Question Number: 16030

Law 9 - The Ball in and out of Play 7/14/2007

RE: rec & club Adult

joe of orange, ca USA asks...

If a player has on their own left the field of play without stoppage and is still out of bounds and kicks the ball that is in bounds is the ball not now out of bounds? I cannot find an answer anywhere. Exactly what happened: The offensive player was at the goal line 1/2 way between the sideline and goal and fell out of bounds, past the end line, on her own while the ball stayed in bounds. The goalie went to get the ball and the offensive player, while still on the ground and OB, kicked the ball away from the gaolie to another one of her players and they scored. our head ref says that it is ok for a player that has left on their own to kick the ball while OB and i disagree.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If you look through the Laws of the Game, you will see a phrase several times: "when the whole of the ball passes over" the touch line or goal line. It says nothing about the position of the player, just the ball. If the whole ball didn't go outside the line, the play is not stopped. This is rather basic and should have been covered in your referee certification class.

Regarding your specific situation, the referee was correct. Players may temporarily cross outside the boundary lines during the normal course of play, and may play the ball from that position.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Also Joe, this is covered nicely in Advice To Referees available at US Soccers web site

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Remember 9 words: All of the ball crosses all of the line. Matters not where the player is.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

There are eleven players on each team and every player has the right to play a ball that's in play. Every once in a while a player seeks permission to leave the field for one reason or another and from that time forward until he seeks and gains the referee's permission to return to the field he may not play the ball. Sometimes a player, through the normal course of play, finds himself off the field. That player needs no permission to leave and no permission to return because he is off the field legally. Because he is a player he is still permitted to challenge for any ball he so chooses to challenge for. Substitutes and substituted players do not have these same rights.

Now we come to the crux of the question presented to us. You state "our head ref says that it is ok for a player that has left on their own to kick the ball while OB and i disagree." Why was this question presented to your head referee? I submit it was to clear up a fact.

You apparently didn't believe him when he answered.

Do you believe the panelists at AskTheRef?

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

See Question: 16050