Question Number: 17745

Law 13 - Free Kicks 11/7/2007

RE: Amateur Other

Mark Burnett of Fuquay Varina, NC USA asks...

Hair splitter here, I was studying my Advice to Referees and noticed something that seems incorrect, or at least unfair. A DFK allows for an own goal, but a PK does not. Since a PK is just a DFK where the foul occurred in the penalty area why would they penalize the defending team by deigning a goal?

Ok, on the serious side I doubt this could ever happen off a PK but it is a strange world out there, more importantly all of us taking tests have to remember this difference.

Why is this difference in the Laws?

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

We must know the paragraph number of what confuses you. Then we can work from there. Law 13 is quite specific in that it states "if a direct free kick is kicked directly into the team's own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opposing team". ATR can not undo that statement.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Good grief, Mark. Where in the ATR are you looking that confused you so completely? From a DFK, a team may NOT score on themselves - if it went directly into the goal from the kick, we would have a corner kick. On a penalty kick, there is no conceivable way a team could score on themselves, since you can't score against yourself on a restart. The kick is taken - it either scores for the kicker's team, or the goalkeeper saves it, and a new phase of play begins - during which an own goal could be scored, but not from the PK itself. Does that make sense?

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

You cannot score an own goal directly from a Direct Free Kick. If the ATR says otherwise, please indicate the passage info. Thanks.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Likewise, where in ATR does it say you can score on yourself from the taking of ANY restart?

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

See Question: 17882

See Question: 17823