintains ball side position. Corner is taken; ball goes over goal line (goal kick). As the teams are preparing for the expected goal kick, goalie gives a hard push to the attacking player that kept jumping in front of her. For this foul Referee gives an indirect kick to attacking team at 6 yard line. Is this the correct call? Should the referee have asked the attacking player to stop pestering the goalie prior to corner to perhaps prevent goalie from feeling a push was necessary? And please list where in the LOTG this is described.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If the ball is out of play, there can be no fouls, only misconduct. The restart is the one that was determined by why the ball was out of play - in this case, a goal kick.

This referee appears to have missed the opportunity to give the keeper's team an IFK for impeding, immediately after the corner kick was put into play. We can only encourage them to cease their dancing before the ball is kicked, unless the interference is something that escalates to the level of a caution. However, if the keeper's opponent continues to try to move into the keeper's way, that is impeding the progress.

Since the referee has missed all that, he's stuck with cautioning the keeper for the push after the ball goes out for the goal kick. Doesn't seem like a good solution to me.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

The observant, pro-active referee will be aware of the jockeying for position, and note the impeding of the goalkeeper at once. If a quick word of warning about such behavior doesn't produce immediate results from the attacker, then a whistle at the moment the ball is kicked and the award of an indirect free kick (or direct if the opponent is actually holding the GK) to the GK's team for the infraction will usually produce the desired result of no more impeding of the GK. In the case you cite, the referee goofed. You cannot change the restart if the ball is out of play. Here it was out of play because an attacker last touched it over the goal line, so a goal kick was awarded. Until the goal kick has been taken, the referee cannot change the restart, as no fouls may take place when the ball is out of play. The referee can punish misconduct with a card of red or yellow but that will not change the restart.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Actions such as this hinge around a very subtle thing, the referee has missed something! In this case he failed to intervene when he saw the corner kick turn into a junior prom. When there is pushing, holding shoving, rubbing up against one another, touchy feely, and all the rest of the things players seem so intent on doing before a corner the referee must do something before tempers flare. This referee didn't. Then he did what many referees do when they get behind on the you-can't-do-that stuff; he caught the retaliation and punished that.

He failed in his duty to enforce the Law because he allowed things contrary to the Law to irritate a player sufficiently so protecting herself was something she needed to do.

This is so simple to stop! Use your voice, tell them to "Knock It Off". If they don't the referee can caution the behavior before the corner kick or wait until the ball is in play then penalize in accordance with Law 12. Either thing the referee does isn't going to please the spectators who, invariably, yell "Let Them Play". Or at least that's what I hear from Vacaville spectators. Heard it all last Saturday.

So the referee is at odds with himself, he yields to letting them play and a player gets fed up with it all and does the referee's job. Not good. The other side is the referee whistles to stop play and the spectators think he is the worst referee in the world. So no matter what he does he's wrong in the spectators eyes. You are to be congratulated for asking what should be done, thanks.

What should be done is referee training. There is none in Vacaville beyond the entry level qualification. Vacaville referees who desire training must go to Sacramento for that training. There are 8 that have and they have learned, too! Four of them are State referees now. Since 1994 I have been available for training in this area but few have sought to increase their knowledge. Each Saturday you see the result...

Regards,