Question Number: 34037

Law 13 - Free Kicks 10/25/2020

RE: Rec Under 13

micah of athens, al usa asks...

Hey- regarding an indirect kick from outside the penalty area. the opposing team kicked directly into the goal and goalie played the ball off her finger. a goal was awarded? how can this be?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Micah,
On both INDFKS and throw ins the ball can not DIRECTLY enter the goal, ANOTHER touch of the ball by another player of either team must occur first. As long as the referee signalled the INDFK correctly, the restart spot was correct and the kicker contrived to kick it into play. You say your keeper had a physical touch of the ball on its way into the goal, under the crossbar, between the posts and 100% over the goal line, that is a legitimate goal . Your keeper needed to get out of the way and let it enter WITHOUT her fingers getting a touch. I recall throw in from the touchlines that directly went towards the goal, up until the keeper panics and swats at the ball not realizing that touch allows a goal to be scored To allow a ball through and combat the instinctive reflex attempt to grab it's a hard thing to be AWARE that the restart CANNOT directly enter the goal and if it should it is a goal kick in your favour. I have seen the odd keeper be astute enough to KNOW the free kick WAS INDFK and allow the ball to go directly in KNOWING he would get a free goal kick as long as no SECONDARY touch occured!
Cheers .

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Micah
On an indirect free kick a goal cannot be scored DIRECTLY from the kick.
In this instance though the ball does not enter the goal directly as the goalkeeper has played / touched the ball. The Law makes no distinction on the second touch just that it is touched by a player in this case the goalkeeper.
It states that an indirect free kick is * A free kick from which a goal can only be scored if another player (of any team) touches the ball after it has been kicked* Key words are ‘of any team’
I suspect the goalkeeper did not understand the concept of indirect as if she had done so she could have let the ball enter the goal and the restart would have been a goal kick.
So the referee was 100% correct in awarding the goal.