Question Number: 19100

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 5/16/2008

RE: all-star,select AYSO Under 15

Louie Lopez of Cathedral City, Ca USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 18292

Reading all the different interpretations of the last question seems not to really answer the question once and for all.My situation was like this.There was a player on the other team that got hot and tired so the ref stopped play to make sure she was alright. We had possesion of the ball around the middle of the field.I told my player to be ready for the Drop Ball. The referee than "told my player he was going to drop the ball to her and to kick it out of bounds so the other team would have a throw-in. They have a player with a very strong throw-in so they almost scored off this "do the right thing" call. My point is it should be up to the COACH to instruct his players to give possesion to the other team Not For The Referee to Mandate it unless you can qoute me the rule in writting giving the ref the authority to do so.I am open to any interpretations by FIFA or any other rules body so long as it is in writting.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

I believe all our answers were in agreement with your sentiments. The referee may not direct the players to do any specific thing at a dropped ball. I also wonder just why this referee wanted to create a new stoppage for a throw-in immediately after the dropped ball restart. Please notify your league that one of the referees is overstepping his authority.

Recently USSF has decided to publish FIFA's "Additional Instructions and Guidance" addendum to the Laws of the Game. In it we find, for Law 8:
"Dropped Ball
Any player may challenge for the ball (including the goalkeeper). There is no minimum or maximum number of players required to contest a dropped ball. The referee cannot decide who may or may not contest a dropped ball."

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Louie,
Referees should NOT be giving tactical information, as gospel. They COULD explain options on general principle if teams seemed confused or as an attempt to diffuse tension.
LAW 8 ? THE START AND RESTART OF PLAY
Dropped Ball
Any player may challenge for the ball (including the goalkeeper). There is no minimum or maximum number of players required to contest a dropped ball. The referee *cannot* decide who may or may not contest a dropped ball.

Referees have wide latitude in interpretation as to why a referee can choose an option. Drop balls do not require in law any players present when it is dropped. We can drop it to a single player or just the normal two opponents or even all 22 players could participate. The referee is not commanded to do any or all but only to drop the ball in a certain fashion within a certain spot. Interpretations limiting and mandating the authority or the manner in how or who is present at drop balls is explained in law and in my opinion straight forward.

The referee restarts the match after it has been stopped

A dropped ball is a way of restarting the match after a temporary stoppage that becomes necessary, while the ball is in play, for any reason not mentioned elsewhere in the Laws of the Game.
Procedure
The referee drops the ball at the place where it was located when play was stopped.
Play restarts when the ball touches the ground.
Special Circumstance
A dropped ball to restart the match after play has been temporarily
stopped inside the goal area takes place on the goal area line parallel
to the goal line at the point nearest to where the ball was located
when play was stopped.

The point is circumstances of moral decisions and the unwritten rules of acceptable etiquette are the player's choice. While a referee tries to ensure FAIR PLAY he still must follow the written law even as he bends them within the spirit of the laws.

Lets take an example,
a blue player is injured and red keeper has the ball in his possession. Play is stopped. The referee could have waited until the ball was already out of play if the injury was not serious but then why would he stop play? He is instructed ONLY to stop if the injury is or might be serious. TECHNICALLY this is a drop ball situation play was stopped for an injury. NOTHING prevents a referee from dropping the ball back to the red keeper. There is also NOTHING in law that prevents a blue player from challenging for that drop ball. Now the red team will be a tad upset at the blue player for not following the unwritten code of conduct of fair play!

Here a proactive referee could gauge this incident as a match stick to a powder keg .
One COULD try and diffuse it by saying, ?You are aware I am dropping the ball for an injury to your player? The red keeper had ball possession when I stopped play? This drop is inside the penalty area of red where the keeper can use his hands and you can only use your feet. Since the ball is live when it touches the ground and the keeper will be using his hands to grab it thus achieving a controlled possession your foot coming into contact with those hands might be regarded as cautionable or even a send off if I was to think it recklessly or excessively done? Now at no time did I say to the blue player YOU can not do this but have said in a round about way it could be most unwise to do so.
If the drop was outside the area one could use a different approach citing perhaps the tit for tat thing one might expect from such a decision. or describing the unwritten protocol that the elite teams will often follow.
However, even they do not CHOOSE to do the right thing all of the time. Portugal versus Holland last world cup, as an example Deco received his first caution retaliating against Holland putting the ball back into play rather than give it back to Portugal. Yet we also have an English premier match actually replayed at the winning team's request over a throw in that they took in theory was supposed to be returned to the opposing keeper but the winning team wound up scoring a goal.

If an opponent says or indicates they will return the ball then as a referee you can feel at ease it will be done BECAUSE if it was not you now have USB and deceit as reasoning to stop the play if the opposition tried to use this restart for ANY other purpose.
It is permissble to caution players who act in a manner which shows a lack of respect for the game.
However as in the throw in goal nothing in written law was wrong and nothing was said ONLY EXPECTATIONS of what was to happen based on historical precedence.

Players who choose to kick the ball out into touch because of an injury to an opponent do in fact EXPECT the ball back. Thinking they did the other team a favour and in principle since they had the ball they should be allowed to keep ball possession on the start up. Those that do this when their own team-mate is hurt also expect the ball back, however, as an opposing player I am MUCH less inclined to think this is a good reason unless that player was OBVIOUSLY hurt.
The thing is the referee is the one so charged with stopping play in the event of a serious injury in effect the players have discounted the referee's opinion, in truth a form of dissent.

A referee could advise options, remind the players of historical precedence and the tit for tat reality of not choosing to do something then the other team likely to respond in kind but he has no authority to prevent the player's' participation nor demand they do it only as he wishes although in a liberal interpretation of trifling as to the exact spot of the ball location and whether one could casually just dropped the ball directly in front of the nearest player before an opponent was ready is STILL a discretionary opinion. Or the restart of a throw in could be looked at in a very harsh light to ENSURE it absolute correctness. Exact letter of law can still be enforced when it suits the conditions just as ignoring certain things as trifling can be overlooked.
I am inclined to think a protest launched as a result of a referee TELLING a team they must do the drop in a prescribed manner and then a goal resulted could be upheld.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

What we say here and in the previous question agree with you. The referee cannot and should not tell any player what to do on a dropped ball. That said, the referee, in the interests of Fair Play, is free to drop the ball whenever he chooses and to whomever he chooses.