Question Number: 35718

Law 1- The Field 9/23/2024

Max of Stillwater , Oklahoma USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 35212

What happens if the player feet are outside and his head is in the penalty box? Does a referee look where the contact is? Where exactly is he holding a player and if that position is in the penalty box?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Max
Thanks for the question.

It has been shown that even with VAR, freeze frame video etc. it can be extremely difficult to determine the point of contact in a contact foul close to the penalty area. On a holding offence a player could be held for a second or so which could result in the first contact being outside and the holding continuing inside the penalty area, which makes it a penalty kick offence.

For the vast majority of the game it is a judgement call for the match officials. In your example if the trip was on the feet which are outside the penalty area line it is a direct free kick whereas if it was contact to the head of the player inside the penalty area it is a penalty kick.
That is the technical answer yet the reality of judging that makes it extremely difficult.
In a game situation a referee will look to the lead assistant referee to assist in deciding the location. At speed what is going to look like close to the penalty area line. A lone official may be 15 yards behind the incident and sees a contact foul right on the line with the player falling in the penalty area.

I would say that if looks like the player is on or over the line the penalty kick is going to be awarded as a penalty kick. A further factor is denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity offence.
When a penalty is awarded in a DOGSO situation and it is a genuine attempt to play the ball the dismissal becomes a caution. If it is a free kick, the dismissal still applies.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Max,

A foul is considered where the point of contact is on the opponent. So if a player is partially in and partially outside the PA (remember that on the line is in), then whether it's a penalty kick or a free kick just outside depends on where the point of contact is.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Max,
there is often difficulty in determining the certainty of an exact blade of grass restart which is why we tend to go with the least harm if we are the least uncertain. The foul impact location, if clearly identified, is the restart location not the subsequent fall or aftermath, foot to shin, elbow to the head, a trip/kick or a strike is a precise contact point where as a hold of a stretched jersey or a continued arm across the chest that begins out side and is carried on inside the PA in reality we are applying "advantage" and punish the holding restart as a PK rather than a DFK outside as a series of fouls more than a single one.

Given the impact of a holding is exaggerated prolonged contact we look at it slightly different. It can be interrupting forward progress, actually pulling the player back to ground or slingshot, when the player being fouled is trying to pull away the release of the hold causes the player to stumble and fall forward. Think of the jersey as a sail, not a single contact point you grasp one end the other is stretched out across the chest of the player inside the PA even if part of that jersey was just outside the boundary line, so do we restart on the part of the sail outside or the part on his chest inside. If the hand of a defender pulled on the shoulder of an attacker from behind, THAT is a contact point easy to see, pulls of jerseys are fraught with difficulty so I look at the result as well.

I often say your match your, decision, your reputation! A neutral referee with integrity applies the LOTG as fair and as correctly as they understand them to be. The LOTG state IF the foul occurs inside the PA it is a PK . It also states the boundary lines are part of the area they enclose! Thus if the contact point of the foul overlaps or contacts the PA 5 inch boundary line that DFK foul is now a PK restart! You make the call on what you believe to be true.
Cheers