Question Number: 16999

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 9/30/2007

RE: Travel Team Under 16

Kristen of Smithtown, NY USA asks...

I recently started watching soccer on TV and I have a question. Is it legal to head the ball back to the goalie and have the goalie pick it up? I thought it was illegal to pass back to the goalie. It was obviously intentional because it was like right to her. If you have an answer please email me!! Thanks so much!

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Restrictions on keeper's use of hands inside his own penalty are if the ball is deliberately kicked to the keeper by a teammate or on a direct throw in from a team mate . If a keeper does so, he incur a INDFK from the point he contacts the ball with the hand subject to the special circumstances of law 8 within the goal area.

A team mate can head, chest, thigh, calf, bum, backside, knee the ball to the keeper. The keeper can use his hands with no problem in all cases.
*UNLESS* the teammate tries to circumvent the keeper restriction by trickery or deciet. As in flicking the ball with his feet to his head and then to the keeper or bending down on the ground without cause and uses his head or knee to knock the ball to the keeper. In these cases it is an iNDFK for the MISCONDUCT at the exact spot of the trickery not where a keeper uses his hands in fact the keeper does not even have to touch the ball. The player is cautioned and shown a yellow card for the misconduct of USB!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Yes, it is legal for a player to head the ball back to their goalkeeper. If they kick it with their foot back to the keeper and the keeper picks it up with his hands, he will be called for an infraction of Law 12. Any other legal means of getting the ball to the keeper though, is quite all right.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

The main difficulty I see in your question is the assumption that it is an offense to "back-pass" to the keeper. That is incorrect, it is an offense for the keeper to use her hands when a team mate has deliberately kicked the ball to her, [or to where she can play it]. That means in any direction, not just a "back-pass".

When you are watching soccer on the television and have a question please write us for an answer and discount most everything the commentators spout forth as the Law, they usually get it wrong.

It is interesting to note they get paid a lot of money and usually get the Laws wrong, we get paid no money and usually get it right, go figure???!?

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Hi Kristen and thank you for writing. Your question is a perfect example of why we try so hard on this site to use proper terminology. You do not see us use terms like "passback" and "handball" not just because they don't exist in Law, but because they are confusing. If you listen to soccer commentators you could indeed think that anytime a teammate commits a "passback" of any kind to his keeper, that the keeper could not legally handle it within his own penalty area. This is why you will always see us referee to deliberately kicking the ball to the keeper as opposed to "passback". Same with deliberately handling the ball instead of "handball". It is pefectly ok for your keeper to handle a ball passed to her by a teammate in any legal manner other than with the foot. This means you can use your head,chest,butt,thighs,knees,back,calves, or ankles to send the ball towards your keeper and she may handle it without penalty. Also, it should be noted that even if the foot is used to play the ball, it must, in the opinion of the referee, be deliberate to disqualify the keeper from legally handling it. FIFA instituted this rule in 1992 to eliminate time wasting not to punish a keeper for handling a ball that was inadvertantly kicked towards her.