Question Number: 22811

Law 13 - Free Kicks 2/11/2010

RE: Recreational, Select Under 16

M Jarrett of Victoria, Canada asks...

This question is a follow up to question 22718

On a set play IDFK given to attacking team and the first attacker runs over, steps on, touches the ball and it does not perceivably move from the stationary spot. The second attacker kicks the ball over the wall and scores without any other player having touched the ball. Should the goal be allowed to stand if the first touch doesn't satisfy 'the ball is in play when it is kicked and moved' ?

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

The 2009/2010 FIFA Interpretations and Guidelines tell us the ball is in play from a free kick when the ball is kicked and moves. If the referee in your game judged the ball which was stepped on moved, the ball could be considered in play. And another referee in the same situation could judge the ball had not moved, and thus was not in play.

If the ball was touched/stepped on and the referee decided it was not kicked and moved, then it was not in play and the next touch by the teammate was the kick that put it into play. Because it went directly from the foot of the kicker into the goal without touching another player (either team) there is no goal, and it is a goal kick for the opponent.

It is all in the opinion of the referee. The opinion of the referee should be informed and guided not only by the Laws of the Game, but also by any interpretations and guidelines issued by one's own national association, if any.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

If the ball doesn't move at all, it is not in play. When it is put into play by the second attacker, the goal should not be awarded since the ball did not touch another player before entering the goal.

The referee needs to judge whether the ball has been kicked and has moved. In the US, the guidance is that stepping on the top of the ball resulting in minimal movement of the ball is not enough. Your federations may offer different guidance as to how to judge the the requirement of 'kicked and moved.'

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

As Ref Wickham noted, USSF has a standard for kicked and moved. Kicked means with the foot, moved means 'from here to there'. And on a lumpy field you might also accept 'from here to there and back again' as it rolls back into the divot hole where it started. But the key is that there has to be a discernable difference in location.

So if the tap is not considered a kick that puts the ball into play, then the blast to the goal is the touch that put the ball into play. If it goes directly into the goal, a goal cannot be scored. Across the goal line + last touched by the attacking team + goal not scored = goal kick.

If after that blast the ball touches any other player, including the opposing goalkeeper, a goal can be scored. I've heard people make comments that 'an indirect free kick wasn't properly taken'. There is no proper mechanic for the kick itself. Because a goal can't be scored directly we often see the slight kick with the foot. But that doesn't mean that's the only way the ball can be kicked.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Jarrett
As you know the Law states that the ball is in play when it is kicked and moves. The Laws of the Game does not define moves and that is left up to the referee to decide except where specific advice is given by a National Association. For us older refs and up until the great rewrite of the Laws in 1997/98 the law stated that the ball was in play when it travelled the distance of its own circumference. That left little room for debate and it was obvious enough for the referee and every player to discern if the ball was indeed put into play. Since 1997 all that has changed and now steps on, taps which results in a movement of the ball is allowed under the Law and by many referess. As a result its use is frequent at KOs, CKs, FKs etc. In the US USSF has given specific guidance and that should be followed by US affiliated referees.
One can also argue that at a ceremonial FK where two opponents are involved in the IDFK, that it is possible to execute the short free kick properly. If the attacker was at the ball on his own then it is not possible in any circumstance for the ball to be kicked directly into the goal. The defending team has to make that assumption that the ball is in fact in play in the two person scenario where one makes contact with the ball in a tap/kick situation. Could a goalkeeper decide from say 22 yards that it was not moved or indeed if the shot is instantly after the tap/kick with no unsporting delay. I would certainly allow that to happen. If another referee wants to disallow the goal because the ball was not put into play on the basis that it did not move then he/she is entitled to do so. I personally would find it easier to state if asked that the ball was kicked and moved in a tap situation rather than the player clearly touching it but it did not move and then having to disallow the goal.
Since your question I observed closely one kick off where the ball was stepped on. The ball did move, not significantly but very noticeable and the opponents made no comment about this. One finds that player look for any reason to gain an advantage which in the IDFK case is that the ball did not move and it should be a goal kick.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

This should result in a goal kick. Used to be IFAB, the people that write the Laws Of The Game, felt that since the Laws of Physics will tell us in an object is touched that it has to move. However, recent interpretation is the ball must be struck in a kicking motion and moved 'from here to there'. Distance can be minimal but a tap on the top of the ball no longer qualifies as kicked and moves.

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

See Question: 23011

See Question: 23059