Question Number: 21520

Law 13 - Free Kicks 6/10/2009

RE: 3 Adult

Patrick Prestia of Lasalle, Ontario Canada asks...

On an offside call, I've been told that I must keep my arm raised until the ball is kicked.
The arm raised means indirect free kick.
Once the kicker knows that, must I keep my arm raised until the ball is kicked?
I am not, since the kicker already knows it was an offside call, he knows it's an indirect kick.
Must I keep my arm until the ball is kicked?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

For ANY INDFK the free arm REMAINS upright UNTIL ANY other of the 21 players legally touches the ball. At which point you drop the arm, for play continues and a goal can now be scored.

If the kicker was to kick/play the ball twice before any other of the 21 players it is an INDFK for the opposition and thus after taking your arm down to indicate the free kick in a NEW direction you reraise the arm again to indicate it is an INDFK.

If the ball is touched illegally as in deliberately handled the arm drops a whistle sounds, you indicate the appropriate direction for a DFK or PK depending on who did the deed and where it occurred.
If the ball is not kicked properly into play as in properly exiting from a penalty area or taken quickly from a wrong spot you could retake the INDFK.

If a NEW foul by either team happens before the second touch of the ball occurs as long as the ball is in play then that foul COULD be the next restart. Although advantage could be applied in extreme cases the foul is likely the new point of restart.

If the ball is kicked directly out of play (this includes the ball directly entering into either goal) only then the arm drops and play is restarted with a throw -in corner kick or goal kick as determined by the kicker who last touched the ball.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Who told you you keep your arm raised until the ball is kicked? On ANY IDFK, the referee is to hold the signal until the ball has been touched by another player or if the ball goes out of play. You are not bound by USSF policy but here's what that document says about referee offside signal:

Holds the indirect free kick signal
from the moment of the restart to
when the ball is touched or played
by another player or until play is
stopped for another reason

But you ARE bond by the LOTG which say on page 37:

Signal
The referee indicates an indirect free kick by raising his arm above his
head. He maintains his arm in that position until the kick has been
taken and the ball has touched another player or goes out of play.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

When the ball is kicked directly into the goal, and all the players see the referee's arm still in the air, everyone knows this wasn't a good goal.

I almost learned the hard way. A fantastic free kick from 40 yards out sailed into the upper V. In my wonder at the brilliance of the shot, I realized that my arm was still straight up. No goal. If my arm wasn't up, I probably would have forgotten that the kick was indirect.

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

See Question: 21565