Question Number: 19355

Law 13 - Free Kicks 6/11/2008

RE: Rec/Select Under 13

Joe S of Louisville, KY US asks...

This question is a follow up to question 19307

Just a quick follow-up question/restatement. First, I was a parent during the game, watching my youngest play. Second, according to the 2006 Advice booklet, the attacking team that chooses to take a free kick with the opponent closer than the minimum distance cannot claim infringement. Now all of that said, if the requirements of Law 13 were met (he placed the ball, raised his arm at the 45), wouldn't her team have lost the ability to ask for the 10 yards once the ball was kicked and moved and thus the play continue to its end?
Thanks for your help in clarifying.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Actually a team?s right to take a free kick is STILL at the discretion of the referee. The purpose of the advice is to set a STANDARD of uniformity to why a referee COULD choose to do something that advice suggests. It is not so much lost the ability but a decision to choose a certain way to restart. The referee can accept it or decide not to for certain reasons. Confusion at the youth level with contrary levels of dialogue could create uncertainty and in the best interest of the game a referee might decide lets just settle this down.

A team who takes the free kick quickly into a RETREATING opponent has no cause to claim to be hard done by for a choice they exercised that was poorly done. You are correct the ball is in play once kicked and moved and if the referee was content then the team will have to live with the missed opportunity.

That said, it states in law 13 very clearly, a free kick taken with opponents less than 10 yards away the kick is retaken. No mention of a caution, just that the kick is retaken period..
Then it states if in the opinion of the referee the free kick is delayed or the opponents fail to respect the ten yards the kick is retaken AND the opponent is to be cautioned shown a yellow card.
Thus a referee has options to
Allow the kick, too bad so sad you messed up play on.
Do it again, I saw no obvious USB action by the opponent but I was not ready as something is not how it should be or feels right
Do it again after I show this guy a yellow card his actions of deliberately failing to respect the 10 yards or delaying this restart.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

If I understand you correctly you are asking if once the ball is kicked and moved, may the kicking team still ask for 10 yards? No. Once the ball has been put into play, they cannot change their minds and ask for play to be stopped and restarted with another free kick. If I understood the original question, the ball had been kicked but the referee blew his whistle before it entered the net. The original question said the coach started yelling for the 10 yards as the girl was taking the kick, which, to me, means before the ball was in play. The referee, who was probably inexperienced, blew the whistle AFTER the ball was in play to give the coach what he wanted. So the referee trying to grant the coach his wish, called off a goal for the coach's team. Clearly, once the ball was in play, the referee should have not blown the whistle as the kicking team did indeed forfeit the right to the 10 yards. That said, had the assistant coach kept his mouth shut as he should have, a goal would have been awarded. Instead, the referee probably felt pressure from this coach and did what the coach asked and consequently took away a valid goal. Moral of the story is to be careful what you ask for.