Question Number: 35913

High School 5/10/2025

RE: HS High School

Jay LaFountain of Coldwater, MI USA asks...

Recently, IFAB introduced impeding with contact. This has led to high school referees talking about impeding with contact as if it's a thing in high school soccer. However, I have looked at the rulebook and it is written like the old IFAB rules, where impeding is without contact and if there IS contact, you should call the contact foul, whether a charge or a pull or a push or whatever the contact is, as ALL contact fouls result in a DFK. However, some referees have started calling impeding with contact in HS soccer a IDFK. Have you guys heard about this, and what's your call under HS rules when a player is impeding with contact? IDFK or DFK?

Answer provided by Referee Joe Manjone

Jay,

You are correct.

This is not a high school rule and contact is not mentioned in NFHS Impeding Rule 12-3-4a which states, "Impeding is the deliberate act of a player that moves into the path of an opponent to block, obstruct, slow down or force a change in direction when the ball is not within playing distance. Being in the way of an opponent is not an offense and is different than moving into the way."

This NFHS rule has not been changed for the 2025-26 school year.

As you indicate in high school play, the penalty for impeding is an indirect kick where the penalty for contact fouls is a direct kick. High school officials should not be awarding an indirect kick for a contact foul.

Hopefully, you will mention this to your high school officiating group when you next meet. You may also want to let the MHSAA know officials are doing this since there is still almost a month left in the MHSAA girls soccer competition and awarding the incorrect penalty could change the outcomes of games.

Thank you for this very important question.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Jay,
Yep impeding with contact is an IFAB/FIFA determination. The NFHS rule has not been changed. Often the NFHS will adapt to IFAB/FIFA changes a little bit later if they make sense to do so. The NFHS, in my opinion is more concerned with safety of the youth. Impeding with contact while essentially a holding or pushing foul is usually more of a careless foul and may not even be deliberate but rather incidental in nature. Even if it affects the opponent choice of actions +.Awarding DFK direct free kick for some minor contact in the penalty area is not going to make people very happy and may be the reason why the IFAB wanted it changed. It was very good advice from my colleague ref Manjone please do mention that no change has occurred, to your association and peers.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jay
Impeding without contact is not a new law and it is there since the old obstruction law was changed many years ago, back in 1997. When it was obstruction with contact it was an IDFK yet that has long gone. In fact one would be hard pressed to see the IDFK offence of impeding when there is no contact. I can’t recall seeing any so much so that I think that there is a need to remove it from the LotG as it is very much redundant.
As to what is being called in a particular area I cannot say yet it is clear that in BOTH codes offences with contact is a direct free kick offence. Any referee calling a contact foul as an IDFK is in error and at odds with the NFHS Rules and the IFAB LoTG.

As I said most impeding that get called ends up a contact foul and a direct free kick or a penalty kick. One can say that a referee always punishes the more serious offence so with contact it it holding, illegal charging