Question Number: 21633

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 7/8/2009

Tony of Sydney, NSW Australia asks...

If a player on the field of play and the ball is in play spits at a palyer who is off the field of play. You send him off and start with a dropped ball because the infringement (point of cantact or intended contact)happened off the field? Or is it an indirect free kick from the place of the spitter or where the ball was?

If a player on the field of play and the ball is in play spits at an AR who is off the field of play. I thought the restart then is an Indirect free kick at the spot where the spit came from. Not a dropped ball.

What if an opponent on the field of play spat at a sub off the field of play.

Please help as I seem to have got myself confused on my restarts for spitting when the ball is in play.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

you can use the rules for objects thrown for spitting:

Restart of play
? If a player standing inside his own penalty area throws an object at an
opponent standing outside the penalty area, the referee restarts play with a
direct free kick to the opponents' team taken from the position where the
object struck or would have struck the opponent
? If a player standing outside his own penalty area throws an object at an
opponent standing inside the penalty area, the referee restarts play with a
penalty kick
? If a player standing inside the fi eld of play throws an object at any person
standing outside the fi eld of play, the referee restarts play with an indirect
free kick, taken from the position in which the ball was located when play
was stopped (see Law 13 ? Position of Free Kick)
? If a player standing outside the fi eld of play throws an object at an
opponent standing inside the fi eld of play, the referee restarts play with a
direct free kick to the opponents' team, taken from the position where the
object struck or would have struck the opponent or with a penalty kick (if
inside the offending player's own penalty area)
? If a substitute or substituted player standing outside the fi eld of play throws
an object at an opponent standing inside the fi eld of play, the referee
restarts play with an indirect free kick to the opposing team, taken from the
position in which the ball was located when play was stopped
(see Law 13 ? Position of Free Kick)

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Tony, your situation is active play, and a player spits form the field of play at a person off the field of play. Because the misconduct happened off the field of play the restart cannot be a direct free kick. But because you stopped play for misconduct it becomes a technical foul, thus an indirect free kick. It is taken from where the ball was when you stopped play.
Caution or send off, still indirect. It is irrelevant for the purpose of restart whether he was spitting at an opponent, a sub, a spectator or an A/R. Needless to say he is tossage and hopefully gets banned for a long time.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

For the restart, we use the same rules for striking by throwing the ball (quoted by Ref Contarino). The referee report, however, indicates the sendoff is for spitting, not violent conduct.

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

See Question: 29842