Question Number: 17003

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 9/30/2007

RE: Competitive Adult

Thomas Maegerle of Philadelphia, PA USA asks...

Wow, I must be getting old. I took a referee course many years ago and could have sworn that a goalkeeper may not be charged in her goal area.

My goalkeeper was fielding a high ball near the goalpost. She had her hands above her head and the ball was almost in her hands when she was charged by an opponent, causing the ball to go through her hands and bounce into the goal. She's taller than the opponent who charged her, so the opponent had no chance to head the ball. When I challenged the ref on this before the restart, he replied that the goalkeeper may be charged.

I looked at some of the recent issues of Laws of the Game and found no mention of this. Is this a recent (or not so recent change), or have I always been wrong? If not to define the area where the goalkeeper is protected, what is the purpose of a goal area?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Once the goalkeeper has possession of the ball, she cannot be challenged. She has her 6 seconds to put the ball back into play, and cannot be interfered with.

Prior to possession, the goalkeeper may be charged. However, any player charging another must be making a play for the ball. Charges must be done in a fair manner, generally side-to-side with shoulder contact only (sometimes the relative size of players makes this impossible). If the goalkeeper is up in the air stretching for the ball, it is hard to envision any opponent but the Jolly Green Giant having an opportunity to get to the ball.

From your description, it sounds like your goalkeeper may have been unfairly charged. But we weren't there to see it and have only your words to go by. We certainly can't second-guess what the referee on the field saw.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

As strange at is sounds the goal area provides the keeper with nothing more that the penalty area does. The right to use her hands to stop the ball. The goal area is used to restart play on goal kicks or any free kicks outs where the infringment occurred within the goal area the ball can be placed anywhere within the goal area by the defending team.

If there was an INDFK infringment in favour of the attackers anywhere within the goal area then the ball is spotted straight back on the 6 yard goal area line parallel to the goal line.

The keeper can be charged the same as any player even in her penalty area or goal area but NOT if she has the ball in contact with her hands! Granted keepers are at risk since they are stretched at time or throwing themselves into the feet but opponents must consider the realistic opportunity to get to a ball fairly not just plow into the keeper and say, " I was going for the ball!", even though realistically that ball was never there to be got!

As my colleague points out we cannot say what goes through another referees mind on an incident where he chose a course of action based on his opinion of events we did not see!
Strikers are trained get to the ball just a keepers are to stop the ball. Sooner or later one or the other will do something to the other that is not fair and unreasonable perhaps judged as careless, reckless or excessive. That however is in the opinion of the referee! His match His decision His reputation. You could report actions to the referee assessors or league when referees exhibit tendancies you feel require further training. Belive it or not we do not discount everything a coach says. ;o) Referees are learning skills like foul recognition the same as players learn their skills. Time experiance, training and someone showing them the right way to do so! It is the same for us as you PERFECT practise makes perfect!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

When we were young the Law said this:

A player committing any of the following five offences.....

4. charging the goalkeeper except when

(a) he is holding the ball;

(b) is obstructing an opponent;

(c) has passed outside his goal-area. ....

shall be penalised by the award of an indirect free-kick to be taken by the opposing side from the place where the infringement occurred, subject to the overriding conditions imposed in Law XIII.

AND in

International FA Board Decision (3)

In the case of body contact in the goal-area between an attacking player and the opposing goalkeeper not in possession of the ball, the referee, as sole judge of intention, shall stop the game if, in his opinion, the action of the attacking player was intentional, and award an indirect free kick.

There was nothing explaining what constituted possession of the ball by the goalkeeper. That came along in 1997 with the general rewrite of the Laws and the previously mentioned things left the Laws.

Today the referee must prevent opponents from making contact with the keeper in possession of the ball, as before. Further, the referee should understand if an opponent has no "reasonable" chance of playing the ball there should be NO attempt made to make a play. If there is a play made "for the ball" where it is impossible to make contact with the ball then we are seeing foul play, charging, playing in a dangerous manner, kicking or attempting to kick, striking or attempting to strike AND/OR unsporting behavior.

You'll note in olden times [approximately 1958 until 1997] charging the keeper in possession of the ball was foul play. Before that the keeper could be charged into his goal FAIRLY!!! I'm sure the International FA Board felt bent and broken goalkeepers were something that needed to be dealt with.

It remains that way to this day so the referee was well off the mark in what he said. Kindly feel free to print this and show it to the assignor in your league or to your referee coordinator as an educational tool.

Regards,