Question Number: 17484

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/23/2007

RE: Under 15

ziggy of san rafael, california marin asks...

if a defender delibertly passes the ball back to the goali can he pick it up the ball or will it be a hand ball?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Ziggy,
the keeper can NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, NEVER, be guilty of the penal foul of "Handles the ball deliberately within the confines of his own penalty area. The keeper can NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, NEVER, have a PK awarded against him for a deliberate use of the hands on the ball

There is no foul called handball. The ball hitting the hand is no different then if the ball hit your bum or your knee or the tip of your ear it is just a body part being contacted by the ball..

A team mate of the keeper is ALWAYS allowed to pass the ball back to his keeper.

There are four restrictions on the use of the keeper's hands within his own penalty area which are stated in law 12 Fouls and Misconduct.
Two of them deal with a pass to the keeper.
One deals with a restart of a throw in in that the team mate can choose to direct that throw in to his keeper.
The other is a deliberate kick of the ball by a team mate to his keeper in active play.

In both cases the keeper is restricted from being able to use his hands to play the ball. The keeper can use his feet to dribble or any other legal body part, ie.. head or chest to play the ball but NOT his hands.
The two non pass events are 6 seconds of possession the ball must be put back into active play or a second use of the hands after the 6 second release was done.

Inside his penalty area if the keeper used his hands when any of the FOUR restrictions were in place it is an INDFK from the point where he uses his hands subject to law 8 special circumstances from within the 6 yard goal area.

If the keeper deliberately used his hands on the ball completely outside his own penalty area it is a DFK from that spot with possible caution or send off criteria attached. It is NEVER a pk and the foul remains OUTSIDE the penalty area

The keeper is NOT restricted to use his hands on a pass that is not a deliberate kick but if the ball was headed or chested or even deflected off the foot (thus not deliberately kicked) the keeper is under no restrictions and if inside his own area can use his hands to pick up the ball.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Maybe and no.

Maybe the goalkeeper can legally pick up the ball. That will depend on how the teammate passed the ball to him. Was it a deliberate kick or a throw-in? Only then the keeper is prohibited from using his hands. If he does, it's an indirect free kick for the opponents.

No, it won't be a handball, which is a different sport, played indoors, similar to squash. "Handles the ball deliberately" is a foul that doesn't apply to a goalkeeper inside his own penalty area - but would apply if the keeper was outside the 18.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

What's a "handball"? Do you mean is the keeper guilty of the offence of deliberately handling the ball? The answer to that question is a keeper can NEVER