Question Number: 17774

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 11/8/2007

RE: Adult

Danny McGrail of Wirral, England asks...

Can a referee give an indirect free kick for dissent?

Also can he/she then move the free kick forward by 10 yards for further dissent?

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Yes, a referee can give an indirect free kick for dissent, if that was the reason play was stopped. One assumes a caution was also shown. As for the moving it an extra 10 yards, I'm told it was an experiment on the Isle of Whyte, which while it worked well, has not translated well into the general soccer world. Ref Voshol directed me to a site that has a short and concise history - very interesting that: http://www.carosi.freeserve.co.uk/corshamreferee/tenyards.htm

Answer provided by Referee Debbie Hoelscher

Well, yes in a way. The referee gives an indirect free kick if they have to stop play for a misconduct. Dissent is a misconduct, being a cautionable offense. If the dissenting player has been yacking at the referee all game long and the referee has decided they've had enough, they can stop play, caution the player and show the yellow card. The restart, but the LOTG, must be an indirect free kick to the opposing team at the point of the infraction (the misconduct). As to moving the placement for the restart, I'm not really sure why he did that. It's possible that the place for the restart was where the misconduct occurred and there is simply an assumption that the reason for moving the ball was because of "further dissent" when in fact it could have been the correct place all along. I really don't know, not having been there. But just thoughts to think.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

There may have been other locales in England where this was tested. It appeared in annual IFAB memoranda for 2 or 3 years with "continued testing", and then was dropped as a consideration for a Law change worldwide. As I recall it was tweaked a couple times regarding the angle of the 10 yard advancement - direct to goal or perpendicular to the goal line - and as to what happened if 10 yards took you into the penalty area. It must have been decided that the additional 10 yard penalty did not have enough effect on curbing dissent.

As is usually the case, there are some referees who are late to the party, and slow to realize that Laws have changed or that an experiment has ended. Or knowing that it was an experiment at all.