Question Number: 17120

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/5/2007

RE: competitive Under 9

John of Lincoln, NE USA asks...

I'm not sure what subject this would fall, but at our match tonight, the opposing team's defender turned and played the ball to the keeper which in turn picked the ball up with his hands. Law 12 tells us we can't do that. Ref didn't make the call and allowed play to continue. At half time, I asked him why he didn't make that call on the back pass. He said it wasn't the players intent to do that. I was always told that as a ref, you are to enforce the laws of the game and that you weren't supposed to judge a player's intent since you have no idea what that player is thinking. Was the ref correct in saying that? Law 12 says nothing about intent. I felt it should have been called regardless of intent. What's your take?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi John,
you say played but not kicked? Remember only a deliberate kick is considered, players can use their head, chest, etc.. to play a ball to their keeper with no handling restriction in effect.

If the referee saw the transgression as a deliberate kick to the keeper you could be correct, in law it states it is an indfk if the keeper was to use his hands inside his own penalty area.

In the opinion of the referee he says it was not the intent of the kicker to kick the ball to the keeper and again you correctly point out that intent is not written into the laws.

The exact wording of this point of law states

An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area, commits any of the following offence:
-touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate.

The word deliberately implies much the same as in the penal foul of handles the ball deliberately in that we look at the actions of the player involved. In this case two (player and keeper) are in cahoots so to speak. The deliberate part rests on the kicking action of the ball TO the keeper by the player. The keeper then deliberately reaches down and uses the hands on the ball we have an infringment!

YET it is possible that the kick was more of a deflection or a clearance or a poke away from an opponent than a deliberate kick to the keeper. The reason this law was written into the game was to prevent the keepaway pass and pickup game between keeper and teammates that wasted too much time and frustrating the oposition.

I believe the USSF ATR has the view that a deliberate kick of the ball by any team mate to any area where the keeper could reasonably get to the ball counts as if the ball was in fact directed directly TOWARDS the keeper.

While it rests as an opinion if the criteria are met by the referee of the match consider if he is a match condtion that affects both sides equally right or equally wrong it becomes a fact of play thus uncontestable!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

If the ball was kicked and the referee ignored the Law I wonder what other Law the referee is going to ignore [or make up].

Regards,

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 17221