Question Number: 18556

Law 13 - Free Kicks 3/17/2008

RE: Select Coach. Class 4 ref Adult

Tony Ravenhill of Mission , British Columbia anada asks...

A U-14 silver A team forms a wall during my teams free kick less than 3 yards from the ball ( for the fourth time with no warnings from the ref and my team has to ask for the 10 yards all four times ) my questions are
(1) do you yellow card the players in the wall for failing to give the required distance during free kicks or yellow cards for unsportsmanship.
the ref for the game told me that the team can take all the time they need to give the 10 yards and it's not a requirement.
(2) is it a requirement. How much time for the other team to get back 10 yards.
My own oppinion:
It is a requirement and must be given in a reasonably quick manner.
players 8 or 9 yards away might have miss judged the distance from the ball and are warned. If it continues without an attempt to correct then yellow cards are given for not giving the required distance. players that form a wall less than 5 yards away are warned and if it happens again yellow cards for unsportsmanship are given. Why? because I can not believe that 13 year old players do not know the difference between 5 yards and 10 yards. I think that they are coached to do this by poor coaches or if players are doing this on their own it is not corrected by poor coaches or coaches that do not know the rules .
Your oppinion please
Thank you
Tony Ravehill

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Tony,
I can certainly understand your frustration.
So #1 YES AND #2 YES!
This is an ongoing issue and frankly my patience with dealing those who do not do what the law asks and the spirit of the match require are stretched thin today so my answer is worded in easy to define terms.
The ref is either as dense as a chunk of lead or those who taught him are not on the periodic table as anything denser than airheads if he did indeed say what you said he did. The caution for failing to respect he distance or for delay the restart are two cautioniable sanctions NOT NEARLY used enough to the degree of being effective deterrents.
You sir are 100% correct that the opposition MUST withdraw immediately to a MINIMUM of ten yards and they are to be cautioned and shown the yellow cards if they do not. It is precisely because of the referees who fail to adequately deal with this issue that it has become the myth that no one told us is of such gigantic proportions in today?s football..

If the opposition withdraws to 8 yards quickly it generally still allow a quick kick to occur and yes a warning that 8 is not 10 is not the poorest of ideas. My worries are two fold first if you deem you must interfere then the restart generally becomes ceremonial just as if you were asked by the team taking the free kick to allow them to run their set play.
Secondly players start expecting to be told things and as you noted it is MANDATORY they with draw and not prevent a FREE kick from being FREE!
Defenders have ZERO, ZILCH, NADA, NO rights whatsoever at the taking of the free kick to hinder the restart. If a wall is started at 5 yards the somebody who starts it will be cautioned, there will be no warning. If there are protests then likely another caution for dissent will follow.
When we say your match, your decision, your reputation meaning as a referee you also set the stage for those who referee the next match. Perhaps we should add that your reputation is also tarnished or polished by those who go before your match!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Good job, Tony! If we had more referees who thought and acted like you do, the problem would go away quickly. Free kicks are meant to be just that - taken freely.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

1. Yes!!Pick 1 or 2 the first time they do this and that's the end of it. The referee that told you the team committing the foul could take as long as they like to retreat is simply wrong. Besides, they didn't retreat at all!. 2. Yes!! The team committing the fouls is absolutely required to give the 10 yards. I don't even give verbal warnings anymore if the wall is ridiculously close or if a single player sets himself up directly in front of the ball. Be prepared to have coaches yell at you and be prepared to deal with said coaches because they are TEACHING their players to do this and even Select level coaches honestly believe they are correct in Law.

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

It is a cautionable offense to not respect the required distance on a free kick. If your team wants to take a quick kick, then the referee has no right to deny your team that privilege. A good referee will however at least verbally warn the defenders to respect the required distance after the free kick. If your teams kick was delayed or slowed down by this...I would have a hard time not issuing a card as 3 yds is just too close. At U14 we expect players to know the correct distance.