Question Number: 22410

Law 13 - Free Kicks 11/1/2009

RE: Rec,Competitive Under 19

Ali Bahmanyar of Charlotte, NC USA asks...

On a direct kick ,player with the ball rushes and kick the ball to the goal and goalie stops the ball.Coach for the same player complaints to the ref that his player kick the ball before ref's whistle.ref allows them to take another kick after whistle.
My position was once the player with the ball had the advantage and missed should not be given another chance and if the ball was scored the team scored on could raise the question not the one who took the shot.
Any help on that.
Thanks

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Coach Bahmanyar
The answer to your question depends on the circumstances. There is no requirement for the referee to blow the whistle to restart play on a free kick. However when it becomes a 'ceremonial' free kick in front of goal, where the referee has been asked to ensure the defensive wall is ten yards away, then the referee should instruct the taker not to take the free kick before the whistle. If he does so, play should be stopped, the taker could be cautioned and the free kick is retaken.
If a team decides to take a quick free kick then the team must accept the outcome of the FK provided the ball is intercepted only and not prevented from taking it. Good mechanics by the referee will help in these situations.
Also if a defender rushes the taker at any free kick then the free kick should be retaken if advantage cannot be played. The referee should consider the possibility of a caution for encroachment.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

So the coach is complaining, 'Hey ref, my player didn't follow your instructions and kicked too early. But the result wasn't favorable to us, so we want to have the free kick taken again.' Uh huh. There are words for this; I think the nicest is 'audacious'.

My response might be, if I'm not in a good mood, 'OK coach, thanks for reminding me. Oh and by the way player, here's your caution.'

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The current USSF teaching is that when the referee tells the kicker to wait for the whistle on a free kick, and the kicker does not wait, the kick must be retaken regardless of the outcome.